Paris

The number of students studying science in French universities and high schools has fallen for the fourth year in a row, according to figures released last week by the ministry for national education, research and technology.

Table 1 Students in science DEUG programmes at French universities
Full size table

Between 1995 and 1999, the number of first- and second-year university students — or students entering for a diplôme d'études universitaires générales (DEUG) — in the sciences fell from 150,000 to 126,400. The number of high-school students graduating with a science baccalaureate also dropped, from 143,200 to 125,000.

Officials say the reduced interest at universities stems from the rise in popularity of classes préparatoires, which feed into the prestigious grandes écoles, as well as shorter degree programmes at technical colleges.

A survey distributed to 3,000 high-school students in April also shows that universities have a poor reputation among students, who think the quality of education is much lower than in the grandes écoles.

France is not alone when it comes to students straying from science. Statistics are similar elsewhere in Europe and the United States. The presidents of Europe's physics societies met last month in the United Kingdom to discuss the lack of students (see Nature 401, 102; 1999). In Germany, for example, the number of first-year physics students has halved to 5,000 since 1991.

Physics appears to be the worst hit of the sciences. “Students are turning away from the ‘hard’ sciences, especially physics, and are more attracted by biology and astronomy,” says Claude Feuerstein, president of the University Joseph Fourier at Grenoble. “It's not that it is difficult to find a job after studying physics, in fact it may even be easier than after completing a biology degree.”

Feuerstein hopes that reforms, including an emphasis on experimentation over theory and even a marketing campaign, will boost the image of physics and the other hard sciences. “Students need an attractive context and to know why they are learning this.”