This report provides an overview of science and engineering (S&E) higher education in the United States, including trends over time and comparisons with other nations. S&E fields, as defined in this report, include astronomy, chemistry, physics, atmospheric sciences, earth sciences, ocean sciences, mathematics and statistics, computer…

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered considerable shifts in enrollment patterns for both U.S. citizens and permanent residents and temporary visa-holding graduate students within science, engineering, and health (SEH) fields during the fall 2020. After 3 years of relative stability, full-time enrollment of temporary visa holders in SEH master's…

Graduate education plays a central role in advancing the Nation's science and engineering research enterprise. It is also increasingly the means by which the Nation develops a diverse and highly technical Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) professional workforce. The view that graduate education in STEM disciplines is an…

Approximately 632,700 graduate students were enrolled in science, engineering, and health (SEH) programs in the United States as of fall 2010, a 30% increase from approximately 493,300 students in 2000, according to the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS). The growth…

The survey of earned doctorates, the data source for this report, is an annual census of individuals who receive research doctoral degrees from accredited U.S. academic institutions. The survey is sponsored by six federal agencies: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Institutes of…

This report provides statistical information about the participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering education and employment. Its primary purpose is to serve as an information source. It offers no endorsement of or recommendations about policies or programs. National Science Foundation reporting on…

This InfoBrief uses data collected from the 2009 Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) to report on trends in the numbers of individuals who earn research doctoral degrees from U.S. academic institutions. Postgraduation plans of new doctorate recipients are examined from 2004 to 2009, a period that includes the recent economic decline. The following…

In 2008, about 568,000 foreign students (those holding temporary visas) studied at U.S. universities and colleges, 248,000 of them in science and engineering (S&E). There was an expectation that fall 2009 foreign enrollments might be negatively affected by the 2008-09 world financial crisis because of schools' restrictions on enrollment,…

The Science Indicators series was designed to provide a broad base of quantitative information about U.S. science, engineering, and technology for use by policymakers, researchers, and the general public. "Science and Engineering Indicators 2010" contains analyses of key aspects of the scope, quality, and vitality of the Nation's science…

U.S. enrollment in science and engineering (S&E) graduate programs in 2007 increased by 3.3% over comparable data for 2006. This is the highest annual growth rate since 2002 and is nearly double the 1.7% growth rate seen in 2006. First-time, full-time enrollment of foreign students (the terms "foreign student" and "temporary" visa holder are…

In May 2008, a two-day workshop was held in Arlington, Virginia with the goal of defining the progress of interdisciplinary research and graduate education and their impacts on academic institutions. The workshop was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate of Education and Human Resources, Division of Graduate Education,…

This document provides information about the participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering education and employment. It includes figures and tables displaying a variety of statistical information about each of these groups, and its primary purpose is to serve as an information source It offers no…

On June 17-18th, 2004, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) sponsored a workshop at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to discuss emerging issues, research, and current practices related to financial…

In October 1997, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget announced new government-wide standards for the collection of data on race and ethnicity (published as U.S. OMB 1999) effective January 1, 2003. Previously, racial/ethnic groups were identified as white, non-Hispanic; black, non-Hispanic; Hispanic; Asian or Pacific Islander; and American…

Over the last quarter of a century, the world has undergone rapid change. Almost every aspect of human life is more complex and interdependent, requiring knowledge of human and social systems as well as physical and biological systems. The social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) sciences contribute penetrating insights on such issues as the causes…