Israeli Students Shift Career Choices Toward Healthcare and Social Work
A new ISEF Foundation study of 21,000 scholarship applications shows Israeli students shifting away from computer science toward social work and healthcare.
A new analysis by the ISEF Foundation reveals significant shifts in higher education preferences among young Israelis. Based on nearly 21,000 scholarship applications collected over eight academic years, the study highlights a growing interest in care and healthcare professions, while computer science sees a noticeable decline.
Rise in Social Work and Healthcare
The data, covering the academic years from 2020-2021 to 2026-2027, points to evolving trends amid ongoing economic uncertainty and prolonged reserve duty. Social work has emerged as one of the most prominent gainers, with its share of total applications doubling from 3.2% to 6.1%. It remains the only study cluster where the number of applicants at the end of the period is higher than at the beginning.
Simultaneously, medicine and health professions increased from 9.6% to 12.7% of total applications. While the foundation notes that the data cannot directly establish a causal link to the war, the timing raises questions about how recent crises influence career choices in care-oriented fields.
Computer Science Declines, Engineering Holds Steady
In contrast to the healthcare sector, computer science and software studies dropped from 14.8% to 10.2% of total applications over the evaluated timeframe, marking a roughly one-third decrease in relative weight.
Engineering, however, continues to dominate as the largest single field of study among applicants, accounting for about a quarter of all submissions. While computer science continues its downward trajectory, engineering saw a modest 5% increase in the most recent full year.
"The challenge today is no longer just opening the gates of academia, but ensuring that young people entering it know how to choose and build a path that will lead them forward," said Galit Caspi Cohen, CEO of the ISEF Foundation.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the ISEF Foundation supports first-generation academics from underrepresented backgrounds. Caspi Cohen emphasized that in a world rapidly reshaped by artificial intelligence, academic institutions must impart soft skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities alongside technical knowledge to ensure true equal opportunity.
