A fortune by degrees

It is a sum that could prompt potential students to consider their subject choices very carefully.

The earning power of a degree is today shown to vary by more than £300,000 depending on the discipline studied at university.

Science and engineering graduates tend to be the biggest earners, with medics bringing in an extra £340,315 during their working lives.

In contrast, over their careers arts graduates earn on average only an additional £34,494 than classmates with just A-levels.

There is even evidence to suggest men with arts degrees would be wealthier if they had given university a miss altogether.

For the average graduate, additional gross earnings over a lifetime are calculated at £160,061 - significantly less than the £400,000 figure

trumpeted by the Government as justification for raising tuition fees to £3,000 a year.

Even ministers now accept the sum wildly over- estimates the earning power of a degree.

Universities UK, which commissioned the PricewaterhouseCoopers research, said the new figure was "the most accurate we think we can get".

But the university bosses' group pointed out that the £160,000 earnings figure - which gives £120,000 after tax - was still 20 to 25 per cent higher than for those with just A-levels.

The research by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers does not break down graduate earnings by sex. However, a Warwick University study cited in the report did examine the gender gap - and found a negative earnings premium for male arts graduates.

For women, it was positive but still lower than for all other disciplines.

For today's report, analysts used data from nearly a million workers to calculate graduates' lifetime earnings compared with those whose highest qualifications are A-levels.

They came up with figures varying between £340,315 extra for medicine and dentistry and £34,494 for arts subjects, which include design, fine art and drama.

However, these sums fail to take into account the actual cost of doing a degree - the lost earning opportunities during the period of study and the amount paid in tuition fees.

Figures for the overall "rate of return" suggest that law students reap the biggest rewards for their investment, at 17.2 per cent per year, closely followed by those who studied management, on 16.9 per cent. The average is 12.1 per cent.

The research, conducted in association with the London Economics consultancy, also claimed a surge in the number of graduates over the past 20 years had failed to dent the earnings premium.

This was because demand for graduates had risen in tandem with their increased numbers.

The report also concluded that a university education was linked with a range of non-financial benefits - including lower rates of obesity and depression.

Diana Warwick, chief executive of Universities UK, said: "Higher education is still clearly a worthwhile investment for the individual."