During the 2019-2020 academic year, out of the 18,359 resident students who received student finance, 3,965 were studying economics, marking a steady upward progression over the past five years. Education was the second most-popular choice (1,308), although this subject saw a slight decline since its peak in 2017-2018 when 1,507 resident students were enrolled. The top six subjects are completed by engineering (1,349), medicine (1,145), law (1,071) and IT (809). Among non-resident students benefiting from student finance in Luxembourg, the most popular subjects were economics (3,608), engineering (1,424), law (958), IT (633), medicine (606) and education (482).

Germany remained the most popular destination for students (4,650 students), followed by Luxembourg (3,846) and Belgium (3,248). The Netherlands saw an impressive increase in student numbers from Luxembourg with 1,156 students last year.

The pandemic disrupted studies for a large number of students, particularly in Germany where up to four months of lectures were cancelled.

Luxembourg students union the ACEL coordinated with the student finance body Cedies to enable a supplementary semester grant for affected students. A higher education ministry spokesperson told Delano that any student enrolled in a university programme for 2019-2020 could benefit if needed. It means that if they are enrolled in a six-semester bachelor programme, they can receive aid for up to nine semesters.  

He said that currently around 115 students were in a situation where they needed the extension as a result of the covid-19 pandemic interruption.