About 336,350 students began the 2026 academic year on Sunday morning at 57 institutions of higher education across the country - an increase of about 2,000 students compared to the previous year.
According to data from the Council for Higher Education, engineering remains the most sought-after field in Israel, with about 37,600 students, representing roughly 18% of all undergraduates. However, the number of computer science students has declined.
At the same time, there has been a sharp rise in studies in data science, data engineering, and artificial intelligence. The number of students in these fields has quadrupled in just five years, reflecting the growing demand for the professions of the future.
With the opening of new medical faculties at the Weizmann Institute, Reichman University, and the University of Haifa, the number of medical students is expected to increase to 1,450 this year, up from 1,268 last year.
As in previous years, reserve soldiers will benefit from a dedicated relief program. Over the past year, about 70,000 students served in the reserves, and their dropout rate was lower than the national average.
Meanwhile, the student unions at Ben-Gurion University and the Open University announced a strike in protest of the draft plan. Tel Aviv University decided to postpone its planned strike until the final version of the law is presented to the Knesset.