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Introduction
Interest in the number of undergraduate engineering degrees awarded
by universities in various countries continues to increase. This
increasing interest stems from a variety of concerns. It is unfortunate
that there has not been a central agency to collect such information
annually in order to provide a standardized database that facilitates
analysis of trends for all countries awarding engineering degrees.
Engineering Trends recently completed a study of available data on
undergraduate engineering degrees awarded in over forty countries.
Additional data were obtained from our direct requests to these
countries for data. Information obtained is summarized in this report
and is also analyzed in terms of degrees relative to the population of
the individual countries.
Undergraduate Degrees Awarded
The National Science Foundation report "Science and Engineering
Indicators 2004" (NSB 0401) (www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind04/start.htm)
provided degree data from 1975 through 2000 for seven countries (China,
Germany, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom and United States) and
single-year (mostly 2000) data for eighty-two others. Engineering
Workforce Commission undergraduate degree data for the United States
were used instead of the NSF data. In several instances, data obtained
directly from countries were also substituted for the NSF data. The two
graphs below provide a comprehensive view of most of this information.
A comparison of undergraduate degrees awarded in various countries is
complicated by the differences between the curriculum format of European
universities and those used in other countries. Wherever possible,
European data for 3- to 5-year programs were used and are indicated by
"S". Where this was not possible, data for 6- to 7-year programs were
used and indicated by "L". Degree data for years other than 2000 are
indicated by the appropriate date.
Substantial degree growth over the last ten to twenty years is shown for
China, South Korea, Turkey and Japan. Although the number of degrees
awarded in Iceland is very small, it is noteworthy that an increase by
an order of magnitude has occurred since 1990. On the other hand,
degrees awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom have changed little
since 1975.
Currently, degrees awarded in the United States are near the maximum
reached in AY1985-86. First-year enrollments reached a maximum in Fall
2002; a maximum in total full-time enrollments is expected for Fall 2004
when survey data become available. Thus, a period of decline in degrees
is anticipated following the maximum predicted by Engineering Trends for
AY2006-07. It appears that, in just a few years, South Korea will
replace the United States as the third-leading producer of undergraduate
engineering degrees.
Undergraduate Degrees Relative to Population
Degree data for 2000 were divided by the population of each of the
countries studied in order to obtain "relative degrees". When degree
data for 2000 were not available, population data for the appropriate
years were used.
The bar graph shown below gives the ranking of the countries studied
in terms of undergraduate degrees per population (millions).
South Korea, Taiwan and Japan are setting the pace in relative degrees
as shown in the bar graph. The average of these three countries is five
times as great as that of the United States which is only twenty-fifth
in the list of countries studied. The substantial growth in degrees
awarded by China assures that they will exceed the output of the United
States in terms of degrees per population in just a few years. Clearly,
the major industrial countries in Asia dominate the relative production
of undergraduate engineering graduates and this domination will remain
in the years ahead.
Summary
Growth in the number of undergraduate engineering degrees over the past
ten to twenty years has been substantial in China, Japan and South
Korea. Degrees awarded in China and Japan have exceeded the number
produced by the United States since the early 1990s. South Korea is
poised to join this group in just a few years.
In terms of relative degree output (degrees per population) in 2000,
South Korea, Taiwan and Japan are the international leaders. The ranking
of the United States by this measure is twenty-fifth among the
forty-three countries included in this report.
Acknowledgments
The undergraduate degree data for the United States 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 AAES/EWC
Web site (www.aaes.org).
The efforts of the National Science Foundation in assembling degree data
from various countries are gratefully acknowledged. Their report series
on "Science and Engineering Indicators" is highly valued and Engineering
Trends supports an expansion of this area of endeavor.
Engineering Trends greatly appreciates the information received from the
embassies and education ministries of Bulgaria, Iceland, Japan, Taiwan,
Turkey and the United Kingdom. Their efforts provided valuable data that
were not available through other sources.
Footnotes
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.
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