Family background and the likelihood of pursuing a university degree abroad: heterogeneity in educational fields

Abstract

This article examines how the likelihood of pursuing higher education abroad varies with social background and how such possible variations differ across educational fields. We use comprehensive Norwegian population data which allow for examining two dimensions of family background: parents’ education level and income. Our analytical sample comprises five cohorts of first-time students aged 19–24 years. We confirm previous findings that students who study abroad come from families with highly educated parents. Additionally, we find that students abroad have wealthier parents. Interestingly, the relationships between the likelihood of studying abroad and family background differ across educational fields. The probability of studying business and administration abroad increases with both parental income and parental education level, whereas it only increases with parental income for fine arts students. For medical students, family background does not correlate with the probability of studying abroad after controlling for grades from upper secondary.