The research, commissioned by Australia's chief scientist, Ian Chubb, shows the number of university science enrolments at all course year levels has stagnated in the past decade, while health, management and commerce enrolments have leapt ahead.

Professor Chubb commissioned the research, to be released today, to reinforce a report he is preparing to deliver to the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, in coming weeks on how to boost the number of science graduates.

The research, prepared by University of Helsinki and Monash University researcher Ian Dobson, shows that enrolments in science courses at all year levels, and by Australian and international students, grew by 18,257 more places in 2010 than 2002 levels, to 78,858. In the same period, health enrolments grew by 66,293 places to 162,611 places and management and commerce enrolments grew by 96,719 enrolments to 325,508 enrolments.

''Technical growth and innovation tends not to come from accountants,'' Dr Dobson said. ''It comes from the people with skills in the enabling sciences like chemistry, maths and physics.''

The report found that compared with an overall increase of 33 per cent in university enrolments, enrolments at all year levels in science had risen by 30.1 per cent.

''Superficially, therefore, this seemed like a very positive outcome, but the reality was that this apparently positive state of affairs masked a long-term decline in uptake of what are generally known as 'the enabling sciences' of chemistry, mathematics and physics,'' the report found.

''The apparent expansion in 'science' came from an expansion in the behavioural and biological sciences, and even in the 'non-sciences.'''

Dr Dobson said the Rudd government's discount HECS scheme for maths and science students had been starting to generate more undergraduate domestic enrolments in the subjects, and the decision in November by Ms Gillard to abolish it for new students from 2013 - saving $403.6 million over three years - was a mistake.

''These things take time. It takes a generation, but you just can't do it in the political timeframe,'' he said.

But the Grattan Institute's higher education program director, Andrew Norton, a former adviser to University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis and former federal education minister David Kemp, said the HECS discount policy had been a needless waste of money.

''Obviously, [the Dobson report] is about enrolments and not whether there is any evidence that the supply of science graduates is inadequate to demand,'' Mr Norton said.

He issued a note of caution about the Dobson report's findings, saying the number of Australian students applying to begin an undergraduate course in science - compared with the number of Australian and international students enrolled at all levels - had actually risen in recent years.

Mr Norton said when new applications were considered, the sector had grown from 13,795 new applications in 2008 to 19,661 last year.

''In the last few years, there's been a surge in applications for science but the areas where we are suffering labour market need are health and, to a lesser extent, various engineering courses.''

The Dobson report also signalled that the information technology bubble has well and truly burst, with enrolments falling by 34.5 per cent between 2002 and 2010, to 48,068 (less 25,334 places than 2002).