Like many workers in the United States, physics and astronomy faculty members' careers and work situations have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the spring semester of 2021, AIP's Statistical Research Center surveyed a sample of faculty members regarding their experiences during the pandemic, and this Focus On outlines how faculty…

While new physics bachelor's degree holders have a breadth of possibilities open to them, the initial post-degree outcomes for physics bachelors generally fall into two main categories: entering the workforce or continuing their education at the graduate or professional level. About two-thirds of those continuing with their studies are enrolled in…

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty members have faced a changed and challenging environment. They were faced with reallocating their time across various teaching, research, and service responsibilities; adjusting their teaching format, testing, and labs; and dealing with reduced access to the resources they needed to teach…

The majority (67%) of degree-granting physics departments in the United States grant a bachelor's degree as their highest degree. There are 84 departments that grant astronomy bachelor's degrees. Of these departments, 39 are separate, stand-alone astronomy departments, and 45 are in departments that award both astronomy and physics degrees. The…

The Advanced Placement® (AP®) Program offers high school students the opportunity to take rigorous coursework in high school and receive college credit for AP Exam scores that meet or exceed the requirements of their attending institution. Students receiving AP credit are typically exempted from an introductory level course or series of courses…

Each fall the Statistical Research Center (SRC) conducts its Survey of Enrollments and Degrees. The survey is sent to all degree-granting physics and astronomy departments in the United States and Puerto Rico. Departments are asked to provide information concerning the number of students they currently have enrolled and the number of degrees they…

After receiving their degrees, exiting master's degree holders have a variety of employment and education options available to them. Many students enter or remain in the workforce, whereas others continue their graduate education in physics or other subjects. Some new exiting masters, mostly non-US citizens, leave the US after receiving their…

The trend data detailed in this "Focus On" includes doctorates from the class of 2019. It presents data on the number of physics PhDs awarded in the U.S. including data on citizenship, women, and PhDs from underrepresented groups. It also includes data on educational background, time to degree, subfield of dissertation, and general…

In any academic department, faculty members retire or leave for a variety of reasons, and new faculty members are hired to replace departing faculty or fill newly created positions. This report focuses on departures, retirements, recruitments, and new hires in physics and astronomy departments. In our Academic Workforce Surveys, we collect the…

The Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) offers high school students the opportunity to take rigorous coursework in high school and receive college credit for AP Exam scores that meet or exceed the requirements of their attending institution. Students receiving AP credit are typically exempted from an introductory-level course or series of courses…

The number of both astronomy bachelor's degrees and PhDs awarded in the class of 2016 represent all-time highs. Astronomy bachelors have been increasing steadily for the last 15 years, with 469 degrees awarded in the class of 2016. With undergraduate astronomy enrollments continuing to grow, the trend is expected to continue for at least the next…

By the time physics students receive their PhDs, they have a broad understanding of many areas of physics and in-depth knowledge in a specific subfield. They have developed a comprehensive knowledge of mathematics, modeling, and programming. Graduate students in physics also develop skills in areas not specifically related to physics and not…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page PDF sheets, by topic, with graphics. This document presents highlights relating to English learners and college and career readiness covering school-year (SY) 2013-2014. The topics for this report include: (1) Percentage of ELs…

Using the National Center of Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), this report analyzes data on Native American recipients of bachelor's degrees among 16 physical science and engineering fields. Overall, Native Americans are earning physical science and engineering bachelor's degrees at lower rates than the…

This report presents trend data on the status of physics PhDs one year after receiving their degree. For the last decade postdoctoral fellowships were the most commonly reported positions taken by physics PhDs in the year after receiving their degree. The type of initial employment for of physics PhDs varied depending on the subfield of their…