Undergraduate and graduate enrollments as shown in the graph below indicate that the period of growth in both undergraduate and graduate degrees is ending. First-year enrollments began to decline in fall 2002 and swept through the undergraduate years; fourth-year enrollments have now begun to decline. Master's enrollments declined considerably in fall 2004 and fall 2005. Doctoral enrollments lag behind master's enrollments as shown; doctoral enrollment growth has now ceased.

Engineering Degree (Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral) Trends

The recent trends in enrollments shown in the graph above have now begun to impact the total numbers of undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded by US colleges of engineering. Trends in the degrees awarded are shown in the graphs below. For AY2005-06, a slight decline occurred in the number of bachelor's degrees and a substantial decline occurred in master's degrees. Enrollment data indicate that both of these degree declines will continue. The doctoral degree growth rate remains high. However, it should be anticipated that enrollments will begin to decline, possibly as soon as fall 2006, as a result of the declines in master's enrollments. Doctoral degree declines should begin a few years thereafter.

Bachelor's Degree Trends in Individual Engineering Disciplines

The two graphs below indicate that the seventeen individual engineering disciplines selected for study currently have bachelor's degree trends that range from rapidly increasing to rapidly decreasing.

Among the larger disciplines, aerospace, civil and mechanical engineering show significant growth and all three "computer" disciplines show significant declines. Electrical engineering may be entering a period of decline and a long-term period of decline for chemical engineering may be ending.

For the smaller disciplines, bioengineering, biomedical engineering and nuclear engineering are currently undergoing substantial growth in the numbers of bachelor's degrees awarded. Systems engineering has grown significantly over the past ten years and petroleum engineering continues its slow growth that began in the late 1990s. Statistical scatter precludes defining current trends for environmental, materials (materials science and engineering) and mining/geological engineering.

Master's Degree Trends in Individual Engineering Disciplines

The two graphs below show the master's degree trends in the seventeen engineering disciplines. Among the nine largest disciplines, only aerospace engineering has a continuing, long-term increasing trend. Electrical, industrial and mechanical engineering, along with computer science and computer science and engineering, show decreasing trends at this time. Chemical engineering degrees remain essentially constant. Trends for civil and computer engineering are not clear.

For the eight smaller disciplines, significant growth in master's degrees has taken place since the late 1990s in bioengineering, biomedical engineering and systems engineering. Continuous, but slower, growth has occurred in nuclear and petroleum engineering degrees since the late 1990s. Data scatter precludes defining current trends for master's degrees in environmental, materials (materials science and engineering) and mining/geological engineering.

Doctoral Degree Trends in Individual Engineering Disciplines

The third and fourth graphs below show the doctoral degree trends for the seventeen engineering disciplines chosen for study. All nine of the largest disciplines show growth trends. On the other hand, for chemical, civil and industrial engineering, the AY2005-06 data points indicate that the growth rates for these disciplines may be slowing.

For the smaller disciplines, biomedical and materials (materials science and engineering) engineering continue to grow rapidly in terms of the number of doctoral degrees awarded. Bioengineering, environmental engineering, nuclear engineering and systems engineering continue to grow slowly. Statistical scatter precludes definition of current trends for mining/geological and petroleum engineering.

Summary

Bachelor's and master's enrollments in engineering have been declining; doctoral enrollment did not grow in fall 2005 and declines are anticipated in the future, possibly as soon as fall 2006. Bachelor's and master's degrees declined in AY2005-06. This study was aimed at defining bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree trends in seventeen individual engineering disciplines.

For bachelor's and master's degrees, engineering discipline trends in many instances differed significantly from those of engineering as a whole. Among the larger disciplines, the numbers of bachelor's degrees awarded in aerospace, civil and mechanical engineering continue to grow; computer engineering, computer science and computer science and engineering continue to decline. Among the smaller disciplines, significant bachelor's degree growth continues for bioengineering, biomedical engineering and systems engineering. Slower growth continues for nuclear and petroleum engineering.

Among the larger disciplines, aerospace engineering is the only discipline experiencing master's degree growth. Electrical, industrial and mechanical engineering, computer science and computer science and engineering are all declining in the number of master's degrees awarded. Among the smaller disciplines, bioengineering, biomedical engineering and systems engineering are undergoing significant master's degree growth; nuclear and petroleum engineering continue to grow slowly.

The situation for doctoral degrees differs from those of bachelor's and master's degrees as would be expected since doctoral degrees in engineering are still increasing rapidly. All nine of the larger disciplines continue to undergo doctoral degree growth, although the growth rates for chemical, civil and industrial engineering slowed in AY2005-06. Among the smaller disciplines, biomedical and materials (materials science and engineering) engineering continue to experience rapid doctoral degree growth; bioengineering, environmental engineering, nuclear engineering and systems engineering continue to grow steadily.

Acknowledgments

The degree data used in this study originated from the annual surveys of the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies. Engineering Trends acknowledges the efforts of this organization in providing credible data and expresses its gratitude for their services to the engineering profession. Persons seeking further information about their surveys and the availability of survey data should visit the EWC Web site (www.aaes.org).

Footnote

Engineering Trends data are compiled mainly from information submitted by universities to the annual surveys of EWC and ASEE. On the very rare occasions where errors in data appear, Engineering Trends corrects the error, if possible, or deletes the data if the error is large enough to alter significantly the trend of the university or the US total.