The University of Sydney has remained the top preference for school-leavers beginning tertiary studies next year, while the University of Technology Sydney has overtaken UNSW Sydney as the second-most popular university for school leavers in NSW.

More than 38,000 students on Monday received university offers for study in 2020. The University of Sydney made 6156 of these, a figure that a spokesperson said included 740 more places than last year due to its increased share of preferences.

This included almost tripling the number of offers made for its space engineering degree, and introducing up to 80 per cent more places in some of its combined Advanced Studies courses, which began in 2018.

"In the last few years we’ve undertaken an ambitious reform program to transform our undergraduate offering and create closer ties with industry," vice chancellor Michael Spence said. "It’s pleasing that our continued focus on improvement has also led to this increased demand from the highest achieving students in the country."