There were 5,458 graduates with 5,488 graduations at the tertiary level of education during the 2021-2022 school year, around 240 more than in the previous year (4.6%). Never before has the number of graduations with a master’s degree been higher, or 1,807. An increase of 5.0% from the previous year.
There were 2,826 graduations with a first tertiary degree, 671 graduations with a diploma after a bachelor’s degree and 89 completed the Ph.D. degree. As in recent years, females were around two out of three graduates with a tertiary degree, or 67.8%.
Decreasing completion rate in tertiary education
The completion rate shows the number of students who have graduated within ten years of entering tertiary education for the first time. In the autumn of 2012, there were 4,096 new entrants in tertiary education in Iceland. Ten years later 62.6% of those entrants had graduated from tertiary education. The completion rate has been decreasing since 2008, when it was the highest. In that year, 73.1% of new entrants in 1998 had graduated in those ten years. Every year that Statistics Iceland has computed the completion rate, the proportion of females graduating has been higher than the proportion of male students.
The majority of graduates from the tertiary level had no foreign background
The vast majority of graduates from the tertiary level in 2021-2022 had no foreign background, or almost 83% of graduates. Never before have more immigrants graduated from programmes at the tertiary level, excluding doctoral studies. They were 462 during the 2021-2022 school year, 8.6% of graduates, an increase of 79 from the previous year. According to the definition used by Statistics Iceland, immigrants are those who were born abroad and have parents who were born abroad. Most foreign students fall into this category, even if it is not known if they plan to stay on in Iceland or not.
At the doctoral level, graduates with no foreign background were 58.4% while immigrants were more than 37% of doctors. In some cases, these immigrants are foreign students who complete their doctoral degree in cooperation between Icelandic and foreign universities.
Fewer graduates at the upper secondary level but more at the post-secondary non-tertiary level
Overall, 5,306 students graduated with 6,286 graduations from the upper secondary level of education during the school year 2021-2022, 241 less than in the previous year (-4.3%). In addition, 956 students graduated from the post-secondary non-tertiary level of education. Never before have more students graduated from this level in one school year.
More than six out of ten students completing the matriculation exam under the age of twenty
There were 3,383 graduates from 35 upper secondary schools with a matriculation exam during the 2021-2022 school year, 334 fewer than in the previous year (-9.0%). More than six out of ten (61.2%) graduates with a matriculation exam were 19 years old or younger, but 13.2% were 20 years old. The proportion of graduates under the age of 20 has increased sharply in recent years, due to changes in the requirements which shorten the time needed to complete this examination from four years to three. On the other hand, the proportion of graduates who finish when they are 20 years old has fallen since this change was made but was almost unchanged in 2021-2022 from the previous year.
More graduates with the journeyman’s exam and vocational certificates at the upper secondary level
In 2021-2022, there were 692 graduations with the journeyman’s exam, 35 more than in the previous year (5.3%). In addition, the number of graduations with a school certificate from the certified trades increased from 842 to 868. Graduated masters of a certified trade were 336, never more. There was an increase in the number of graduations among those who completed various vocational certificates at the upper secondary level, but they were 630, 56 more than in the previous year (9.8%). Also, there were 641 graduations with a diploma of competence, which are diplomas that do not give the right to work in a particular occupation. Examples of these programmes are various art programmes, school assistants and programmes in the fishing industry at the upper secondary level.
More than six out of ten students completing the journeyman’s exam 25 years old or older
The difference in ages among those who complete the matriculation exam and the journeyman's exam is notable. Both exams are final exams at the upper secondary level at level three in the national qualification’s framework. While more than 60% of those who completed the matriculation exam were under the age of twenty (see figure 2 above), more than 60% of those who graduated with the journeyman’s exam were 25 years old or older, and almost one out of four graduates was 35 years old and older. It should be noted that commonly the matriculation exam consists of 200 credits, where 30 credits are considered to be a full study load for one semester. Studies for the journeyman’s exam take longer, it is expected to take four years to complete in many lines of study and can be more than 260 credits. Also, students usually spend a part of their study time in practical training in the workplace.
Statistics
Universities
Upper secondary schools