New Research Identifies Higher Education's "Next Five" Academic Fields for Colleges and Universities to Strengthen Enrollment

The Eduventures® Admitted Student 2026 Trend Report Examines the Academic Areas Shaping Student Interest Beyond the Most Popular Majors and How Institutions Can Make Student Outcomes More Visible.

BOSTON, Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Encoura®, an industry-leading educational technology, marketing, and research organization, announced today the recent publication of the Eduventures Admitted Student 2026 Trend Report: Beyond the Big Five: Exploring Majors Outside the Mainstream. This year's report examines five academic areas that rank just below higher education's five most prominent fields of student interest and offers strategies to help institutions strengthen enrollment across their full academic portfolio.

Drawing on more than 42,000 responses from high school seniors participating in the last three years of Eduventures Admitted Student Research, the report focuses on the "Next Five" Fields – the five academic fields that follow the "Big Five" as the most popular academic fields of student interest. The research explores which students choose these fields (including the students' college type preferences, demographics, and college goals) and how institutions can improve enrollment in a competitive market by better communicating the pathways and outcomes associated with them.

While the "Big Five" Fields — Biology, Business, Computer Science, Engineering, and Health Professions — have benefited from clear career pathways, employer pipelines, and highly visible outcomes, this year's report finds that students in other academic areas are also pursuing meaningful forms of return on investment.

Key Findings:

• The Next Five Fields – Visual and Performing Arts, Psychology, Education, Social Sciences, and Physical Sciences – represent the next tier of academic interest among admitted students.
• Psychology, Education, Visual and Performing Arts, and Social Sciences all rank among the top 10 areas for current student enrollment, affirming the continued importance of academic fields outside the Big Five.
• Students across the Next Five Fields have distinct motivations, expectations, and enrollment drivers, creating a need for more tailored recruitment and yield strategies.
• Students in these fields are outcomes-oriented in their own way, often measuring value through human impact, community contribution, and long-horizon careers.
• The outcomes stories of these fields have not always been communicated as clearly or consistently as those associated with the Big Five. Career visibility can shape which students consider, and ultimately choose, an academic field, with clearer occupational pathways helping a wider range of students see themselves in those careers.

"These academic fields and other areas outside the Big Five play an important role in the academic fabric of many institutions," said Emily Ross, Eduventures senior analyst and primary author of this report. "The challenge for enrollment teams today is helping students and families see where these fields can lead and making the value of those pathways as visible as possible."

The report encourages institutions to build stronger narratives around academic areas that may not have an immediately obvious career pathway. That includes making alumni outcomes, employer partnerships, faculty mentorship, graduate school opportunities, and varied career destinations more visible to prospective students and families.

The findings also point to the importance of student success infrastructure. Storytelling alone cannot establish an outcomes advantage; institutions must help create the pathways and support systems that enable students to achieve meaningful outcomes and then make those outcomes tangible to prospective students.

To learn more about the Eduventures Admitted Student Research, including participation opportunities for colleges and universities, please visit encoura.org/asr.

Members of the media who would like to speak to the author of this report or obtain a copy of the full report can contact Todd Boullion at [email protected].

About Encoura, LLC

Encoura is an educational technology, marketing, and research organization serving thousands of higher education institutions across the nation. Since 1972, Encoura has been a leading provider of strategic consulting, data science, and engagement solutions that connect institutions to the communities they serve. In 2025 and 2026, Encoura expanded its capabilities with its acquisition of Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) and Anthology's Lifecycle Engagement and Student Success portfolio. This combined expertise now spans enrollment, marketing, student success, alumni relations, and advancement, providing institutions with comprehensive solutions to achieve their goals throughout the student lifecycle.

For more information, visit https://encoura.org.

Members of the media can contact Todd Boullion at [email protected].

SOURCE Encoura