ERIC Number: ED376778
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1994-Nov
Pages: 14
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Enrollments and Degrees Report. AIP Report.
Mulvey, Patrick J.; Neuschatz, Michael
Based on surveys of departments of physics and astronomy in American institutions of higher education, this research and analysis looks at enrollments and degrees and reflects on continuing trends and changes in these fields. The survey was conducted during the fall and winter of 1993 and requested data on current undergraduate and graduate enrollments as well as degrees conferred during the previous academic year. These data are supplemented by information gathered from students and degree recipients themselves through separate student surveys. Findings include the following: (1) overall doctoral degrees continued to increase slightly while bachelor production remained relatively flat and indicators of potential declines have started to appear in enrollment data; (2) the enrollment level for students taking introductory physics remained stable at approximately 350,000 in recent years; (3) junior enrollment data (when most students must declare a major) showed a 2 percent decline in 1993 and 1994 which brought this number to its lowest since 1982; (4) first year graduate enrollment for U.S. students has remained level for 15 years while foreign student enrollment doubled in the same period; (5) 96 percent of students in doctorate departments were enrolled full-time; (6) though degree production rates remained stable, enrollment figures indicated a probable future decrease in degrees awarded. Includes 10 tables. (JB)
Descriptors: Astronomy, Bachelors Degrees, Colleges, Doctoral Degrees, Doctoral Programs, Engineering Education, Enrollment, Enrollment Trends, Foreign Students, Graduate Students, Graduate Study, Higher Education, Masters Degrees, National Surveys, Physics, Research Universities, Science Education, Science Instruction, Student Characteristics, Tables (Data), Trend Analysis, Undergraduate Study
American Inst. of Physics, Education and Employment Statistics Div., One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3383 (single copies free).
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: American Inst. of Physics, College Park, MD. Education and Employment Statistics Div.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A