ENGINEERING STUDENTS FUEL GRADUATE ENROLLMENT GROWTH OVER LAST DECADE

By Angela Erdiaw-Kwasie

Reprinted from ASEE Connections

This Databyte highlights the enrollment of graduate students in science, engineering, and health (SEH) fields over the last decade.

Using data from the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, we compared the growth of enrollment of graduate students (masters and doctoral students) in engineering to that of graduate students in science and health fields from 2009 to 2018.

SEH graduate enrollment in the United States reached a little over 668,000 in 2018, an increase of about 5.8% since 2009. Most of this growth occurred within the science and engineering fields in the 2000s. Enrollments remained stable between 2009 and 2013 and resumed growth in 2014. Enrollments in the health field declined from 85,960 in 2009 to 64,703 in 2013 and then resumed growth in 2014.

Figure 1 shows the percentage increase in the growth of SEH graduate enrollments over the decade. The science field has contributed to over 50% of the enrollment numbers. However, engineering experienced the highest percent growth over the decade at 12.9%. The percent growth of enrollments in science fields was 7.8%, and the percent decline of enrollments within health fields was 15.4%.

Table 1 displays all full-time graduate enrollments and all first-time, full-time graduate enrollments in the science, engineering, and health fields over the decade. SEH first-time, full-time graduate enrollments have increased fairly steadily over the decade. In 2018, first-time, full-time graduate enrollments accounted for almost 33% of total full-time SEH graduate enrollments. These students are typically pursuing a master’s or a doctoral degree right after or within approximately a year after earning their undergraduate degree. In engineering, 32% of the full-time graduate enrollments in 2018 were first-time, full-time students.

Source: NSF’s Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Table 1: Enrollment in Science, Engineering, and Health Fields