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Chapter 8. State Indicators

Higher Education

Advanced Science and Engineering Degrees as a Percentage of S&E Degrees Conferred



Findings

  • In 2011, nearly 184,000 advanced S&E degrees were awarded nationwide, 48% more degrees than were awarded in 2001. The share of advanced degrees as a percentage of all S&E degrees conferred increased by 5% between 2001 and 2011.
  • In 2011, the value of this indicator for individual states ranged from 8.0% to 33.3% of S&E graduates completing training at the master’s or doctoral level. Between 2001 and 2011, 29 states and the District of Columbia showed increases in the share of their S&E graduates completing training at the master’s or doctoral level and 21 states showed decreases.
  • In states with few S&E graduate programs, the number of advanced S&E degrees conferred varies considerably from year to year. Readers should use caution when making annual comparisons for those states with small numbers of S&E graduate students.


Description

This indicator represents the extent to which a state’s higher education programs in S&E are concentrated at the graduate level. S&E fields include the physical, life, earth, ocean, atmospheric, computer, and social sciences; mathematics; engineering; and psychology. Advanced S&E degrees include master’s and doctoral degrees. Total S&E degrees include bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees but exclude associate’s degrees.

The indicator value is computed by dividing the number of advanced S&E degrees by the total number of S&E degrees awarded by the higher education institutions within the state. The number of degrees are actual counts provided by the National Center for Education Statistics.


Data Table

Table 8-23
Advanced science and engineering degrees as a percentage of S&E degrees conferred, by state: 2001, 2006, and 2011
 
Advanced S&E degrees All S&E degrees Advanced S&E degrees/all S&E degrees (%)
State 2001 2006 2011 2001 2006 2011 2001 2006 2011
 
United States 124,327 150,513 183,738 520,476 625,163 733,609 23.9 24.1 25.0
Alabama 1,969 2,294 2,527 7,489 8,313 9,933 26.3 27.6 25.4
Alaska 184 204 228 604 719 921 30.5 28.4 24.8
Arizona 1,641 1,898 4,342 6,800 10,072 18,154 24.1 18.8 23.9
Arkansas 440 576 925 2,844 3,235 4,121 15.5 17.8 22.4
California 15,645 19,584 23,415 63,360 80,172 91,643 24.7 24.4 25.6
Colorado 2,879 3,296 4,036 11,606 14,320 15,209 24.8 23.0 26.5
Connecticut 1,768 2,069 2,577 6,929 8,341 9,790 25.5 24.8 26.3
Delaware 419 487 596 1,868 2,216 2,512 22.4 22.0 23.7
District of Columbia 2,990 3,480 3,764 6,870 8,294 7,743 43.5 42.0 48.6
Florida 4,469 5,387 6,997 18,843 25,887 32,260 23.7 20.8 21.7
Georgia 2,964 3,458 4,040 12,083 14,677 17,367 24.5 23.6 23.3
Hawaii 625 575 599 2,227 2,531 2,594 28.1 22.7 23.1
Idaho 341 502 498 1,756 2,661 2,942 19.4 18.9 16.9
Illinois 6,717 8,731 10,266 22,867 27,863 30,855 29.4 31.3 33.3
Indiana 2,440 2,844 3,544 11,188 13,241 15,768 21.8 21.5 22.5
Iowa 1,014 1,291 1,554 6,389 7,413 13,296 15.9 17.4 11.7
Kansas 1,171 1,274 1,497 5,576 5,872 6,012 21.0 21.7 24.9
Kentucky 974 1,487 1,612 5,015 6,317 6,883 19.4 23.5 23.4
Louisiana 1,418 1,708 1,637 6,908 7,282 7,562 20.5 23.5 21.6
Maine 174 235 249 2,236 2,625 3,103 7.8 9.0 8.0
Maryland 3,832 4,700 5,651 12,710 15,870 18,039 30.1 29.6 31.3
Massachusetts 6,654 7,645 8,966 22,843 25,439 28,989 29.1 30.1 30.9
Michigan 4,936 5,449 5,915 18,618 21,124 23,488 26.5 25.8 25.2
Minnesota 1,822 2,844 4,841 9,319 12,388 15,853 19.6 23.0 30.5
Mississippi 636 797 1,087 3,472 3,618 4,278 18.3 22.0 25.4
Missouri 2,946 3,085 3,850 11,306 12,690 14,323 26.1 24.3 26.9
Montana 358 426 425 2,076 2,189 2,313 17.2 19.5 18.4
Nebraska 697 828 1,063 3,261 3,892 4,478 21.4 21.3 23.7
Nevada 304 542 544 1,279 2,378 2,814 23.8 22.8 19.3
New Hampshire 605 709 763 3,082 3,520 4,047 19.6 20.1 18.9
New Jersey 3,225 3,935 4,620 13,842 15,603 17,439 23.3 25.2 26.5
New Mexico 739 1,001 873 2,558 3,164 3,339 28.9 31.6 26.1
New York 11,441 13,912 16,797 44,628 51,277 59,701 25.6 27.1 28.1
North Carolina 2,717 3,241 4,353 14,543 16,541 20,896 18.7 19.6 20.8
North Dakota 183 236 325 1,397 1,522 1,743 13.1 15.5 18.6
Ohio 4,237 4,782 5,222 18,238 20,505 23,094 23.2 23.3 22.6
Oklahoma 1,847 1,404 1,688 5,914 6,243 6,503 31.2 22.5 26.0
Oregon 1,296 1,548 1,525 6,473 8,004 8,767 20.0 19.3 17.4
Pennsylvania 5,507 7,263 8,980 26,514 32,358 37,253 20.8 22.4 24.1
Rhode Island 532 674 751 2,872 3,649 4,077 18.5 18.5 18.4
South Carolina 1,101 1,087 1,206 6,052 6,997 8,223 18.2 15.5 14.7
South Dakota 379 448 484 1,775 2,030 2,153 21.4 22.1 22.5
Tennessee 1,506 1,672 1,873 7,787 8,752 10,243 19.3 19.1 18.3
Texas 7,464 9,397 11,960 28,242 35,293 42,413 26.4 26.6 28.2
Utah 1,061 1,301 1,648 6,151 8,075 9,399 17.2 16.1 17.5
Vermont 319 556 747 2,153 2,576 3,343 14.8 21.6 22.3
Virginia 3,301 4,373 6,078 15,823 18,582 23,672 20.9 23.5 25.7
Washington 1,956 2,434 2,617 10,011 12,592 14,269 19.5 19.3 18.3
West Virginia 523 634 1,511 2,699 3,056 5,050 19.4 20.7 29.9
Wisconsin 1,731 2,010 2,215 10,549 12,328 13,761 16.4 16.3 16.1
Wyoming 230 200 257 831 857 981 27.7 23.3 26.2
 
Puerto Rico 639 916 1,067 4,847 4,992 5,437 13.2 18.3 19.6
 

NOTES: Advanced S&E degrees include only master’s and doctorate. All S&E degrees include bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate. S&E degrees include physical, computer, agricultural, biological, earth, atmospheric, ocean, and social sciences; psychology; mathematics; and engineering.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (various years).

Science and Engineering Indicators 2014


State Data Tool

The state data tool allows interactive exploration of the 58 indicators in this chapter. Users have the ability to choose and explore a single indicator in-depth, compare multiple indicators for preselected groups, customize their own graphics, or download data tables. Click the button below to get started.

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