64% of students at the university and doctorate level are women, according to the latest figures from Statistics Iceland. In fact, they outnumber male students in all subjects except engineering and applied science.
Female students represent 85% of those studying in the fields of health and welfare, 84% of those studying teaching, and the number of women pursuing doctorate degrees has increased from 20 to 282 in the past ten years.
In the fall of 2008, there were nearly 17,000 students studying for a doctorate degree. 39% of these were pursuing degrees in social science, business or law. There has also been an increase in foreign students, who now comprise 23% of doctoral candidates.
Contrarily, only 9% of students were studying in the fields of manufacturing and industry, and 7% computer science.