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U.S. STEM Grad Student Growth Rate Matches Foreign Students

Calculator keys (Investor.gov)

(Investor.gov)

A National Science Foundation report says the number of U.S. science and engineering graduate students at American universities increased 35 percent from 2000 to 2010, the same rate as students from overseas. The numbers of women, African-American, Hispanic, and Native American grad students in science and engineering — which includes technology and mathematics, to make up the four STEM fields — also increased faster over this period than the overall numbers of U.S. graduate students.

The report from NSF’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics shows some 556,500 students were enrolled in science and engineering in the U.S. — as of the fall 2010 — a 35 percent increase from about 413,500 students in 2000. Looking at only the first-time, full-time graduate student enrollment in science and engineering showed a 50 percent growth rate, from 78,400 in 2000 to 118,500 in 2010.

The NSF report indicates grad school enrollment at American universities in science and engineering for U.S. citizens and permanent residents grew at the same 35 percent rate over the decade as for students from overseas. In 2000, the fewer than 290,700 U.S. citizens were in science or engineering graduate studies grew to 390,400 in 2010. Likewise, the 122,900 student visa holders in science and engineering expanded to a little more than 166,000 in 2010.

While 316,000 male graduate students in science and engineering outnumbered the 240,500 females in 2010, the percentage of women students increased somewhat from 41 percent to 43 percent over the decade. The number of women enrolled as science and engineering grad students increased by 40 percent between 2000 and 2010, compared to 30 percent for men. The male/female statistics cover both U.S. and overseas students.

The numbers of most ethnic minorities among American graduate students in science and engineering grew at faster rates than for U.S. students as a whole. Some 28,600 Hispanic grad students were studying science and engineering in 2010, a 65 percent increase over the 17,200 in the year 2000. Likewise, the 31,000 African-American graduate students represent a 50 percent gain compared to 2000. And the number of Native Americans increased at about the same rate, 55 percent, to 2,500 grad students in 2010.

The 255,000 Caucasian graduate students in science and engineering accounted for about two-thirds (65%) of the 390,400 U.S. citizens enrolled in 2010, but the number of white grad students grew at a somewhat slower rate over the decade — 25% — than U.S. students as a whole. The number of U.S. graduate students of Asian descent in science and engineering grew to 32,200 in 2010, a gain of 35 percent from the year 2000, the same rate for U.S. students overall.

While postdoctoral fellows from overseas continue to outnumber U.S. citizen postdocs in science and engineering, the percentage of U.S. citizens grew from 41 percent in the year 2000 to 46 percent in 2010. The 20,400 U.S. postdocs in 2010 represent a 60 percent increase since 2000, compared to a 35 percent increase in postdoctoral scholars from overseas.

The report notes that the fastest growing field in science and engineering enrollment over the decade was biomedical engineering, which grew from 3,200 graduate students in 2000 to 8,500 in 2010, a 165 percent increase. The number of biomedical engineering postdocs also grew sharply, from 220 in the year 2000 to more than 1,000 in 2010.

Hat tip: ScienceInsider

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