Last year, significantly more students obtained Bachelor's and Master's degrees than in the previous year. The number of doctorates in chemistry courses also increased - only in biochemistry did it remain roughly at the same level as the previous year. However, fewer young people chose to study chemistry in 2021 than in 2020, according to the annual statistics for chemistry degree courses published by the German Chemical Society (GDCh). The proportion of job-seeking graduates and those who initially accepted temporary positions remained at a low level.
In total, 8233 people decided to study chemistry last year (2020: 9384 people). The number of students who completed a chemistry degree course with a Master's degree or the First State Examination rose to 3727 (2020: 3244), as did the number of doctorates, which increased from 2104 in 2020 to 2231 in the reporting year.
The results for the individual degree programs were as follows:
- In chemistry/economic chemistry, the universities reported 5129 first-year students (2020: 5671). 2431 students (2020: 2037) successfully completed their Bachelor's degree, 2219 received their Master's degree (2020: 1956). The median duration of study was 6.9 semesters until the Bachelor's degree (2020: 6.9) and 5.1 semesters until the Master's degree (2020: 5.0). In 2021, 1972 people obtained a doctorate in chemistry/economic chemistry (2020: 1838). The median duration of the doctorate was 8.2 semesters (2020: 8.2).
- In biochemistry and life sciences, 1644 people began their studies (2020: 1852). The number of Bachelor's degrees rose to 992 (2020: 745) and the number of Master's degrees to 842 (2020: 732). The number of doctorates fell slightly to 209 in 2021 (2020: 214). The duration of study increased, with a median of 6.7 semesters for Bachelor's degrees (2020: 6.6), 5.1 semesters for Master's degrees (2020: 4.9) and 9.3 semesters for doctorates (2020: 8.9).
- In food chemistry, the number of first-year students fell from 466 in the previous year to 390. A total of 214 students passed the main examination A (1st state examination) or the diploma examination (2020: 148) and 157 passed the main examination B (2nd state examination) (2020: 145). In addition, the universities reported 211 Bachelor's and 155 Master's degrees (2020: 144 and 110 respectively). The number of doctorates fell to 50 (2020: 52).
- At universities of applied sciences (HAW), 1070 people began studying chemistry, significantly fewer than in the previous year (2020: 1395). The number of Bachelor's degrees also fell to 696 (2020: 731), while the number of Master's degrees rose to 452 (2020: 408). However, it should be noted that only 20 of the 24 universities of applied sciences contacted provided their figures in the reporting year.
99% of all Bachelor's graduates at universities and 77% at UASs went on to study for a Master's degree. Around 84.7% of Master's graduates at universities began a doctorate. This figure is still lower than the long-term average (90 %).
44% of graduates with a doctorate in chemistry are known to have taken their first step into professional life. According to university data, around 34% took up a position in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry (2020: 38%), 21% (2020: 20%) took up a temporary position in Germany (incl. postdoc). 14% worked in the rest of the economy after graduation (2020: 12%) and 13% took up a position abroad after graduation (2020: 11%). Around 6% of graduates held a position in the public sector (2020: 4%). At the time of the survey, 7% were considered job seekers (2020: 10%).
The proportion of jobseekers is roughly in line with the figures for 2006-2013 (between 7 % and 10 %). As in every year, the number of "genuine" jobseekers is likely to be slightly lower. Due to the cut-off date of the survey on December 31, graduates who start their new job in January or February are still recorded as jobseekers.
