Even as engineering, medicine, social sciences, humanities, and management degrees remain the top choices for international students, things are changing gradually on this front. The corporate world is evolving, and there is a corresponding change in demand for professionals with unique skills and backgrounds. If you want to capitalise on these opportunities, forging a unique career path is a wise move. Everything boils down to breaking away from the common courses and picking up a futuristic one that is likely to be in high demand in the industry.

While growing opportunities is one reason to opt for unique degrees as you study abroad, there is another valid reason to explore them. The number of students pursuing regular programmes is on a rise, which means that the competition in the job market will grow once you step into the landscape. It makes sense to do something different and carve a niche in a new field where you have to struggle less to get ahead. Here are the futuristic study abroad programmes you can consider as an international student.

ETHICAL HACKING

Cybersecurity is not confined to the IT industry anymore; it is also a part of the business world as data privacy and security become compliance requirements. Ethical hackers are cybersecurity specialists who help organizations to secure their networks by preventing and addressing security vulnerabilities. You can expect to draw high salaries in the profession and get job opportunities with global companies. The best international universities to pursue these programmes include:

• Coventry University, UK
• Dakota State University, USA
• West Herts College, UK
• Abertay University, UK

ECOTECHNOLOGY

Environmental studies have gained steam in recent years, and the pandemic has made it even more popular as a field of study. Ecotechnology programmes focus on the development of technologies and facilities that complement the sustainability of the ecosystem. It opens the doors to a futuristic career poised to make it big in the coming years. You can study these programmes at the following study abroad destinations.

• University of British Columbia, Canada
• University of Pennsylvania, USA
• University of Bristol, UK

BIOINFORMATICS

Bioinformatics is an up-and-coming field in biosciences that combines the biology and computer science disciplines. After completing the course, you will work in areas such as genetic and protein sequence analysis using data and analytics technology. The programme has bright prospects in the time of a global pandemic, and you can expect to make a lucrative career from it. Here are the top international universities offering the course:

• Carnegie Mellon University, USA
• Stanford University, USA
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• Duke University, USA

URBAN DESIGN AND PLANNING

If you want to pursue a career in the field of architecture, Urban Design and Planning can take you a step ahead of a conventional degree. It is an advanced specialisation that focuses on sustainable, functional, and appealing urban plans and designs. You will work on the design and arrangement of buildings, transport systems, public spaces, and everything else that comes under urban development. The top study abroad destinations for the course include:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• UCL. London, UK
• Harvard University, USA
• Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
• Politecnico di Milano, Italy

DATA SCIENCE AND AI

When it comes to listing the unique study abroad courses, you cannot miss out on Data Science and AI programmes. Even as the field has been popular since the last decade, it continues to be a preferred one even today. You can pick specialised courses in Data mining, Natural language processing, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence. A degree in either of the fields means you will never lack lucrative career opportunities. You can study the subjects in one of these universities.

• Carnegie Mellon University, USA
• Stanford University, USA
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• Harvard University, USA
• Yale University, USA

ECONOMETRICS

If you think beyond economics and statistics, this programme lets you study both. This distinct specialisation involves the use of statistical methods to create economic policies. Economists leverage econometrics to analyse the effects of specific financial and economic policies on the global economies. You can study it at both undergraduate and graduate levels and work in career roles such as economists, financial analysts, and data analysts with both government and organizational bodies. Here are your study abroad options for this field of study.

• Harvard University, USA
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• Stanford University, USA
• University of California, USA
• London School of Economics and Political Science, UK

GEMOLOGY

Another unconventional discipline you can pursue as an international student is gemology. A career as a gemologist is lucrative and exclusive, as you can expect to work for celebrities and high-worth customers. The programme teaches studying, valuing, and cutting precious stones, which require extreme precision and distinct artistic abilities. The top universities to pursue this degree include:

• George Brown College, Canada
• Birmingham City University, UK

Now that you know about these unique programmes and the international destinations where you can pursue them, you must definitely have them on your bucket list. Rest assured, the future is more promising than you can imagine.