Which Subjects Have the Happiest Students?

Accounting, finance and business rank seventh in the countdown of the subjects with the happiest students. Graduates typically earn a high salary and have a wide variety of career options available to them, ranging from accountants to investment bankers to management positions.  

The best school to study accounting, finance and business in 2021 is Harvard University, according to the recently released QS World University Rankings by Subject.  

View the best schools to study accounting and finance here and business here.  

With a student happiness score of 3.18, computing ranks in sixth place.  

Throughout your degree, you will gain a specialist knowledge of computer science theories, methods and practices and understand a range of programming languages, as well as the ability to understand complex numerical data. The best university in the world to study computing this year is Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. 

View the best schools to study computer science here. 

Entering the top five now, we find another analytical degree: mathematics. Mathematics students rank their happiness as 3.22 out of five. Mathematics degrees usually involve a combination of pure mathematics (theory and abstract) and applied mathematics (practical applications to problems). MIT is the highest ranked school in the world to study mathematics out of the 507 universities featured in the subject rankings this year. 

A degree in mathematics gives access to a range of industries, with maths graduates occupying roles such as accountant, actuary, statistician, technician, economist or market researcher. Discover more about careers with a maths degree here.  

View the best schools to study mathematics here.  

Fourth in the countdown of the subjects with the happiest students is natural sciences with an average happiness score of 3.62 out of five. Natural science degrees focus on understanding the natural world from a variety of perspectives including chemical, physical, mathematical, environmental and geological.  

In total there are 501 ranked universities offering natural science degrees. Once again, MIT hosts the top programme for this subject area. View the full QS World University Rankings by Subject: Natural Sciences.  

In the top three happiest subject areas to study at university is engineering with a score of 3.87 out of five. Engineering degrees are highly valued by graduate employers around the world and of all the subject areas surveyed engineering students are most optimistic about their future according to TheKnowledgeAcademy.  

There are many different types of engineering: chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical, aeronautical and environmental. In total, there are 520 ranked engineering schools around the world, including the best performing engineering school, MIT.  

View the best schools to study engineering here.  

Sports and exercise science students are the second happiest students according to TheKnowledgeAcademy’s survey. In the happiness survey these students rank their happiness as   4.07 out of five on average. In general, sport and exercise science students felt they have plenty of time to do their hobbies. 

The UK’s Loughborough University is the best university in the world to study sports related subjects of the 120 featured in the World University Rankings by Subject this year.  

View the best schools to study sports and exercise science here. 

The subject area with the happiest students is humanities, with a score of 4.23 out of five. Humanities degrees encompass history, classics, English literature and philosophy, amongst others. Humanities degrees help students gain a wealth of transferrable skills which can be applied to almost any graduate role.  

Of the 508 schools featured in the arts and humanities subject rankings, the UK’s University of Oxford is the best performing.  

View the best schools to study the humanities here. 

Main image: Brooke Cagle on Unsplash