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Science and Engineering Indicators 2004
  Table of Contents     Figures     Tables     Appendix Tables     Presentation Slides  
Chapter 2:
Highlights
Introduction
Structure of U.S. Higher Education

Enrollment in Higher Education
Higher Education Degrees
Foreign Doctoral Degree Recipients
International S&E Higher Education
Conclusion
References
 
 
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Figure 2-32

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Figure 2-33

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Figure 2-34

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Figure 2-35

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Figure 2-36

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Figure 2-37

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Figure 2-38

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Figure 2-39

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Figure 2-40

Higher Education in Science and Engineering

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International S&E Higher Education

International Degree Trends
International Student Mobility

Excellence in S&E higher education helps a country to be technologically innovative and economically competitive (Greenspan 2000). Recognizing this, other countries are seeking to improve their relative standing in this area. This section places data on U.S. S&E higher education in an international comparative perspective. It presents available data on bachelor's (first university) degrees, including selected disaggregations by field and sex. It also compares participation rates in S&E degrees in different countries, including data on foreign student enrollment and degrees for selected countries.

The college-age cohort decreased in all major industrialized countries either in the 1980s or 1990s, although for different durations and to varying degrees (appendix table 2-32 Microsoft Excel icon). To produce enough S&E graduates for increasingly knowledge-intensive societies, industrialized countries have sought to enroll a higher proportion of their citizens in higher education, train a higher proportion in S&E, and recruit S&E students from other countries, especially in the developing world. For example, China and India each has more than 90 million people of college age and is a major country of origin for foreign graduate students in the United States. Figure 2-32 figure shows that by 2015, the college-age cohort in Africa will surpass that of China.

International Degree Trends top of page

The availability and quality of international degree data vary. Major efforts of international statistical agencies have been under way for more than a decade to improve collection, reporting, and dissemination of these data.[17]

First University Degrees in S&E Fields

In 2000, more than 7.4 million students worldwide earned a first university degree,[18] and about 2.8 million of the degrees were in S&E fields: more than 1 million in engineering, almost 850,000 in social and behavioral sciences, and almost 1 million in mathematics and natural, agricultural, and computer sciences combined (appendix table 2-33 Microsoft Excel icon). These worldwide totals only include countries for which data are readily available (primarily the Asian, European, and American regions) and are therefore an underestimation. Asian universities accounted for almost 1.2 million of the world's S&E degrees in 2000, with almost 480,000 degrees in engineering (figure 2-33 figure). Students across Europe (including Eastern Europe and Russia) earned more than 830,000 S&E degrees, and students in North America earned more than 500,000.

Although the United States has historically been a world leader in offering broad access to higher education, many other countries now provide comparable access. The ratio of bachelor's degrees earned in the United States to the population of the college-age cohort remained relatively high at 33.8 per 100 in 2000 (appendix table 2-33 Microsoft Excel icon). However, nine other countries also provided a college education to at least one-third of their college-age population.

A workforce trained in NS&E is indispensable to a modern economy. The proportion of the college-age population that earned degrees in NS&E fields was substantially larger in more than 16 countries in Asia and Europe than in the United States in 2000. The United States achieved a ratio of 5.7 per 100 after several decades of hovering between 4 and 5. Other countries/economies have recorded bigger increases: South Korea and Taiwan increased their ratios from just over 2 per 100 in 1975 to 11 per 100 in 2000–01. At the same time, several European countries have doubled and tripled their ratios, reaching figures between 8 and 11 per 100 (figure 2-34 figure).

In several emerging Asian countries/economies, the proportion of first university degrees earned in S&E was higher than in the United States. For the past 3 decades, S&E degrees have made up about one-third of U.S. bachelor's degrees. The corresponding figures were considerably higher for China (59 percent in 2001), South Korea (46 percent in 2000), and Japan (66 percent in 2001) (appendix table 2-33 Microsoft Excel icon).

In engineering fields, the contrast between the United States and other relatively advanced regions becomes sharper. Compared with Asia and Europe, the United States has a relatively low proportion of S&E bachelor's degrees in engineering. In 2000, students in Asia and Europe earned 40–41 percent of their first university S&E degrees in engineering. In contrast, students in the United States earned about 15 percent of their S&E bachelor's degrees in engineering fields (appendix table 2-33 Microsoft Excel icon).

Long-term trend data on first university S&E degrees, available for selected countries, show strong growth in the 1990s in China and Japan (with a leveling off in 2000–01) and steady growth in South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States (figure 2-35 figure). In the late 1990s, first university S&E degrees (of long duration) declined in Germany.[19] Germany had a sharp decline in engineering degrees, from 16,000 in 1998 to 9,000 in 2001 (Grote 2000 and appendix table 2-34 Microsoft Excel icon).

International Comparison of Participation Rates by Sex

Among large Western countries for which first university degree data are available by sex, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Canada, and the United States had relatively high participation rates for both men and women. In 2000, the ratio of female-earned first university degrees to the female 24-year-old population was about the same in France and the United Kingdom (41 per 100), Spain and the United States (39 per 100), and Canada (38 per 100). Women in the United Kingdom and France also had high participation rates in earned NS&E bachelor's degrees. In 2000, the ratio of NS&E degrees earned by women to the female 24-year-old population in the United Kingdom and France was 8 per 100. In France, this rate was more than half the rate for men. In the United States, participation rates in NS&E degrees were 4.5 per 100 for women and 6.8 per 100 for men (appendix table 2-35 Microsoft Excel icon).

In Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, women earn first university degrees at a rate similar to that in many European countries. However, women have high participation rates in NS&E only in South Korea and Taiwan. In 2000–01, the ratio of female-earned degrees in these fields to the female 24-year-old population was 7.4 per 100 in South Korea and 5.0 per 100 in Taiwan, higher than the participation rate of women in Japan, Germany, or the United States. Among reporting countries, women earned the highest proportion of their S&E degrees in natural and social sciences (appendix table 2-35 Microsoft Excel icon).

International Comparison of Doctoral Degrees in S&E Fields

The proportion of S&E doctoral degrees earned outside the United States appears to be increasing. Of the 114,000 S&E doctoral degrees earned worldwide in 2000, 89,000 were earned outside the United States (appendix table 2-36 Microsoft Excel icon). Figure 2-36 figure shows the breakdown of S&E doctoral degrees by major region and selected fields.

The proportion of S&E doctoral degrees earned by women is increasing in several world regions. In 2000, women earned more than 35 percent of S&E doctorates in several countries of Western Europe (Finland, France, Spain, Ireland, and Italy) and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, and Georgia). In the same year, women earned more than 40 percent of the doctoral degrees awarded in natural sciences in these countries (appendix table 2-37 Microsoft Excel icon).

For most of the past 2 decades, momentum in NS&E doctoral degree programs has been strong in the United States and some Asian and European countries. Japan's 1993 national science policy to increase basic research for innovation led to a doubling of university research funding by 1997 and significant expansion of university doctoral programs. There was even stronger growth in China, and, by 2001, China was the largest producer of NS&E doctoral degrees in the Asian region. However, in the late 1990s, NS&E doctoral degrees leveled off in Germany and declined in the United States (figure 2-37 figure). Figure 2-38 figure shows trends in NS&E doctoral degrees by region.

International Student Mobility top of page

The 1990s witnessed a worldwide increase in the number of students going abroad for higher education study to the well-established destinations of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. However, other countries, including Japan, Canada, and Germany, also expanded their enrollment of foreign S&E graduate students.

Foreign Enrollment in S&E in Selected Foreign Countries

The United States shares a tradition with France and the United Kingdom of educating large numbers of foreign students. In recent years, universities in other countries, notably Canada, Germany, and Japan, have also increased their number of foreign students.

Many of the United Kingdom's foreign students come from Britain's former colonies in Asia and North America (particularly India, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States, and Canada). In the 1990s, it began receiving more students from countries inside the European Union (EU). For example, in 1994, within the 10 top countries of origin, the number of foreign students from EU countries and former colonies were roughly equal. By 1998, in both graduate and undergraduate S&E programs, EU students were far more numerous in U.K. universities than students from former colonies. The number of students from China and Taiwan was also increasing (appendix table 2-40 Microsoft Excel icon).

With an inflow of students from a broadening number of countries in the 1990s, the proportion of foreign students studying S&E in the United Kingdom increased at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Foreign undergraduate students in S&E increased from about 9 percent to almost 12 percent from 1995 to 1999, leveled off, and then declined in 2001. In undergraduate engineering, foreign student enrollment rose from 16,000 in 1995 to 21,000 in 1999 (the peak year for foreign undergraduate students), even as overall engineering enrollment declined from 113,000 to 100,000 (appendix table 2-40 Microsoft Excel icon). At the graduate level, foreign S&E student enrollment increased continuously, from almost 29,000 in 1995 to 44,000 in 2001. By 2001, foreign students in the United Kingdom represented 44 percent of enrollment in graduate engineering programs and 35 percent in mathematics and computer sciences (figure 2-39 figure).

Like the United Kingdom, France has a long tradition of educating students from its former colonies, as well as from developing countries in Africa and Latin America. In 1999, 7 of the 10 top countries of origin of foreign doctoral degree students in France were African (primarily Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia) and Latin American (Brazil and Mexico) (National Science Board 2002). Also like the United Kingdom, the proportion of foreign students studying S&E fields in France increased at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Foreign undergraduate S&E enrollment in France increased from 7 percent in 1996 to 13 percent in 2002. In the same period, foreign graduate S&E enrollment increased from 20 to 25 percent. Foreign graduate enrollment was higher in engineering fields, reaching 33 percent in 2002 (appendix table 2-41 Microsoft Excel icon).

Japan, Canada, and Germany are also attempting to bolster enrollment of foreign students in S&E fields. Japan's goal of 100,000 foreign students, first promulgated in the early 1980s, is gradually being achieved. In 2001, almost 70,000 foreign students, mainly (more than 95 percent) from the Asian region enrolled in Japanese universities, and preliminary data for 2002 suggest that foreign enrollment has reached 100,000. In 2001, foreign student enrollment was concentrated at the undergraduate level (44,500) and in social and behavioral sciences (46 percent of undergraduates enrolled).[20] Japan also enrolled about 25,000 foreign students at the graduate level, mainly from China and South Korea, and foreign students represented 12 percent of the graduate students in S&E fields (appendix table 2-42 Microsoft Excel icon).

Like the United Kingdom, Canada has traditionally educated foreign students from British Commonwealth countries. In 1985, these countries were 6 of the 10 top countries of origin of foreign S&E students in Canada. As foreign student flows increased in the 1990s, the top countries of origin of foreign students in Canada shifted toward non-Commonwealth countries in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East (appendix table 2-43 Microsoft Excel icon).[21]

From 1985 to 1998, Canada enrolled an increasing number of foreign students in its graduate and undergraduate S&E programs. By 1998, 16,700 foreign graduate S&E students were enrolled in Canadian universities, up from 9,400 in 1985. In 1998, foreign students represented about 9 percent of undergraduate enrollment in S&E fields, with larger percentages in mathematics and physical sciences (16 percent) and engineering and applied sciences (13 percent). These percentages were up slightly from 1985 (appendix table 2-43 Microsoft Excel icon). Foreign students represented 21 percent of all graduate S&E students in Canada in 1998, compared with 17 percent in 1985, with higher foreign representation in mathematics and physical sciences (30 percent) and engineering and applied sciences (32 percent).

Germany is recruiting students from India and China to fill its research universities, particularly in engineering and computer sciences (Grote 2000 and Koenig 2001). Germany has also established bachelor's and master's degree programs taught in English to attract students from the United States, Europe, and other countries. Since 2000, Germany's report of higher education statistics has included earned bachelor's and master's degrees in these new types of programs.

International Comparison of Foreign Doctoral Degree Recipients

Like the United States, the United Kingdom and France have many foreign students among their S&E doctoral degree recipients. By 2001, around 36 percent of S&E doctorates from U.K. and U.S. universities were awarded to foreign students. Almost 21 percent of French S&E doctoral recipients were foreign (appendix table 2-44 Microsoft Excel icon).

The percentage of foreign doctoral degree recipients was generally higher in engineering, mathematics, and computer sciences. Foreign students earned 56 percent of the engineering degrees awarded by U.S. universities, 51 percent of those awarded by U.K. universities, and 22 percent of those awarded by French universities. Foreign students earned 49 percent of the mathematics and computer science doctorates awarded by U.S. universities, 44 percent of those awarded by U.K. universities, and 29 percent of those awarded by French universities. In addition, Japan and Germany had a modest but growing percentage of foreign students among their S&E doctoral degree recipients (figure 2-40 figure and appendix table 2-44 Microsoft Excel icon).

The internationalization of S&E higher education can benefit both industrialized and developing countries. (See sidebar, "Contributions of Developed Countries to Increasing Global S&E Capacity.")



Contributions of Developed Countries to Increasing Global S&E Capacity top of page

The doctoral faculty in many developing and emerging countries have been trained in Western industrialized countries.[*] From 1985 to 2001, U.S. universities trained 148,000 foreign doctoral students in S&E fields (appendix table 2-28 Microsoft Excel icon). Most (89 percent) of these foreign doctoral degree recipients were from developing countries/economies throughout the world, particularly Asia.[**] In addition, the United Kingdom, France, and Canada contributed significantly to educating many S&E students from developing countries, at both the graduate and undergraduate level. As student mobility increases, particularly for graduate S&E education, host countries receive students from a broader spectrum of developing countries (appendix table 2-40 Microsoft Excel icon, 2-42 Microsoft Excel icon, and 2-43 Microsoft Excel icon).

Foreign S&E doctoral degree recipients who returned home after study abroad have contributed to the expansion of S&E graduate programs and the improvement of faculty credentials and research capacity in several developing countries. U.S. S&E doctoral degree recipients from China who returned home in the 1980s expanded higher education and graduate S&E programs. China's successful participation in the Human Genome Project in the 1990s was facilitated by recruiting Chinese scientists and engineers educated abroad to 20 institutes in Beijing and Shanghai (Li 2000). The return flow of South Korean and Taiwanese S&E doctoral degree recipients from U.S. universities in the 1980s and 1990s was often to faculty positions within their home country (Song 1997).

Foreign doctoral degree recipients who remain abroad become part of an increasingly international S&E higher education system and often participate in international collaborative research. By the end of the 20th century, about 35 percent of the computer science and engineering faculties at U.S. universities and colleges were foreign born, as were nearly 30 percent of mathematics faculty and about 20 percent of the faculties in physical, life, and social sciences (National Science Board 2002). International collaborations that include U.S. S&E faculty contribute to research programs that strengthen the scientific capacity of developing countries.[***] For example, Biocomplexity in the Environment encourages international biodiversity research on therapeutic plants in the context of conservation and sustainable economic development and includes funds for equipment and human resource development in developing countries. U.S. universities are attempting to create an Internet-based worldwide materials research network to enhance scientific and educational collaborations. Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers within U.S. universities have active international collaborations between U.S. researchers and educators and their counterparts in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific region.[****]

[*]  College catalogs in developing countries generally list faculty with the name of the university and department in which they earned their doctorate.

[**]  National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates, special tabulations, 2003.

[***]  U.S. institutions and S&E faculty are active in international distance education in developing countries, advise on establishing centers of excellence, accept students from abroad, and establish international collaborative research with their former students. For more information, see Arnone (2001) and Takle (1999).

[****]  For more information, see International Dimensions of NSF Research & Education, http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?org=OISE.



Footnotes

[17]  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Education at a Glance, 2000, includes data on member countries; UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is giving within-country statistical training to expand the number of developing countries providing recent reliable data and validating the reported data within UIS.

[18]  A first university degree refers to completion of a terminal undergraduate degree program. These degrees are classified as level 5A in the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 97), although individual countries use different names for the first terminal degree; for example, laureata in Italy, diplome in Germany, ma'trise in France, and bachelor's degree in the United States and Asian countries.

[19]  The German data in figure 2-35 figure include only the long first university degree, which is required for further study. In 2001, an additional 40,000 S&E degrees were earned within Fachhochschulen, which are 3-5-year programs (appendix table 2-34 Microsoft Excel icon).

[20]  At the undergraduate level, about 20 percent of foreign students are permanent residents in Japan. In contrast, at the graduate level, only 5 percent of foreign students are permanent residents.

[21]  Unpublished tabulations provided by Statistics Canada, 2002.


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National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics
Science and Engineering Indicators 2004
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