Forget law, medicine or arts. The university course with one of the largest increases in popularity this year was music at the University of Melbourne.

There has been a 80 per cent increase in VCE students choosing the course as their first preference, making it the 23rd most popular course in the state.

Brandon Waterworth has been accepted into the Melbourne University music course. Credit:Eddie Jim

The stereotype of the struggling musician did little to deter the 354 school leavers who put down the course as their first preference in 2016, up from 196 the previous year.

Gary McPherson, director of the university's Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, said there was renewed interest in pursuing music as a career.