FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME GRADUATE ENROLLMENT – 2014–2018

By Charles M. Stuppard

Reprinted from ASEE Connections

The accompanying graphics show trends in full-time and part-time graduate enrollments from 2014 to 2018 in the eight fields with the highest 2018 graduate enrollment: Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science (inside engineering), Electrical Engineering, Electrical/Computer Engineering, Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Other Engineering Disciplines—a category that contains numerous small programs. For those disciplines, part-time Doctoral enrollment declined by an average of 11 percent. Computer Science (inside engineering), Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering experienced growth in each other enrollment type. While there was growth in full-time doctoral enrollment for Mechanical and Electrical/Computer Engineering, Master’s enrollment and part-time enrollments decreased. Conversely, there was growth in Master’s enrollment in Other Engineering Disciplines, but a decrease in doctoral enrollment. Of the eight disciplines with the highest graduate enrollment, Electrical Engineering had the greatest decline with a 41 percent decrease in full-time master’s enrollment and a 23 percent decrease in part-time master’s enrollment.