The United States is becoming more and more diverse, but the representation of some minority groups in physics and astronomy lags behind. Although 13% of the US population is African American or black, and 17% is Hispanic (US Census), the representation of these two groups in physics and astronomy is much lower. For this reason, African Americans…

Between March and July 2010, each of the 796 departments that awarded at least a bachelor's degree in physics or astronomy were contacted by e-mail, mail, and certified mail. Follow-up contacts were made for departments that had not yet responded. Responses were received from 744 departments (93%). The percentage of women among physics…

Women's representation in physics lags behind most other STEM disciplines. Currently, women make up about 13% of faculty members in all physics degree-granting departments, and there are physics departments with no women faculty members at all. These two data points are often cited as evidence of a lack of equity for women. In this article,…

Between March 20 and July 8, 2008 (the spring semester of 2008), the authors contacted each of the 763 departments in the US that award at least a bachelor's degree in physics by e-mail, mail, and certified mail. They received responses from 713 departments (93%). This report describes their findings. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)

This paper presents data covering the representation of African Americans among physics and geoscience degree recipients at each stage of the educational system. The data were collected by several statistical agencies and are here provided in far more detail than has ever been available before. By placing all the data in one place, this paper…

Across the world, women in physics have much in common. In almost all countries, women are largely under represented in physics. In the majority of countries for which data was obtainable for this report from reliable statistical agencies, women earned no more than one-fifth of the PhDs in physics. Many women physicists across the world also…

During the spring of 2004, the Statistical Research Center (SRC) of the American Institute of Physics sent a questionnaire to all 797 degree-granting physics and astronomy departments in the US. The purpose of this questionnaire, "The Academic Workforce Survey," was to determine the number of faculty positions in physics and astronomy, the number…

Despite years of continued growth, women's participation in physics remains among the lowest of any scientific field. The issue is of great concern to many in the scientific community, spawning talks at conferences, data collection efforts, and speculation about the causes of women's low participation in physics. Although women's participation in…

The decision about which college to attend can be daunting. College bound high school students may pore over catalogs, make visits to multiple campuses, and negotiate the intricacies of financial aid. There are a variety of choices, and the most basic of choices involves what type of school to attend. Should it be a well-funded research university…