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Applications for places on post-graduate courses have jumped by nearly a quarter as people shy away from a tough job market clouded by economic gloom.
The University of Auckland reports a 24 per cent rise in applications for post-graduate study over last year - and a 12 per cent rise for courses across the board.
Deputy vice-chancellor Raewyn Dalziel has compared enrolment numbers to unemployment rates over the past decade and says there is a clear correlation between rising unemployment and higher numbers of university students. It is most evident this year.
Enhancing qualifications is "something that people do in a recession", Professor Dalziel said.
Statistics New Zealand figures in November put the national unemployment rate at 4.2 per cent, the highest in five years.
Professor Dalziel said interest was high in the vocationally oriented faculties such as education, business, medicine and health, and creative arts and industries.
There was a marked increase in applications to study for the post-graduate diploma in teaching. Numbers were also strong in nursing, pharmacy, architecture at a post-graduate level and commerce at both under-graduate and post-graduate levels.
Interest from foreign students was also higher than last year. The low Kiwi dollar was boosting international applications, Professor Dalziel said.
A number of factors were responsible for the spike in applications from permanent New Zealand residents, referred to as domestic students. Professor Dalziel said there was a slight increase in the number of school leavers and in the number of students gaining University Entrance through NCEA.
The global economic crisis could be deterring students from taking a "gap" year to travel straight after school. It could also be forcing Aucklanders to stay at home to study rather than moving to Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin.
Auckland University of Technology reported an increase in the number of applications this year but said it was too early to know whether that could be attributed to a rise in interest in tertiary education as a result of the credit crunch.
Manukau Institute of Technology, which is geared towards "job-ready training", said its enrolments were tracking ahead of the past three year averages.
Unitec chief executive Rick Ede said applications to enrol were about 20 per cent higher than in 2008. Unitec was seeing a rise in multiple programme applications.
Dr Ede said it was not possible to link the increase in applications to specific economic conditions, but added: "Anecdotally it is likely that the economic downturn will lead to an increase in people returning to training."
