ALMOST half the university students studying science, maths, technology and engineering do not think their course is relevant to Australian life, a study has found.

Commissioned by the Chief Scientist, Universities Australia surveyed first-year university students and found they expressed concern over the relevance and role of those disciplines in their lives and communities.

University courses are not relevant to life, students claim. Credit:Craig Abraham

They are disillusioned with the subject matter and the way it is taught.

It follows a report in December showing that the number of high school students taking science units has plummeted.

The report was a wake-up call, said the chief executive of Universities Australia, Professor Glenn Withers, and ''poses a risk to Australia's future as an innovative nation and an international leader in research''.

Science degrees are in greater demand, with more students applying for university, but they are gravitating more towards the health sciences as pure sciences lose favour.

''It is quite acceptable for people to say 'I was no good at maths' and that sets up a culture in which it's OK not to do well at maths and not like maths,'' said Will Morony, chief executive of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers.