by Kelly Kang[1]

Approximately 632,700 graduate students were enrolled in science, engineering, and health (SEH) programs in the United States as of fall 2010, a 30% increase from approximately 493,300 students in 2000, according to the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS). The growth in first-time, full-time (FTFT) graduate student enrollment in science and engineering (S&E) programs over this time was even greater, with a 50% increase from approximately 78,400 students in 2000 to approximately 118,500 students in 2010 (figure 1).

                                     Figure 1 Source Data: Excel file

Due to the extra variability that may have resulted from the methodological changes in the 2007 GSS, all growth rate calculations comparing pre- and post-2007 counts are rounded to the nearest 5%. See "Data Sources and Limitations" for more information.

Continuing the decade-long trend, overall graduate enrollment in S&E reached a new peak in 2010, with 407,291 students in science fields and 149,241 students in engineering fields (table 1). However, rates of growth in these fields slowed considerably between 2009 and 2010 from the two previous years—particularly in FTFT enrollment, which had only a 1.7% gain in science programs and 4.0% gain in engineering programs. Annual increases in 2007–08 and 2008–09 for FTFT graduate enrollment were 7.6% and 6.4% in science and 8.2% and 6.2% in engineering, respectively (figure 1).

Enrollment in biomedical engineering, which increased by 7.5% between 2009 and 2010, continues to be one of the fastest growing S&E fields and has experienced the most rapid growth over the last decade (165%), from approximately 3,200 graduate students in 2000 to 8,500 students in 2010 (table 1).

These and other findings in this InfoBrief are from the fall 2010 GSS, cosponsored by NSF and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The GSS is an annual survey of all academic institutions in the United States that grant research-based master's degrees or doctorates in SEH fields. The GSS collects data on the number and characteristics of graduate students, postdoctoral appointees (postdocs), and other doctorate-holding non-faculty researchers in SEH fields. This InfoBrief focuses on the graduate students and postdocs within S&E fields. Further analysis of GSS data on graduate enrollment in selected health fields can be obtained from NIH.[2]

Graduate Student Enrollment in S&E

Between 2000 and 2010 enrollment in S&E graduate programs rose at a slightly faster pace for woman than for men (approximately 40% versus approximately 30%) (table 2). As a result, women's share of graduate S&E enrollment also rose over this period (41.2% in 2000 to 43.2% in 2010, peaking at 44.0% in 2007). The slight drop in the women's share since 2007 has been due to the faster rise in men's S&E graduate enrollment (9.4% for men versus 5.8% for women).

Over the last decade S&E graduate enrollment grew at the same rate for U.S. citizens and permanent residents and for temporary visa holders, both increasing by 35% (table 2). However, among U.S. citizens and permanent resident graduate students, S&E enrollment for students in underrepresented minority groups, except for Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders, grew at a much higher rate than for whites not of Hispanic origin or Asians. Over the last decade S&E graduate enrollment by Hispanic/Latino students, American Indian/Alaska Native students, and black/African American students not of Hispanic origin grew by approximately 65%, 55%, and 50%, respectively.[3]

Enrollment Status

Full-time graduate student enrollment in S&E grew at a higher rate (approximately 40%) than part-time enrollment (approximately 20%) between 2000 and 2010. The number of FTFT S&E graduate students went up by approximately 50% over the decade, increasing annually except for a brief period of decline in 2004–05, which was primarily driven by the mid-decade dip in engineering enrollment (figure 1). Annual growth in FTFT S&E graduate enrollment slowed in 2010 to its lowest level since 2004–05. This slowdown in growth between 2009 and 2010 was more evident in science programs than in engineering programs (1.7% versus 4.0%). In comparison, growth in S&E graduate enrollment was much larger in 2007–08 (7.6% in science versus 8.2% in engineering) and 2008–09 (6.4% in science versus 6.2% in engineering).

Postdoctoral Appointees in S&E

A total of 44,051 S&E postdocs were reported in 2010, an 8.0% increase over 2009 and an approximately 45% increase over 2000 (table 3). The growth of postdocs in engineering (approximately 110%) outpaced that of postdocs in science (approximately 40%) over the last decade. Although most S&E postdocs (84.2%) in 2010 are still in science, the proportion has steadily declined from a high of 89.6% in 2001.

As in the graduate student enrollment, biomedical engineering was the fastest growing postdoctoral field between 2000 and 2010, measuring an increase of approximately 370%.

Over the last decade the number of female postdocs grew approximately twice as fast as the number of male postdocs, narrowing the gender gap in S&E postdoctoral appointments. Among the postdocs in S&E fields, women appointees increased by approximately 70%, growing from approximately 8,900 in 2000 to approximately 15,300 in 2010 (table 3). Women accounted for 34.7% of all S&E postdocs in 2010, compared with 29.5% of all S&E postdocs in 2000.

The share of foreign postdocs in S&E continued its 5-year decline in 2010 as growth of postdocs among U.S. citizens and permanent residents (12.3%) outpaced that of postdocs among temporary visa holders (4.4%). From 2000 to 2006 the proportion of postdocs on temporary visas was relatively steady and averaged 59.1%. In 2010, 53.6% of all postdocs held temporary visas.

Data Sources and Limitations

This publication provides the first release of data from the fall 2010 cycle of the GSS, which collected data from 13,711 organizational units (departments, programs, affiliated research centers, and health care facilities) at 574 institutions of higher education and their affiliates in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The institutional response rate was 99.3%. An overview of the survey objectives and design can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/.

The GSS collects data on graduate students, postdocs, and other doctorate-holding non-faculty researchers in research-oriented SEH fields. Practitioner-oriented degrees within these fields (e.g., master's degrees in nursing and physical therapy) are not eligible for the GSS. Declines in psychology and other health fields in 2008–10 are likely due to more rigorous follow-up with institutions regarding the exclusion of practitioner-oriented graduate degree programs. These decreases may not reflect changes in actual enrollments, and care should be used when examining long-term trends.

In 2010 the postdoc section of the survey was expanded and significant effort was made to ensure that appropriate personnel were providing postdoc data (see http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvygradpostdoc/ for more information). As a result, it is unclear how much of the increase reported in 2010 represents growth in postdoctoral appointments and how much results from improved data collection. More information on the improved data collection and changes in postdoc data will be released in a forthcoming InfoBrief, which will be available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/gradpostdoc/.

The full set of detailed statistical tables from this survey will be available in the forthcoming report Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering: Fall 2010 at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/gradpostdoc/. Individual detailed tables may be available upon request in advance of the full report by contacting the author.

Due to methodological changes in 2007, the data collected from 2007 through 2010 are not strictly comparable to those collected prior to 2007. As a result, care should be used when assessing trends within the GSS data. In this InfoBrief, "2007new" reports the data as collected in 2007 and "2007old" provides data as they would have been collected in 2006. Ten-year trends reported in the tables are labeled "% change 2000–10." Note that these percentages are rounded to the nearest 5% to reflect the extra variability in the estimate that may have resulted from the methodological changes that occurred in 2007. Please see appendix A, "Technical Notes," in Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering: Fall 2007 (NSF 10-307) for a more detailed discussion of these changes.

Notes

[1]  Kelly H. Kang, Human Resources Statistics Program, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965, Arlington, VA 22230 (kkang@nsf.gov; 703-292-7796).

[2]  The data on health fields collected in GSS are selected by NIH. These fields make up about one-third of all health fields in the U.S. Department of Education Classification of Instructional Programs taxonomy. NIH information on trends seen within these selected health fields can be found at http://www.report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/.

[3]  Reporting of race/ethnicity in the 2008–10 GSS has been affected by changes in the reporting of race/ethnicity in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Starting in 2008 IPEDS respondents were asked to use a new race/ethnicity classification that included a category for two or more races (see http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/reic/resource.asp) and a separate reporting of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders from Asians. The new classification was optional in 2008 and 2009 IPEDS but mandatory in 2010 and may have contributed to the significant increase in GSS for More than one race, not Hispanic.