A Response to the Institute of Fiscal Studies Report 

What is the ‘value’ of a degree? 

Yesterday, BBC News ran with the headline ‘Find out which university degrees could earn you most across your lifetime’, highlighting a new report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS). The report estimated that those who studied medicine at university will be £408,000 better off over their lifetime for having done so, whereas those who undertook degrees in the creative arts or performing arts will be in a deficit of £43,000. Whilst we recognise that it is vital to have all the information in order to make informed decisions about education and industry, Music Mark think that it is important to unravel this narrative and help provide another viewpoint that can offer a more balanced perspective on career choices, particularly where music is concerned. 

Why do a degree? 

Firstly, it is important to note that this report was commissioned by the Department for Education. With the post-16 government white paper having clearly indicated an overwhelming preference for all higher education programmes to be primarily for national economic benefit, it emphasises the rhetoric that universities are now being seen as commercial enterprises with the primary interest of feeding industry. Music Mark see higher education as a means to fostering curiosity, exploring, enjoyment, furthering oneself and finding a sense of purpose, and the arts and humanities are ideal vehicles for this. You might recall that only in June 2025, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy MP, said the following about the creative industries ‘The UK’s creative output, our creative history and our future creative potential are unmatched.’ The UK Music ‘This is Music 2025’ report shows that the ‘UK music’s contribution to the UK economy in 2024 hit a record £8 billion in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA)’. Like many, we are deeply concerned about what the implications of this line in particular might be: ‘The DfE said the government had outlined plans to draw up options to limit the growth of some courses at some providers, where there are consistently “poor returns for students”’.  

Looking deeper: thinking about money and value 

It also raises the question of ‘value’, and whether something’s worth can be judged entirely in monetary terms. Anyone who has worked in a job that they despise knows the importance of job satisfaction, wellbeing, work-life balance, and focusing entirely on income negates the purpose of a profession and ignores that people may have chosen their careers due to a passion or the suitability for their own lifestyle and priorities. Similarly, for many young people, higher education is more than a means to access a well-paid job, offering opportunities to develop independence, expand social and cultural horizons and create a sense of self. This may not always be economically advantageous, but the other associated value cannot be underplayed. The report also foregoes mention of the role of economic background, parental professions and schooling in subject choice, diminishing the wider factors such as supplementary financial support, parental influence and specialist schools. The Medical School’s Council report from 2024 shows that only 14% of medical school entrants came from the most deprived areas (IMD Q1), double the 6% of the previous year, meaning that a career in medicine is not accessible to all.  

Individuality 

This report also begs the question, is everyone capable of doing a medical degree and, if so, who is going to build the hospitals that they work in, serve the food, administrate the systems, provide enrichment and arts activities, and manage the staff? If we have a surplus of highly trained medical staff, will this result in an oversupply and decrease in salary? It may be more personally financially beneficial for people to study law, engineering, economics or business at university, but does that mean that we all can, or should? Variety is vital to ensure that society works collaboratively and that all areas of life are best served. Yes, it may mean that you do not need to go to university to study a subject in order to enter that field, but where is the recognition that it may be fulfilling, cognitively challenging and enriching? Studying a subject at university does not mean that you are only limited to pursuing it as a career and the arts offer a wealth of transferable skills for those who choose to take up other opportunities. Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, is quoted by saying that some degree choices are “not motivated by money”, which appears to be an unpopular notion at present. 

Missing Context 

There is a much wider context missing here, given that this data has been taken from those gaining GCSEs in 2002 and that this demographic has been in the workforce through several major banking collapses and periods of recession, not to mention the pandemic which impacted self-employed workers and the arts disproportionately. These circumstances have had significant impacts on the arts and humanities sectors, alongside recurrent budget cuts and governmental sidelining. We are also staring down the barrel of overwhelming Artificial Intelligence, with more knowledge-based degrees potentially being obsolete due to changes in the working landscape, and the arts and humanities (the clue is in the name…) growing in relevance as they are more ‘human’ and able to achieve what technology cannot.  

The report neatly includes a footnote stating: ‘Importantly, we do not consider potential non-financial impacts such as on marriage, fertility, social networks, health, happiness or job satisfaction, which may constitute an important part of the private return to HE, nor any potential spillovers to others of having a more educated population.’ Perhaps this is the report that we really need. Rather than looking at these statistics as a reason to discourage those who are passionate about the arts and humanities from pursuing further study or cutting courses, they should demonstrate to the government that additional support and investment is needed to strengthen industries which add life, culture, pleasure and interest to an otherwise entirely functional, but bland, nation.  

Kerry Bunkhall, Research & Data Manager at Music Mark