The table illustrates the distribution of students across six departments – English, Physics, Chemistry, Modern Languages, History, and Mathematics – at an Australian university in 2009. The data is broken down by gender and the students’ country of origin, indicated by mother tongue and birthplace.
A notable gender imbalance is apparent. Female students significantly outnumbered males in the humanities departments. English had the highest female representation at 67%, followed by Modern Languages (63%) and History (58%). In contrast, the science departments exhibited a predominantly male student body, with Physics showing the lowest female percentage at 37%, followed by Chemistry (29%) and Mathematics (42%).
The proportion of international students, defined as those whose mother tongue is not English, varied considerably across disciplines. Modern Languages displayed the highest percentage (41%), while History had the lowest (10%). A similar pattern is observed for students born outside Australia, with Modern Languages again showing the highest proportion (45%), and History the lowest (18%). Physics (38% and 44%), Chemistry (32% and 47%), and Mathematics (36% and 43%) had comparable percentages for mother tongue and birthplace respectively.
In conclusion, the data highlights a strong correlation between subject area and both gender and international student representation. Humanities-based departments attracted a significantly higher proportion of female and international students compared to science-based departments.