As high school students inch closer to Year 12's end, a strange sort of panic sets in. "What should I study?" tops internet search engine requests, along with "What degree should I study?" and other similar questions. All the pressure doesn't help anyone make up their mind. Parents want you to study this and your mates want you to enrol in the same university they plan to go to...
In all of this insistence, you're left wondering what you want and what's best for you. You're around 18 years old so it's hard to know what you like well enough to dedicate at least four years to learn more about. Let alone you'll be interested in doing 20 years from now. Times are trying and everyone's on shaky financial ground so you wonder which career field will guarantee you a steady income.
And then, all of the mundane questions torture you. Are you academically dedicated enough to commit to, say, a computer science study program? Will you earn the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) that gives you access to the courses you want? Do you even want to go to university? If so, how will you pay for your graduate-level learning?
Most of the time, 'What degree should I study?' searches yield quizzes that try to match your personality with a career field you might fit well in. At best, they'll leave you more confused than ever. At worst, they're an inexact proposal that could just as well lead you to an unsatisfying university experience.
Nobody can tell you what to learn, nor need they tell you where to enrol. The best you can do is make an informed choice. The trick is to gather as much information as you can. Tough as it is, making this decision on your own is your first step towards becoming the master of your fate.
For this article, Superprof collected data about university programs that received the most applications. And then, we compiled information about the top five fields and the best universities for their study. Read on to find out which are the most popular programs and the best universities to earn your degree in.
What Degree Should I Study? Medicine
Across Australia and around the world, learners overwhelmingly choose medicine as a career. Some prefer to go into related medical fields such as nursing or dentistry while others set their sights on having their own surgery. The standard medical degree in our country is the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS).
This double-degree plan takes seven years to complete, after which the doctors in training are qualified to treat patients, albeit under supervision. You may begin your medical education straight out of Senior High provided you pass the online University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). Otherwise, you can learn Chemistry or Biology as an undergraduate and sit the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) to qualify for graduate medical learning.
The University of Melbourne is the best faculty for medical studies in Australia. This School of Medicine is Australia's oldest medical teaching facility. It has a modern curriculum and research facilities that attract top experts from the international medical community. This medical faculty offers an array of scholarships and lots of support to ensure its pupils' success.
You might also consider the University of Sydney (USYD), the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Monash University if you're interested in studying medicine. Their medical faculties are world-renowned and they are all among the top five universities in Australia, according to QS World Rankings.
What Should I Study? Engineering
Take a look around you. An engineer had a hand in creating everything you see, everything you use, and all the services that make our lives so comfortable. Like medicine, engineering is a far-reaching discipline.
Australian universities offer a 'generic' Bachelor of Engineering but learners typically choose to specialise at the graduate level. You might decide on the software engineer program to satisfy the growing demand for such engineers. Or you could blend medical studies with engineering to graduate as a biomedical engineer. These professionals lead the innovation into (artificial intelligence) AI-driven personalised healthcare.
UNSW is Australia's top faculty for this discipline's courses. So expansive are its programs that its Faculty of Engineering comprises eight separate departments. This Faculty's undergraduates may choose from 25 degree options, many of them double degrees.
Though UNSW boasts the most wide-ranging engineering program, other Australian universities offer comparable classes. For instance, the Australian National University (ANU) is one of a few universities worldwide that offer a Humanitarian Engineering course. It teaches future engineers how to think about humanitarian crises in engineering terms. These students learn to resolve issues like water supply and sanitation, transport and emergency housing.
That's still not the end of study opportunities for engineering in Australia. Our country's top-ranked university in Melbourne has an excellent program to educate future engineers, as do USYD and Monash University.
How to Pick a University for Psychology Studies?
People today are dealing with extraordinary stress. Economic pressures and worries over the climate crisis, war and even social media are taxing the human psyche like never before. Thus, it's no surprise that searches for psychology degrees have skyrocketed over the past few years.
For these programs, international and domestic learners alike apply to the University of Melbourne. It's their first choice because its curriculum addresses every aspect of human psychology, even those not traditionally considered psychology. Melbourne's School of Psychological Sciences could pave the way for you to conduct research into the human mind and condition.
A Bachelor of Biomedicine degree with Psychological Pathway will place you at the forefront of the 'food as medicine' debate. Typically, the talk revolves around physical health but mental health is just as important - and just as impacted by what we eat. Considering the global epidemic of depression, you might find this field worthy of your interest.
UNSW, USYD and the University of Queensland also have great psychology programs. However, be aware that psychology is seldom offered as a standalone undergraduate course of study. Most often, you'll have to choose a liberal arts - or better yet, a science program. And then, you can take your psychology courses at the graduate level.
What Should I Study? Law
In the US, the cliché is 'Sue 'em all and let the courts fight it out!', which implies a need for lots of lawyers to do all the fighting. Political aspirations often drive undergraduates' desire to study law, though a law background isn't as common in our country's politics. Still, in international rankings, law ranks high as one of the subjects to study at university.
Many people go into law for its prestige and rumours of high earnings. In Australia, neither of those are necessarily true so those are bad reasons to choose law as a field of study. However, if you have a genuine interest in the history and practice of law, aim for the University of Melbourne's law program.
Your education in law will start at the graduate level; the Juris Doctor is your first stop through this university's Faculty of Law. You may then progress to the highest academic award in legal education, the Doctor of Philosophy - Law (PhD).
If you'd rather start your law education right away, Monash University offers a Bachelor of Laws program. Once through it, you can earn your Juris Doctor or go for your Master of Laws degree. But don't make a firm decision until you've checked out USYD, UNSW and ANU. These universities also have excellent law degree programs.
What Course Should I Study for Business?
It seems like we keep rehashing the same names from one subject to the next but there's a reason for that. These campuses are among the best that Australia has to offer, regardless of which courses you take. For instance, if you wanted to learn Business Management, the University of Melbourne would once again be your top choice.
You won't have the option to learn Business at the undergraduate level; all of their courses in that subject are graduate-level and up. As an undergraduate, your best option is to enrol in the Bachelor of Commerce course, which will teach you business fundamentals. These classes will prepare you for more advanced Business principles and concepts.
In Business studies, you're looking for classes that teach leadership and communication skills. These and other transferable skills will serve you well even if you decide, years down the road, that Business Management isn't for you. And if you decide to go for your Master of Business Administration (MBA), you'll learn even more skills that transfer to other career fields.
Queensland University also has an amazing Business curriculum, as do USYD, UNSW and Monash. But regardless of whether you wish to major in Business or Law - or any other subject, the experience of learning is more important than the subject. As you're of a mind to learn, these are the best universities and the best subjects to aim for.
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