Astronomy PhD recipients generally follow three main outcomes after receiving their degrees: they accept a postdoctoral position, a non-postdoctoral temporary position, or a potentially permanent position. To learn more about these outcomes, AIP annually asked new astronomy PhDs about their immediate post-degree outcomes. For the classes of 2018,…

As documented in the National Academies' 2020 astronomy decadal survey report, harassment and discrimination continue to be problems in astronomical employment and educational settings. In order to document the types of harassment and discrimination in astronomy and the context in which these behaviors occur, this report describes an analysis of…

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty members faced numerous challenges related to their teaching and research. Among other challenges, many faculty members encountered reduced access to the resources they needed. This Focus On briefly outlines faculty-reported changes in access to resources and compares those changes across the highest degree…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a pervasive impact on the work life and personal lives of employees across the US. During the spring semester of 2021, we surveyed a sample of physics and astronomy faculty members to learn more about their experiences during the pandemic. To understand faculty members' well-being, we asked respondents to gauge their…

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…

This Focus On uses data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) to showcase that, as a group, recipients of physics bachelor's degrees tend to do well on two prominent standardized tests for medical school and law school admission. Although only a small percent of the physics bachelor's…

In this report we explore how and why undergraduate students' career and education plans changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that when students changed their plans, they were more likely to pursue employment instead of graduate education. Students reported that their plans changed due to not being accepted into graduate school,…

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…

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…

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 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…

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…

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…

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…

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the representation and participation of women in physics and astronomy fields. The report describes the representation of women in high school physics enrollment, physics and astronomy degree completions, and faculty employment. In addition, it examines the representation of minority women at some…