As the year comes to a close, the academic choices of Indian students provide valuable insights into evolving educational trends and career aspirations. The courses most frequently opted for in 2025 reflect a mix of traditional disciplines and emerging fields.
While medicine, engineering, and management continue to attract large numbers of aspirants, newer areas such as data science, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and web design are gaining prominence. This year-end review highlights the top courses shaping student preferences and future opportunities.
In 2025, courses on generative AI, artificial intelligence, data science, and cybersecurity, among others, were the top choices of Indian learners, as analysed by indianexpress.com, based on the data shared by Simplilearn and Coursera, both digital learning platforms.
These are the most opted courses by Indians in 2025
These choices mirror enterprise hiring patterns, where AI-driven and security-centric skills are increasingly becoming baseline requirements rather than niche expertise.
Generative AI (GenAI), in particular, has witnessed a rapid surge in both investment and adoption across various sectors. Since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, investment flows into AI have increased nearly eightfold, according to the World Economic Forum report 2025, resulting in more students and working professionals taking up such courses.
Additionally, as shared by Coursera, GenAI dominated India’s learning patterns with the country recording three GenAI enrollments every minute – up from one every minute last year – contributing to more than 3.6 million enrollments, the highest globally.
Nearly 60 per cent of learners across all programmes came from India, followed by the US, positioning India as the largest contributor to global digital upskilling demand this year, informed Simplilearn.
Additionally, around 48 per cent of enrollers come with 8 to 15 years of professional experience, making them the dominant group in overall enrollments.
In terms of educational background, 57 per cent hold undergraduate degrees while 39 per cent possess master’s qualifications, highlighting that formal education alone is no longer sufficient to remain competitive, as professionals increasingly seek continuous learning opportunities to upgrade their skills and stay relevant in an evolving job market.
This surge in demand for advanced digital skills underscores a larger transformation in India’s workforce, where lifelong learning and continuous upskilling are becoming essential for career growth.
The popularity of courses in generative AI, cybersecurity, and data science reflects not only the changing priorities of learners but also the evolving needs of industries as they prepare for a technology-driven future. As India solidifies its position as a global hub for digital talent, these learning patterns are likely to shape both academic offerings and enterprise hiring strategies in the years to come.
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Additionally, as per the World Economic Forum Report 2025, 86 per cent of employers feel that AI and information processing technologies will likely drive business transformation with big data specialists, as the fastest-growing job in the world.