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SHAPE in numbers

Introduction

SHAPE in numbers is a springboard for exploring the health and value of social sciences, humanities and arts (SHAPE) subjects across the UK.

It brings together the British Academy’s key data analysis, from trends in secondary education and undergraduate enrolments to the impact of SHAPE research and SHAPE graduates’ contributions to the workforce.

About the source data

Much of the data we’ve collected is drawn from reports and dashboards produced by the British Academy and based on official national datasets such as HESA’s student and staff records, the Labour Force Survey, and JCQ examination data. Some figures have been produced internally by the British Academy using Heidi Plus.

While not comprehensive of all data available nationally, this summary reflects the current evidence gathered through the SHAPE Observatory. It will continue to evolve as new sources become available, and the work of the Observatory expands.

Secondary and post-16 education

SHAPE subjects make up the majority of GCSE, A level and Scottish Higher entries

  • In 2025, there were over 3.3 million GCSEs taken in SHAPE subjects across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, making up over half (54%) of all GCSEs. SHAPE subjects made up 47% of Scottish National 5s taken in the same year (School Indicators, 2025).

  • The most popular GCSE SHAPE subjects, outside of compulsory subjects, were History (306,759 GCSEs), Geography (302,706) and Religious Studies (237,515) (School Indicators, 2025).

  • SHAPE subjects made up 59% of A levels and 58% of Scottish Highers taken in 2025. However, for A levels, this share has fallen by 1.4 percentage points since 2020 (School Indicators, 2025).

Trends indicate a shifting landscape in subject uptake – and the UK is increasingly lagging behind our international peers when it comes to curriculum breadth

  • Between 2003 and 2021, A level students in England became significantly less likely to combine SHAPE and STEM subjects. However, social sciences remain the most commonly studied in combination with another subject group. (Subject choice trends in post-16 education in England, 2024).

  • Since 2015, far fewer students have been combining a broad mix of subjects at A level. In 2015/16, around 14% of students studied both SHAPE and STEM subjects together — but by 2021/22, that figure had dropped to just 5%. (Subject choice trends in post-16 education in England, 2024).

  • This narrowing of subject choice stands in sharp contrast to many other OECD countries, where most pupils take seven subjects post-16, while in England students typically only take three (Department for Education, 2023).

Higher education

SHAPE subjects make up the majority of higher education enrolments in the UK

  • SHAPE disciplines made up 57% of all student enrolments in 2024/25. 56% of undergraduate enrolments and 58% of postgraduate enrolments were in SHAPE. SHAPE enrolments at all levels represented 1.6m students, an increase of 23% since 2015/16 (HESA, Higher Education Student Statistics, 2024/25).

  • Business and Management was the most popular higher education subject in 2024/25, attracting 20% of the entire student population (HESA, Higher Education Student Statistics, 2024/25).

  • In 2024/25, women made up 58% of SHAPE enrolments in higher education, and 56% of all enrolments. Yet the overall figure hides sharp contrasts between disciplines. Education and Teaching (77%) and Languages and Area Studies (73%) are strongly female-dominated, while Business and Management (56%) stands out as rare male-majority field (HESA, Higher Education Student Statistics, 2024/25).

SHAPE academic staff make up a large and internationally diverse part of the UK higher education workforce

  • Overall, 40% of all academic staff in UK universities work in SHAPE disciplines, together making up around 78,680 full-time equivalent roles in 2023/24. (British Academy analysis of HESA Staff Data 2015/16–2023/24, © Jisc, January 2026)*.

  • SHAPE departments benefit from international talent. In Politics and International Relations, 48% of academic staff in 2022/23 came from outside the UK – up from around 39% a decade earlier. (Politics and International Relations provision in UK higher education, 2025). The average for SHAPE departments was 34%, with Economics and Econometrics employing the highest proportion of staff members from outside the UK at 69% (British Academy analysis of HESA Staff Data 2015/16–2023/24, © Jisc, January 2026).

  • Gender gaps in senior academic roles remain a challenge across SHAPE. Within SHAPE disciplines, 51% of all academic staff are female, but women make up only 39% of professors. However, this does compare favourably with STEM disciplines, where 45% of academic staff are women and only 27% are professors (British Academy analysis of HESA Staff Data 2015/16–2023/24, © Jisc, January 2026).

*Neither Jisc nor Jisc Services Limited can accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from data or other information supplied by Jisc or Jisc Services Limited.

However, SHAPE subjects face significant challenges with notable recent declines in provision creating regional ‘cold spots’

  • Regional disparities in SHAPE provision can create ‘cold spots’ where access to key subjects is limited. A notable example is Modern Foreign Languages. Provision in the UK's world-leading languages departments has more than halved since 2011/12: enrolments by young UK students in French (-62%), German (-65%) and Spanish (-46%) courses have decreased steeply with similar declines in other languages like Italian, Russian, and Celtic languages. (Mapping SHAPE provision in UK higher education, 2025).

  • Regional cold spots matter. In some cases, students would have to relocate more than 200km to study their subject of choice, which could exacerbate regional inequalities and equitable access to SHAPE degrees. (Mapping SHAPE provision in UK higher education, 2025).

Research

UK SHAPE research is a global leader: it drives economic growth, improves wellbeing and enhances our understanding of society

  • SHAPE research delivers for communities across the UK. In REF2021, 2,501 SHAPE research impact case studies listed beneficiaries across the UK, from St Ives in Cornwall to Lerwick in the Shetland Islands; while Business and Management research has helped 465 SMEs access a total of £1.5m of funding in deprived areas of the UK (The SHAPE of Research Impact, 2023).

  • SHAPE research has a global impact: 1,499 SHAPE research impact case studies list beneficiaries around the world, including the United States (672 case studies), Australia (516), India (361) China (342), Brazil (338), South Africa (334) and Kenya (317) (The SHAPE of Research Impact, 2023).

  • SHAPE research and impact is interdisciplinary. Surveys of REF2021 panel members found that around 40% of SHAPE impact case studies were interdisciplinary in nature. While often in closely related fields, considerable cooperation was also noted across SHAPE with disciplines in medical sciences and other STEM fields. (The SHAPE of Research Impact, 2023).

SHAPE research skills underpin high-performing R&D sectors

  • Both SHAPE and STEM researchers use languages to benefit their research. In a recent survey, French had the highest share as an additional language used in research (45%), followed by German (35%), and Spanish (23%) (Language Skills and Capabilities in the UK Research Base, 2025).

  • In 2025, 49% of founders of the UK’s 100 best new startups (listed by Startups.co.uk) were SHAPE graduates, compared to 41% who were STEM graduates (and 10% non-graduates/unknown), while more had studied languages than had studied maths (Data gathered and analysed internally by the British Academy, August 2025).

Graduates

SHAPE graduates develop skills highly valued by employers experience positive outcomes, with almost identical employment rates to STEM graduates

  • In 2023, 87% of SHAPE graduates were in employment, earning on average almost £5 more per hour than non-graduates at the next highest qualification level (two A levels or equivalent) (Understanding SHAPE Graduates, 2025).

  • The likelihood of being in employment 12 months after being unemployed is greater for SHAPE first degree graduates than their counterparts from other subjects (Understanding SHAPE Graduates, 2025).

  • The top five skills developed by SHAPE graduates align closely with skills identified by employers as those needed to thrive in 21st century work, including critical thinking and analysis, innovation and creativity, communication and collaboration (Qualified for the Future, 2020).

SHAPE graduates are an essential component of the UK graduate workforce across sectors, from vital public services to high-growth industries

  • In 2023, there were more than 7.3 million SHAPE graduates in the UK, making up around 60% of the graduate workforce. This includes over 2.8 million Education workers (78% of the total graduate workforce in education) and over 1.3 million Health and Social Care workers, providing considerable social value (Understanding SHAPE Graduates, 2025).

  • Between 2010 and 2022, the top three UK sectors as measured by Gross Value Added (GVA) growth – manufacturing, transport and communication, and professional, scientific and technical services – saw growing numbers of SHAPE graduates: they comprised 52.8 per cent of the graduate workforce in all these sectors combined in 2023, up from 45.8 per cent in 1997 (Understanding SHAPE Graduates, 2025).

  • In 2025, 59% of the leaders of FTSE100 companies had backgrounds in SHAPE disciplines, ranging from Business and Management to Languages and History (Data gathered and analysed internally by the British Academy, August 2025).

More from the SHAPE Observatory

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