Chapter: 2 Science & Engineering Indicators 93
Bachelors Degrees in S& E
(Click here for footnote 21.)
Bachelors degree awards in science and engineering, like associate degrees, increased until the mid-1980s and then decreased for the rest of the decade. (See appendix table 2-19.) There were some variations by field, however. (See figure 2-12.)
- The absolute numbers of engineering degrees declined 4 percent annually from 1986 to 1991; this decrease partially reflected the declining college-age population.
- Natural science degrees declined slowly, at 2.5 percent annually, over a long time period (1977-89). There was a slight upturn in degrees in this field in 1991--the result of increasing numbers
of women obtaining degrees in natural science fields.
- The absolute numbers of mathematics/computer sciences degrees declined 7 percent annually from 1986 to 1991.
- Social science degrees declined 3 percent annually from 1975 to 1985, but have increased by more than 5 percent annually since 1985.
By subfield, there are still more variations in degree award patterns. (See figure 2-12.) The most dramatic of these variations is in the computer sciences, which dropped 10 percent annually between
1986 and 1991 after a long period of rapid growth. Awards in the biological and agricultural sciences declined slowly between 1978 to 1989, although there has been some growth in these subfields since then.
Footnote 21:
Data in this section are from the National Center for Education Statistics, Earned Degrees and Completions Surveys.
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