77,100 Israeli residents received academic titles from institutions of higher education in Israel during the 5777 (2016/17) school year, according to a report issued on Wednesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), on the occasion of the end of the 5778 (2017/18) school year.
According to the report, 41,600 of the graduates came from universities, 25,800 from academic colleges, and 9,700 from education colleges.
5777 saw a 1.4% rise in the number of title recipients compared to the previous year. The number of first degree recipients rose by 0.5%, of second degrees by 3.7%, and of thirds degrees by 3.1%.
The most popular areas of study in 5777 were the social sciences and the humanities among first degree recipients, humanities, business and management sciences among second degree recipients, and nature sciences, math and agriculture among third degree recipients.
76.7% of first degree recipients completed their studies in four years.
Women were the majority among first and second degree recipients (60.7% and 63.2% respectively), and more than half of third degree recipients (53.1%). However, in all the disciplines related to engineering and architecture, women constituted less than half of the title recipients.
The percentage of Arabs among first degree recipients rose from 11% in 5776 (2015/16) to 11.9% in 5777 (2016/17). Among second degree recipients, Arabs rose from 9.3% to 9.9%. Among third degree recipients the same number of Arabs – 64, or 4.1% – remained.
In 5777 (2016/17), 2,700 Haredim (5.3%) received their first degree, and 2.2% their second degree.
