Science and Engineering Indicators 2014

Chapter 2. Higher Education in Science and Engineering

Graduate education in S&E contributes to global competitiveness, producing the highly skilled workers of the future and the research needed for a knowledge-based economy. This section includes indicators related to graduate enrollment; recent trends in the number of earned degrees in S&E fields; and participation by women, minorities, and foreign students in graduate education in U.S. academic institutions.

Graduate Enrollment by Field

S&E graduate enrollment in the United States increased between 2000 and 2011 to more than 600,000 (appendix table 2-24).^[32] Graduate enrollment grew considerably in most S&E fields, particularly in engineering and in the biological and the social sciences (where most of the growth is accounted for by the increase of graduate enrollment in political science and public administration). Graduate enrollment in computer sciences grew rapidly in the early 2000s, then decreased through 2006, but it has generally increased since then.

Graduate enrollment in engineering grew between 2000 and 2011. Although the rate of growth slowed somewhat in 2011, the number of full-time engineering students reached a new peak in that year (appendix table 2-25).

The number of full-time students enrolled for the first time in S&E graduate departments is an indicator of developing trends. Despite some drops in first-time, full-time enrollment in engineering and computer sciences in the early to mid-2000s, this indicator has increased fairly steadily in most broad S&E fields, particularly between 2008 and 2011. In 2011, the number of first-time, full-time S&E graduate students reached a new peak in most S&E fields (appendix table 2-26).

First-time, full-time graduate enrollment, particularly in engineering and to some extent in computer sciences, often follows trends in employment opportunities. When employment opportunities are plentiful, recent graduates often forgo graduate school, but when employment opportunities are scarce, further training in graduate school may be perceived as a better option. Figure 2-20 shows trends in unemployment rates and trends in first-time, full-time graduate enrollment in engineering and computer sciences. Enrollment in S&E fields that offer fewer employment opportunities at the bachelor’s level (e.g., biological sciences) does not follow this trend. According to data from the NSRCG, the proportion of recent S&E bachelor’s recipients who were taking classes or enrolled full-time in a degree program after obtaining their degree increased to about 30% among those who graduated in 2008 and 2009, up from about 25% among those who graduated earlier in the decade.^[33]

Graduate Enrollment by Sex

In 2011, 46% of the S&E graduate students enrolled in the United States were women (appendix table 2-24). The proportions of women graduate students enrolled in S&E differed considerably by field, with the lowest proportions in engineering, computer sciences, and physical sciences. Women constituted the majority of graduate students in psychology, medical and other health sciences, biological sciences, and social sciences, and they were half or close to half of graduate students in agricultural sciences and earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences. Among the social sciences, economics has an unusually low proportion of women. Except for computer sciences and physical sciences, in most of these broad fields, the proportion of women enrolled increased between 2000 and 2005–07, but it has remained fairly stable since then. The proportion of women enrolled in graduate programs in computer sciences peaked in 2000 and has decreased since then. In the physical sciences, the proportion of women increased gradually in the last two decades, from 25% in 1991 to 33% in 2011 (for earlier data, see NSB 2008).

Graduate Enrollment of Underrepresented Groups

In 2011, among U.S. citizens and permanent residents, underrepresented minority students (blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians and Alaska Natives) accounted for 17% of students enrolled in graduate S&E programs (appendix table 2-27). The proportion of underrepresented minorities was highest in psychology and the social sciences (23%), medical and other health sciences (19%), and computer sciences (15%); it was lowest in the earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences (9%) and the physical sciences (10%). Between 2000 and 2011, the proportion of underrepresented minorities enrolled has increased in all broad S&E fields, in particular in psychology and computer sciences.

In 2011, whites accounted for about 65% of S&E graduate enrollment among U.S. citizens and permanent residents. They constituted a larger proportion of graduate students enrolled in agricultural sciences and in earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences (about 80%) and a smaller proportion of those enrolled in computer sciences and social sciences (about 60%). The proportions of whites in other fields fell in between. Over time, however, the proportion of whites among graduates enrolled in S&E has declined in all broad S&E fields except for computer sciences, where the proportion of whites increased slightly, from 58% in 2000 to 60% in 2011.

Asians and Pacific Islanders accounted for 9% of S&E graduate enrollment among U.S. citizens and permanent residents in 2011, with larger proportions in computer sciences (14%), engineering (13%), the biological and medical sciences (about 12% and 11%, respectively) and a lower proportion in the agricultural sciences (3%); earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences (4%); psychology (5%); and the social sciences (6%). Between 2000 and 2011, the proportion of Asians and Pacific Islanders enrolled increased slightly in most broad fields, but it declined in computer sciences (from 21% in 2000 to 14% in 2011).

About 20% of graduate students reporting a disability were enrolled in S&E fields. Nearly two-thirds of those in S&E fields were men; nearly 90% were 24 years old or older (NSF/NCSES 2013a).

Foreign Graduate Enrollment

In 2011, nearly 174,000 foreign students on temporary visas were enrolled in S&E graduate programs (appendix table 2-27). The concentration of foreign enrollment was highest in computer sciences, engineering, physical sciences, mathematics/statistics, chemistry, and economics.^[34]

Following a post-9/11 decline, the numbers of first-time, full-time foreign graduates enrolled increased more or less consistently in most broad fields through 2011 (appendix table 2-26). Declines and subsequent increases were concentrated in engineering and computer sciences, the fields heavily favored by foreign students. However, between 2000 and 2011, foreign students’ share of first-time, full-time S&E graduate enrollment dropped in other broad fields, particularly in the physical sciences (from 43% to 40%) and the social sciences (from 29% to 24%).

According to data collected by the Institute of International Education (IIE), the overall number of foreign graduate students in all fields increased by 1% from academic year 2010–11 to 2011–12 (IIE 2012). The number of new foreign graduate students increased by 3%. India, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Canada were the top originating locations for foreign graduate students, similar to the leading foreign sources for undergraduate enrollment.

More recent data from SEVIS show an overall 3% increase in foreign graduate students from November 2011 to November 2012 in all fields (appendix table 2-28, table 2-11).^[35] In 2012, nearly 60% of all foreign students in graduate programs at U.S. institutions were enrolled in S&E fields. Between fall 2011 and fall 2012, the number of foreign graduate students enrolled in S&E fields was stable, with declines in the numbers of foreign students in computer sciences (5%), biological sciences (4%), and engineering (2%) offset by increases in mathematics (11%), social sciences (7%), and psychology (4%). China and India continued to account for about 61% of the foreign S&E graduates in the United States in November 2012; however, between fall 2011 and fall 2012, the number of S&E foreign students from China increased, whereas the number of foreign students from India declined. South Korea, Taiwan, and Canada also sent large numbers of S&E graduate students, although these economies sent larger numbers of graduate students in non-S&E fields, primarily business and the humanities.

S&E Master’s Degrees

In some fields, such as engineering and geosciences, a master’s degree can be a terminal degree that fully prepares students for an established career track. In other fields, master’s degrees primarily mark a step toward doctoral degrees. Master’s degrees awarded in S&E fields increased from about 96,000 in 2000 to about 151,000 in 2011, with growth concentrated in two periods, 2002–04 and 2007–11 (appendix table 2-29).^[36] Increases occurred in all major science fields. Master’s degrees awarded in engineering and computer sciences declined between 2004 and 2007, but they have since increased. The number of master’s degrees awarded in engineering in 2011 was the highest in the last 12 years; in the case of computer sciences, the number of master’s degrees awarded in 2011 was near its peak in 2004 (figure 2-21). During this 12-year period, growth was particularly high in engineering, psychology, and political science and public administration (appendix table 2-29). Both students and institutions are concerned that success rates in completing master’s degrees are too low (see sidebar, “Master’s Completion and Attrition in S&E”).

In 2012, the Commission on Pathways through Graduate School and into Careers, a 14-member commission composed of industry leaders and university executives, led a research effort to understand the different career paths students may take and to modernize graduate education by emphasizing skills that align more closely with workforce needs (Wendler et al. 2012).^[37] Professional science master’s degree programs, which stress interdisciplinary training, are part of this relatively new direction in graduate education (for details, see sidebar, “Professional Science Master’s Degrees”).

Master’s Degrees by Sex

The number of S&E master’s degrees earned by both men and women rose between 2000 and 2011 (figure 2-22). In 2000, women earned 43% of all S&E master’s degrees; by 2011, they earned 45% (appendix table 2-29). Among U.S. citizens and permanent residents, women earned nearly half of all S&E master’s degrees; among temporary residents, women earned about one-third of all S&E master’s degrees (NSF/NCSES 2013a).

Women’s share of S&E master’s degrees varies by field. As with bachelor’s degrees, in 2011, women earned a majority of master’s degrees in psychology, biological sciences, agricultural sciences, and most social sciences except economics, but low proportions of master’s degrees in engineering, computer sciences, and physics. Women’s share of master’s degrees in engineering in 2011, however, was slightly higher than their share in 2000 (appendix table 2-29). The number of master’s degrees awarded to women in most major S&E fields increased fairly consistently throughout the last decade. In computer sciences, the numbers increased through 2004, then declined sharply through 2007, but they have increased consistently since then.

Master’s Degrees by Race and Ethnicity

The number of S&E master’s degrees awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents increased for all racial and ethnic groups between 2000 and 2011 (figure 2-23; appendix table 2-30).^[38]

The proportion of master’s degrees in S&E fields earned by U.S. citizens and permanent residents from underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities increased slightly between 2000 and 2011. The trends are not very different from those found in the data on bachelor’s degree awards among racial and ethnic groups. Blacks accounted for 10% of S&E master’s degree recipients in 2011, up from 8% in 2000; Hispanics accounted for 8%, up from 5%; and American Indians and Alaska Natives accounted for 0.5%, similar to the proportion in 2000. The proportion of Asian and Pacific Islander S&E recipients also remained flat in this period.

The percentage of S&E master’s degrees earned by white students fell from 70% in 2000 to 61% in 2011, whereas the percentage of degrees earned by blacks, Hispanics, and temporary residents increased. The proportion of S&E master’s degrees recipients of other or unknown race doubled between 2000 and 2011, to 12% (appendix table 2-30).

Master’s Degrees by Citizenship

Foreign students make up a much higher proportion of S&E master’s degree recipients than of bachelor’s or associate’s degree recipients. In 2011, foreign students earned more than one-quarter of S&E master’s degrees. Their degrees were heavily concentrated in computer sciences, economics, and engineering, where they received more than 4 out of 10 of all master’s degrees awarded in 2011 (appendix table 2-30). Within engineering, students on temporary visas earned more than half of the master’s degrees in electrical and chemical engineering.

The number of S&E master’s degrees awarded to students on temporary visas reached its highest point in a decade in 2011 (39,000), after a sharp decline between 2004 and 2007. Most of the drop during this period was accounted for by decreasing numbers of temporary residents in the computer sciences and engineering fields, but in both fields numbers rebounded in both fields by about one-third in the following years.

S&E Doctoral Degrees

Doctoral education in the United States generates new knowledge important for the society as a whole and for U.S. competitiveness in a global knowledge-based economy. It prepares a new generation of researchers in academia, industry, and government, as well as a highly skilled workforce for other sectors of the economy.

The number of S&E doctorates (excluding those in other health sciences) conferred annually by U.S. universities increased steadily between 2002 and 2008, then decreased in 2009 and 2010.^[39] The number rose by nearly 5% in 2011, to more than 38,000 (appendix table 2-31).^[40] The growth in the number of S&E doctorates between 2000 and 2012 occurred among U.S. citizens and permanent residents as well as temporary residents. The largest increases were in engineering and the biological sciences (figure 2-24).

Time to Doctoral Degree Completion

The time required to earn a doctoral degree and the success rates of those entering doctoral programs are concerns for those pursuing a degree, the universities awarding the degree, and the agencies and organizations funding graduate study. Longer times to degree mean lost earnings and a higher risk of attrition. Time to degree (as measured by time from graduate school entry to doctorate receipt) increased through the mid-1990s but has since decreased in all S&E fields from 7.7 to 7.0 years (appendix table 2-32). The physical sciences and mathematics had the shortest time to degree, whereas the social sciences and medical and other health sciences had the longest.

Between 1997 and 2011, time to degree for doctorate recipients decreased in each of the Carnegie types of academic institutions awarding doctoral degrees (see sidebar, “Carnegie Classification of Academic Institutions”). Time to degree was shortest at research universities with very high research activity (6.9 years in 2011, down from 7.2 years in 1997). Doctorate recipients at medical schools also finished quickly (6.7 years in 2011). Time to degree was longer at universities that were less strongly oriented toward research (table 2-12).

The median time to degree varies somewhat by demographics, but these variations tend to reflect differences among broad fields of study. In 2011, across all doctorate recipients, women have a longer time to degree than men (7.9 versus 7.4 years, respectively) (NSF/NCSES 2012). However, these differences were very small or nonexistent when men and women were compared within broad fields.^[41] Time to degree for men and women was similar in most broad S&E fields except for engineering, where it was slightly shorter for women (6.5 versus 6.9 for men). Within broad S&E fields, time to degree was longer for temporary visa holders than for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and, in most broad fields, it was shorter for whites than for any other racial or ethnic group. In the life sciences, time to degree of Hispanic doctorate recipients was as short as that of whites (6.7).

Doctoral Degrees by Sex

Among U.S. citizens and permanent residents, the proportion of S&E doctoral degrees (excluding those in other health sciences; see endnote 39) earned by women grew from 43% in 2000 to 47% in 2011 (appendix table 2-31). During this decade, women made gains in most major fields, but considerable disparities continued in certain fields. In 2011, women earned half or more of doctorates in non-S&E fields, in most social and behavioral sciences except for economics, in the biological sciences, and in medical and other health sciences. They earned fewer than one-third of the doctorates awarded in physical sciences, mathematics and computer sciences, and engineering (appendix table 2-31). Although the percentages of degrees earned by women in physical sciences and engineering are low, they are higher than they were in 2000.

The number of S&E doctoral degrees earned by women grew faster than that earned by men. The number of U.S. citizen and permanent resident women earning doctorates in S&E increased from nearly 8,000 in 2000 to nearly 11,000 in 2011, while the number earned by men increased from about 10,000 to nearly 12,000 in the same time interval (appendix table 2-31). The increase in the number of S&E doctorates earned by women occurred in most major S&E fields. For example, the number of engineering doctorates earned by U.S. citizen and permanent resident women increased from approximately 500 in 2000 to 900 in 2011, biological sciences doctorates from 1,700 to 2,900, and physical sciences doctorates from 600 to nearly 900. A decrease in the number of doctorates earned by U.S. citizen and permanent resident men in the early years of the decade occurred in non-S&E fields and in many S&E fields. However, since 2005, the number of doctorates earned by men has increased in all major S&E fields except for agricultural sciences, and psychology.

Doctoral Degrees by Disability Status

In 2011, 3% of doctorate recipients reported having a disability. Compared with persons without disabilities, those with disabilities were less likely to earn doctorates in engineering fields (9% versus 17%) and more likely to earn doctorates in the social and behavioral sciences (21% versus 17%). Nearly one-third of the S&E doctorate recipients with disabilities reported a learning disability, 17% reported being blind or visually impaired, 13% reported a physical or orthopedic disability, 12% indicated being deaf or hard of hearing, 4% reported a vocal or speech disability, and 21% cited other or unspecified disabilities (NSF/NCSES 2013a).

Doctoral Degrees by Race and Ethnicity

The number and proportion of doctoral degrees in S&E fields earned by underrepresented minorities increased between 2000 and 2011. In 2011, blacks earned 1,233 S&E doctorates, Hispanics earned 1,326, and American Indians and Alaska Natives earned 113—accounting for 8% of S&E doctoral degrees (excluding doctorates in other health sciences; see endnote 39) earned that year, up from 6% in 2000 (appendix table 2-33).^[42] Their share of the S&E doctorates earned by U.S. citizens and permanent residents rose from 9% to 12% in the same period. Gains by all groups contributed to this rise, although the number of S&E degrees earned by blacks and Hispanics rose considerably more than the number earned by American Indians and Alaska Natives (figure 2-25). Asian and Pacific Islander U.S. citizens and permanent residents earned 6% of all S&E doctorates in 2011, similar to 2000.

Although the number of S&E doctorates earned by white U.S. citizens and permanent residents increased between 2000 and 2011 (figure 2-26), the number of S&E doctorates awarded to minorities and temporary residents increased at a faster pace. As a result, the proportion of S&E doctoral degrees earned by white U.S. citizens and permanent residents decreased from 53% in 2000 to 43% in 2011 (appendix table 2-33).

Foreign S&E Doctorate Recipients

Temporary residents earned nearly 13,000 S&E doctorates in 2011, up from about 8,000 in 2000. Foreign students on temporary visas earned a larger proportion of doctoral degrees than master’s, bachelor’s, or associate’s degrees (appendix tables 2-33, 2-30, 2-23, and 2-22, respectively). The temporary residents’ share of S&E doctorates rose from 31% in 2000 to 36% in 2011. In some fields, these students earned even larger shares of doctoral degrees. In 2011, they earned half or more of doctoral degrees awarded in engineering, computer sciences, and economics. They earned considerably lower proportions of doctoral degrees in other S&E fields—for example, 27% in biological sciences, 26% in medical sciences, 7% in psychology, and between 11% and 38% in most social sciences (except economics) (appendix table 2-33).

Countries and Economies of Origin

The top 10 countries and economies of origin of foreign S&E doctorate recipients (both permanent and temporary residents) together accounted for 68% of all foreign recipients of U.S. S&E doctoral degrees from 1991 to 2011 (table 2-13). Six out of those top 10 locations are in Asia.

Asia. From 1991 to 2011, students from four Asian countries and economies (China, India, South Korea, and Taiwan, in descending order) earned more than half of U.S. S&E doctoral degrees awarded to foreign students (131,000 of 236,000)—more than three times more than students from Europe (41,000). China accounted for almost half of these (63,000), followed by India (28,000), South Korea (22,000), and Taiwan (17,000). Most of these degrees were awarded in engineering, biological sciences, and physical sciences (table 2-14). About one in five of the doctorates awarded to South Korean and Taiwanese recipients in this period was in a non-S&E field.

The number of S&E doctorates earned by students from China declined in the late 1990s, increased through 2007, and dropped 16% in the following 3 years, but it rose 4% in 2011 (figure 2-27). Over the 20-year period, however, despite these fluctuations, the number of S&E doctorates earned by Chinese nationals more than doubled. The number of S&E doctorates earned by students from India also declined in the late 1990s, but it has increased almost every year since 2002; over the last two decades it nearly tripled. South Korea followed a similar trend but with a less dramatic increase. The number of S&E doctoral degrees earned by South Korean students also dipped in the late 1990s and then rose in the mid-2000s. In contrast, Taiwan experienced a substantially different trajectory. In 1991, its students earned more U.S. S&E doctoral degrees than those from India or South Korea.^[43] However, as universities in Taiwan increased their capacity for advanced S&E education in the 1990s, the number of students from Taiwan earning S&E doctorates from U.S. universities declined. Since 2004, however, the number of Taiwanese doctorate recipients in the United States has been slowly going up again.

Europe. European students earned far fewer U.S. S&E doctorates than Asian students between 1991 and 2011, and they tended to focus less on engineering than did their Asian counterparts (tables 2-14 and 2-15). European countries whose students earned the largest number of U.S. S&E doctorates from 1991 to 2011 were Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy, Romania, and France, in that order. Trends in doctorate recipients from individual Western European countries vary (figure 2-28). The number of Central and Eastern European students earning S&E doctorates at U.S. universities quintupled between 1991 and 2011, to 553. Although their numbers almost reached the Western Europe total between 2005 and 2007, they have declined since then (figure 2-29). A higher proportion of doctorate recipients from Russia, Romania, and Greece than from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany earned their doctorates in S&E. Russian and Romanian doctorate recipients were more likely than those from Western European countries to earn their doctorates in mathematics and physical sciences, and Greeks were more likely to earn doctoral degrees in engineering (table 2-15).

The Americas. Despite the proximity of Canada and Mexico to the United States, the shares of U.S. S&E doctoral degrees awarded to residents of these countries were small compared with those awarded to students from Asia and Europe. The number of U.S. doctoral S&E degrees earned by students from Canada increased from about 320 in 1991 to nearly 500 in 2009, but it has declined in the last 2 years. The overall number of doctoral degree recipients from Mexico and Brazil peaked earlier (2003 and 1996, respectively) and declined in recent years (figure 2-30).

A higher proportion of Mexican and Brazilian students earned U.S. doctorates in S&E fields than the comparable proportion for Canadians (table 2-16). In particular, higher proportions of Mexican and Brazilian students than Canadian students received U.S. doctoral degrees in engineering and agricultural sciences.

The Middle East. Between 1991 and 2011, Middle Eastern students earned far fewer U.S. S&E doctorates (about 20,000) than did students from Asia, Europe, or the Americas (tables 2-14, 2-15, and 2-16). Students from Turkey earned the largest number of U.S. S&E doctorates in this region, followed by those from Iran and Jordan. A larger proportion of doctorate recipients from Iran earned their doctorates in engineering (55%) than recipients from any other country above. More than one-third of doctorate recipients from Turkey and Jordan earned their doctorates in engineering, a proportion similar to that from Asian countries.