Enrollment on engineering and computing courses : Revista Pesquisa Fapesp

Between 2014 and 2023, the total number of students enrolling on undergraduate courses in Brazil grew from 3.11 million to 4.99 million

In the same period, the number enrolling in engineering and related fields decreased from 469,000 to 358,000, while in computing and related fields it grew from 146,000 to 473,000, thus surpassing engineering
In total, enrollment in these two technological areas increased over the period (from 615,000 to 831,000), although their percentage of the total fell (from 19.8% to 16.6%)

In both engineering and computer science (and related fields), there was a strong increase in the number of students enrolling via distance learning (DL). The same is true in almost all fields
In engineering, which offers a higher number of undergraduate programs, the number of new students enrolling in in-person courses decreased from 410,000 to 149,000 between 2014 and 2023. On distance-learning courses, however, it jumped from 13,000 to 155,000, surpassing enrollments in in-person bachelor’s degrees for the first time
In computer science and related fields, enrollment in in-person bachelor’s degree programs increased from 57,000 to 68,000 students; in distance-learning courses, it rose from 3,000 to 71,000 during the period. For associate degrees, the increase in face-to-face teaching was similar to bachelor’s degrees, but in distance-learning courses, it increased almost tenfold: from 29,000 to 263,000
In 2023, the private sector dominated the provision of distance learning in both areas (95% in engineering and 98% in computer science) and represented the majority for in-person courses (54% of enrollments in engineering and 70% in computer science)

Sources Microdata from The Higher Education Census, INEP/MEC | Prepared by FAPESP / DPCTA / GIP