Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century (2018) / Chapter Skim
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2 Trends in Graduate STEM Degrees Earned in the United States
2 Trends in Graduate STEM Degrees Earned in the United States
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From page 29... ...
economy, and society at large, there are aspects of the current graduate STEM education system that need to change to better serve all four. This is particularly true when one considers the following: • The pool of potential STEM graduate students is increasingly diverse, and research disciplines and institutions are striving -- though many con tinue to struggle -- to be more inclusive and equitable, in terms of both representation and institutional climate.
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From page 30... ...
However, to help establish a better understanding of the graduate education system, this chapter does provide data presented by broad discipline (agricultural sciences; biological sciences; earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences; computer sciences; mathematics and statistics; chemistry; physics; social and behavioral sciences; and medical and other health sciences)
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From page 31... ...
. While looking at graduate STEM education as a whole can give a broad perspective of the enterprise, reviewing the data at the discipline level can add nuance to the understanding.
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From page 32... ...
Additional focus on graduate education trends by citizenship appears below in the section on Current State of Graduate STEM Education by Citizenship. To show the trends in each discipline, Table 2-1 also includes the percentage change within each discipline between 2000 and 2015.
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From page 33... ...
. For women, the number of STEM master's degrees increased from 41,700 in 2000 to 81,700 in 2015, while the number of doctoral degrees rose from 9,300 to 16,300 (Tables 2-2 and 2-3; NSB, 2018d,f)
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From page 34... ...
SOURCES: NSB, 2018d,f. TABLE 2-2 Comparison of Master's Degrees Awarded in STEM Disciplines in 2000 and 2015, by Gender Master's Degrees Earned by Women Numerical Percentage Field 2000 2015 Change Change S&E 41,670 81,673 40,003 96.0 Engineering 5,342 12,282 6,940 129.9 Science 36,328 69,391 33,063 91.0 Agricultural sciences 1,819 3,228 1,409 77.5 Biological sciences 3,513 8,326 4,813 137.0 Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 513 955 442 86.2 Computer sciences 5,003 9,607 4,604 92.0 Mathematics and statistics 1,498 3,380 1,882 125.6 Chemistry 823 1,109 286 34.8 Physics 244 436 192 78.7 Social and behavioral sciences 22,767 42,217 19,450 85.4 SOURCES: NBS, 2018d,f.
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From page 35... ...
. While men earned more STEM graduate degrees, the rate at which women earned graduate STEM degrees has increased more from 2000 to 2015 (Tables 2-2 and 2-3)
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From page 36... ...
Similarly, women saw greater percentage increases than men in both master's and doctoral degrees awarded between 2000 and 2015 -- 91 percent versus 82 percent for master's degrees and 74 percent versus 31 percent for doctoral degrees. In addition to the growth in the biological sciences, women have earned more degrees than men and had a greater increase in growth in the
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From page 37... ...
NCSES data show that the makeup of the student population in STEM graduate programs does not reflect the diversity of the United States.4 The demographic composition of the U.S. resident population is shifting, as noted in Figure 2-3, with the percentage of individuals identifying as white falling from nearly 70 percent in the 24 to 65 age group to slightly above 50 percent for those under age 18.
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From page 38... ...
residents mean that the pool of potential graduate students will change as well. The way in which federal agencies have collected information on race and ethnicity has also changed between 2000 and 2015: Beginning in 2011, some students may be classified as multiracial who in the past may have been reported as American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian and Pacific Islander, black, Hispanic, or white.
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From page 39... ...
One of the most historically wellrepresented groups, white students, had the lowest increase in annual degrees earned between 2000 and 2015, at 32 percent. Trends for Asian students, another historically well-represented group, are more challenging to isolate due to the data collection practices mentioned previously; however, given the relatively small number of students in 2015 who identified as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Figures 2-5 and 2-6 show a general increasing trend for Asian students.
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From page 40... ...
. For STEM doctoral degrees, where the annual number of degrees awarded remains small in relation to the total number of degrees awarded to all racial and ethnic groups and subject to sharper percentage changes, the largest growth for AIAN students was in the agricultural sciences, with a 300 percent increase, but there was no growth in computer sciences and a decrease in the number of AIAN doctoral students in earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences, mathematics and statistics, and chemistry at 50.0, 50.0, and 28.6 percent, respectively.
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From page 41... ...
Going forward, the division will allow researchers to differentiate the trends between Asian students, who have historically been well represented, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander students, which have been less well represented in graduate STEM education. To align with the other tables, the degrees awarded in 2015 for these groups are noted.
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From page 42... ...
SOURCE: NSB, 2018g. 3,000 Number of Degrees Awarded 2,000 1,000 0 2000 2005 2010 2015 Year Two or more races NaƟve Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Asian Asian or Pacific Islander American Indian or Alaska NaƟve Other or unknown race and ethnicity Black or African American Hispanic or LaƟno FIGURE 2-7 Detail of doctoral degrees awarded in STEM fields, for racial and ethnic minorities, 2000-2015, selected years.
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From page 43... ...
At the doctoral level, the medical and other health sciences experienced the large growth -- an almost 105 percent increase -- while physics and biological sciences kept pace with overall STEM growth at
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From page 44... ...
TABLE 2-5 Comparison of Master's and Doctoral Degrees Awarded in STEM Disciplines, by Asian, Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander Students, in 2000, 2010, and 2015 Master's Degrees Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Asian or Pacific Islander Asian Islander Field 2000 2010 2015 2015 S&E 7,032 9,959 10,976 269 Engineering 2,380 3,736 3,469 35 Science 4,652 6,223 7,507 234 Agricultural sciences 94 165 166 12 Biological sciences 595 1,245 1,723 20 Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 22 45 53 2 Computer sciences 2,068 1,470 2,174 38 Mathematics and statistics 180 459 553 4 Chemistry 172 186 183 1 Physics 53 93 73 1 Social and behavioral sciences 1,453 2,548 2,566 156 Medical and other health sciences – – – – SOURCES: NSB, 2018e,g. NOTE: Data not available for Master's Degrees awarded in this field.
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TRENDS IN GRADUATE STEM DEGREES EARNED IN THE UNITED STATES 45 Doctoral Degrees Earned by American Indian or Alaska Native Students Numerical Percentage 2000 2015 Change Change 82 137 55 67.1 5 12 7 140.0 77 125 48 62.3 2 8 6 300.0 8 24 16 200.0 6 3 −3 −50.0 0 4 4 0.0 2 1 −1 −50.0 7 5 −2 −28.6 0 5 5 0.0 43 54 11 25.6 8 20 12 150.0 Doctoral Degrees Native Hawaiian or Asian or Pacific Islander Asian Other Pacific Islander 2000 2010 2015 2015 1,518 2,325 2,669 34 380 517 664 1 1,334 1,808 2,005 33 26 32 35 1 429 650 667 8 15 15 17 1 56 124 112 0 71 84 80 2 124 151 174 3 52 60 73 2 355 415 484 8 196 271 354 8
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From page 46... ...
46 GRADUATE STEM EDUCATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY TABLE 2-6 Comparison of Master's and Doctoral Degrees Awarded in STEM Disciplines, by Black or African American Students, in 2000 and 2015 Master's Degrees Earned by Black or African American Students Numerical Percentage Field 2000 2015 Change Change S&E 5,563 13,239 7,676 138.0 Engineering 658 1,323 665 101.1 Science 4,905 11,916 7,011 142.9 Agricultural sciences 84 189 105 125.0 Biological sciences 223 847 624 279.8 Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 7 45 38 542.9 Computer sciences 650 1,913 1,263 194.3 Mathematics and statistics 98 204 106 108.2 Chemistry 65 97 32 49.2 Physics 44 34 –10 –22.7 Social and behavioral sciences 3,726 8,579 4,853 130.2 Medical and other health sciences – – – – SOURCES: NSB, 2018e,g. TABLE 2-7 Comparison of Master's and Doctoral Degrees Awarded in STEM Disciplines, by Hispanic or Latino/a Students, in 2000 and 2015 Master's Degrees Earned by Hispanic or Latino/a Students Numerical Percentage Field 2000 2015 Change Change S&E 3,762 11,392 7,630 202.8 Engineering 852 2,290 1,438 168.8 Science 2,910 9,102 6,192 212.8 Agricultural sciences 133 314 181 136.1 Biological sciences 268 916 648 241.8 Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 30 104 74 246.7 Computer sciences 308 1,056 748 242.9 Mathematics and statistics 100 298 198 198.0 Chemistry 56 123 67 119.6 Physics 34 100 66 194.1 Social and behavioral sciences 1,975 6,182 4,207 213.0 Medical and other health sciences - - - SOURCES: NSB, 2018e,g.
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From page 47... ...
TRENDS IN GRADUATE STEM DEGREES EARNED IN THE UNITED STATES 47 Doctoral Degrees Earned by Black or African American Students Numerical Percentage 2000 2015 Change Change 821 1,855 1,034 125.9 91 165 74 81.3 730 1,690 960 131.5 20 31 11 55.0 106 219 113 106.6 3 11 8 266.7 15 57 42 280.0 13 20 7 53.8 45 88 43 95.6 19 18 –1 –5.3 414 757 343 82.9 94 488 394 419.1 Doctoral Degrees Earned by Hispanic or Latino/a Students Numerical Percentage 2000 2015 Change Change 775 2,019 1,244 160.5 86 286 200 232.6 689 1,733 1,044 151.5 13 47 34 261.5 149 425 276 185.2 9 31 22 244.4 13 42 29 223.1 12 35 23 191.7 45 100 55 122.2 19 44 25 131.6 370 719 349 94.3 56 280 224 400.0
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48 GRADUATE STEM EDUCATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY TABLE 2-8 Comparison of Master's and Doctoral Degrees Awarded in STEM Disciplines, by Students Identifying with Two or More Races, in 2000 and 2015 Master's Degrees Earned by Students Identifying Two or More Races Numerical Percentage Field 2000 2015 Change Change S&E 1,335 3,105 1,770 132.6 Engineering 296 585 289 97.6 Science 1,039 2,520 1,481 142.5 Agricultural sciences 48 128 80 166.7 Biological sciences 110 332 222 201.8 Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 9 33 24 266.7 Computer sciences 107 345 238 222.4 Mathematics and statistics 34 101 67 197.1 Chemistry 17 50 33 194.1 Physics 9 29 20 222.2 Social and behavioral sciences 698 1,495 797 114.2 Medical and other health sciences – – – – SOURCES: NSB, 2018e,g. TABLE 2-9 Comparison of Master's and Doctoral Degrees Awarded in STEM Disciplines, by Students Identifying Other or Unknown Race and Ethnicity, in 2000 and 2015 Master's Degrees Earned by Students Identifying Other or Unknown Race and Ethnicity Numerical Percentage Field 2000 2015 Change Change S&E 4,545 9,833 5,288 116.3 Engineering 940 1,723 783 83.3 Science 3,605 8,110 4,505 125.0 Agricultural sciences 144 290 146 101.4 Biological sciences 284 853 569 200.4 Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 46 109 63 137.0 Computer sciences 663 1,397 734 110.7 Mathematics and statistics 142 278 136 95.8 Chemistry 82 99 17 20.7 Physics 42 101 59 140.5 Social and behavioral sciences 2,190 4,963 2,773 126.6 Medical and other health sciences – – – – SOURCES: NSB, 2018e,g.
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From page 49... ...
TRENDS IN GRADUATE STEM DEGREES EARNED IN THE UNITED STATES 49 Doctoral Degrees Earned by Students Identifying Two or More Races Numerical Percentage 2000 2015 Change Change 202 502 300 148.5 32 87 55 171.9 170 415 245 144.1 5 14 9 180.0 44 110 66 150.0 1 8 7 700.0 3 16 13 433.3 2 8 6 300.0 14 32 18 128.6 9 10 1 11.1 69 145 76 110.1 20 68 48 240.0 Doctoral Degrees Earned by Students Identifying Other or Unknown Race and Ethnicity Numerical Percentage 2000 2015 Change Change 1,034 2,408 1,374 132.9 146 382 236 161.6 888 2,026 1,138 128.2 22 79 57 259.1 187 381 194 103.7 32 51 19 59.4 29 98 69 237.9 33 78 45 136.4 85 142 57 67.1 57 102 45 78.9 378 782 404 106.9 57 294 237 415.8
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From page 50... ...
. The natural sciences include agricultural sciences, biological sciences, and earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences.
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From page 51... ...
In the social and behavioral sciences, on the other hand, students at both the master's and doctoral levels are predominantly female. In engineering, for all groups and at both the master's and doctoral levels, men earn more degrees in engineering than women, and the total number of women earning those degrees represent roughly a third or less of the total students across all racial and ethnic groups.
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From page 52... ...
52 TABLE 2-11 Master's and Doctoral Degrees Awarded to U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents, by Sex, Race, Ethnicity, and Broad Field Category in 2015 Percentage Percentage Race or Ethnicity All Female Male Female Male Master's Degrees American Indian or Alaska Native S&E 548 311 237 56.8 43.2 Engineering 59 18 41 30.5 69.5 Natural sciences 158 71 87 44.9 55.1 Social and behavioral sciences 331 222 109 67.1 32.9 Black or African American S&E 13,239 8,415 4,824 63.6 36.4 Engineering 1,323 370 953 28.0 72.0 Natural sciences 3,337 1,538 1,799 46.1 53.9 Social and behavioral sciences 8,579 6,507 2,072 75.8 24.2 Hispanic or Latino/a S&E 11,392 6,008 5,384 52.7 47.3 Engineering 2,290 555 1,735 24.2 75.8 Natural sciences 2,920 1,238 1,682 42.4 57.6 Social and behavioral sciences 6,182 4,215 1,967 68.2 31.8 White S&E 72,869 34,368 38,501 47.2 52.8 Engineering 15,263 3,275 11,988 21.5 78.5 Natural sciences 24,781 10,267 14,514 41.4 58.6 Social and behavioral sciences 32,825 20,826 11,999 63.4 36.6
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From page 53... ...
Asian or Pacific Islander S&E 11,245 4,968 6,277 44.2 55.8 Engineering 3,504 1,031 2,473 29.4 70.6 Natural sciences 5,019 2,183 2,836 43.5 56.5 Social and behavioral sciences 2,722 1,754 968 64.4 35.6 Other or unknown race and ethnicity S&E 12,938 6,661 6,277 51.5 48.5 Engineering 2,308 536 1,772 23.2 76.8 Natural sciences 4,172 1,750 2,422 41.9 58.1 Social and behavioral sciences 6,458 4,375 2,083 67.7 32.3 Doctoral Degrees American Indian or Alaska Native S&E 131 78 53 59.5 40.5 Engineering 12 4 8 33.3 66.7 Natural sciences 65 34 31 52.3 47.7 Social and behavioral sciences 54 40 14 74.1 25.9 Black or African American S&E 1,593 1,186 618 74.5 38.8 Engineering 165 55 110 33.3 66.7 Natural sciences 671 422 249 62.9 37.1 Social and behavioral sciences 757 549 208 72.5 27.5 Hispanic or Latino S&E 1,869 1,005 864 53.8 46.2 Engineering 286 72 214 25.2 74.8 Natural sciences 864 441 423 51.0 49.0 continued 53
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TABLE 2-11 Continued 54 Percentage Percentage Race or Ethnicity All Female Male Female Male Social and behavioral sciences 719 492 227 68.4 31.6 White S&E 18,544 8,828 9,716 47.6 52.4 Engineering 3,023 707 2,316 23.4 76.6 Natural sciences 10,331 4,908 5,423 47.5 52.5 Social and behavioral sciences 5,190 3,213 1,977 61.9 38.1 Asian or Pacific Islander S&E 2,495 1,256 1,239 50.3 49.7 Engineering 665 205 460 30.8 69.2 Natural sciences 1,338 713 625 53.3 46.7 Social and behavioral sciences 492 338 154 68.7 31.3 Other or unknown race and ethnicity S&E 2,757 1,337 1,420 48.5 51.5 Engineering 469 121 348 25.8 74.2 Natural sciences 1,361 743 771 54.6 56.6 Social and behavioral sciences 927 589 338 63.5 36.5 NOTE: At the doctoral level, medical sciences and other health sciences are not included under natural sciences and consequently under S&E. While previous tables and figures have separated Asian or Pacific Islander in 2015, the source data for this table provided a single category for this tabulation.
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From page 55... ...
Over the past 20 years, temporary visa holders earning doctorates have increasingly preferred to stay in the United States immediately following graduation, a measure referred to as the "stay rate." For instance, as of 2014, 45 percent of international students extended their visas in order to work in the United States after graduation, primarily in the same geographic area in which they earned their degrees. The lack of longitudinal data on international student employment limits the granularity of data available on stay rates.
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From page 56... ...
graduate STEM education system, NCSES reports: The top sending locations in 2017 continued to be India and China, accounting for 69 percent of the international S&E graduate students in the United States, followed by Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan (Appendix Table 2-26)
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From page 57... ...
. Similarly, temporary visa holders earning doctoral degrees in STEM increased by more than 80 percent over the same period of time despite the tapering between 2014 and 2015 mentioned previously, while the number of American citizens earning doctoral STEM degrees increased by just over 40 percent (see Table 2-13)
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From page 58... ...
58 GRADUATE STEM EDUCATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY TABLE 2-12 Comparison of Master's Degrees Awarded in STEM Disciplines, by Citizenship Status, in 2000 and 2015 Master's Degrees Earned by Temporary Visa Holders Numerical Percentage Field 2000 2015 Change Change S&E 24,815 58,724 33,909 136.6 Engineering 9,824 24,460 14,636 149.0 Science 14,991 34,264 19,273 128.6 Agricultural sciences 516 793 277 53.7 Biological sciences 750 2,327 1,577 210.3 Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 195 348 153 78.5 Computer sciences 6,624 17,353 10,729 162.0 Mathematics and statistics 1,111 4,092 2,981 268.3 Chemistry 599 876 277 46.2 Physics 483 690 207 42.9 Social and behavioral sciences 4,655 7,712 3,057 65.7 SOURCES: NSB, 2018e,g. TABLE 2-13 Comparison of Doctoral Degrees Awarded in STEM Disciplines, by Citizenship Status, in 2000 and 2015 Doctoral Degrees Earned by Temporary Visa Holders Numerical Percentage Field 2000 2015 Change Change S&E 8,461 15,183 6,722 79.4 Engineering 2,728 5,786 3,058 112.1 Science 5,733 9,397 3,664 63.9 Agricultural sciences 431 493 62 14.4 Biological sciences 1,268 2,170 902 71.1 Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 170 261 91 53.5 Computer sciences 375 1,087 712 189.9 Mathematics and statistics 493 902 409 83.0 Chemistry 754 1,119 365 48.4 Physics 500 812 312 62.4 Social and behavioral sciences 1,216 1,811 595 48.9 Medical and other health sciences 484 676 192 39.7 SOURCES: NSB, 2018e,g.
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From page 59... ...
Citizens Numerical Percentage 2000 2015 Change Change 19,401 29,338 9,937 51.2 2,656 4,620 1,964 73.9 16,745 24,718 7,973 47.6 553 888 335 60.6 3,724 5,720 1,996 53.6 409 566 157 38.4 402 864 462 114.9 588 900 312 53.1 1,336 1,787 451 33.8 708 1,028 320 45.2 6,966 8,139 1,173 16.8 1,955 4,667 2,712 138.7
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From page 60... ...
Future efforts at supporting graduate students with disabilities would be bolstered by more thorough accounting of these individuals among the various STEM disciplines. REFERENCES AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
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From page 61... ...
Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation. Available: https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2017/ nsf17306/static/report/nsf17306.pdf (accessed March 26, 2018)
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From page 62... ...
Available: https://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN1007.html (accessed March 16, 2018)
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