Data showed that health courses, including dental science, paramedicine, physiotherapy, veterinary biology, and nursing, were the most preferred undergraduate courses at CSU.

The top five preferred courses last year were nursing, paramedicine, physiotherapy, dental science and education (K-12).

A spokesperson said CSU has a mission to provide professionals for regional Australia and the world.

“These health disciplines are vital to our communities and students recognise the quality of their education at CSU and the confidence of employment after their graduation,” the spokesperson said.

The annual Good Universities Guide, which collects data on all Australian universities, in its recent report found that 83.9 per cent of CSU graduates find employment within four months of graduation.

This compares with the national average rate of full-time employment of 69.5 per cent.

Graduating students from CSU also earned more compared with the average Australian university graduate, with a median starting salary of $62,000 compared with $58,000.

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Data showed that agriculture science made it to the top 10 preferred courses this year, replacing criminal justice on the list.

CSU said its first preference count of 2127 (at the end of September) for the 2019 admissions cycle was stable compared with 2128 in 2018.

“Total preferences for CSU (preferences 1-5) have fallen by 6.1 per cent (down from 8666 for the 2018 admissions cycle to 8139 in 2019),” CSU said in a response to Fairfax Media.

“CSU's total preferences have not fallen by as much as the overall Universities Admission Centre (UAC) sector, therefore, CSU’s overall share of the UAC market has improved marginally this year, up from 3.3 to 3.4 per cent.”

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