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Abstract
Undergraduate degrees in engineering as a whole reached a maximum in
AY1985-86, subsequently declined to a minimum in AY1998-99 and are now
rising to a new maximum predicted for AY2006-07. Undergraduate degrees
awarded in materials have departed from this pattern. Bachelor's degrees
in engineering awarded to women have now stagnated at about 20%. In
materials, the fraction has risen to 31%. The fraction of bachelor's
degrees awarded in materials to African Americans is about half that for
engineering. The fractions for other ethnic groups are similar to those
for engineering.
Master's and doctoral degrees in engineering are growing rapidly; these
trends will continue. In materials, master's degrees have declined
slowly to about 2% of engineering from the maximum of 3% in the late
1970s. Doctoral degrees have remained constant at about 7% for a third
of a century. Research expenditures in materials departments, however,
have experienced minimal annual increases relative to other engineering
disciplines for over ten years.
Introduction
Technological leadership requires an input of
technological talent. This is true for both countries and organizations
within those countries. Thus, engineering graduates are one of the key
elements in the development of improved technologies. This paper focuses
on the statistical trends of education in materials science and
engineering (MSE) in the United States. The information will be
presented in a manner that compares MSE to engineering as a whole.
Sources Of Statistical Information
The primary sources of data for US universities were the
annual surveys of the Engineering Workforce Commission (EWC) of the
American Association of Engineering Societies. These surveys began in
the late 1960s and have been a credible source since that time. Data for
research expenditures were obtained from the annual surveys of the
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). They too began their
surveys in the late 1960s and have provided credible data. Information
on the numbers of bachelor's and doctoral degree graduates in other
countries were obtained from both the National Science Foundation
("Science and Engineering Indicators 2004" (NSB 0401)) and from a survey
by Engineering Trends carried out through embassies and education
ministries.
US Degree Statistics - Comparison To Selected
Countries
Engineering bachelor's degrees awarded in the US reached
a maximum in AY1985-86, declined to a minimum in AY1998-99 and have
increased since then. Enrollment data indicate that a maximum will be
reached in AY2006-07 (possibly AY2005-06) and that maximum may exceed
the former one. These degree data are shown in Figure 1 along with
degree data from various other countries.

Figure 1. Bachelor's degrees awarded in the US and in
selected other countries.
The substantial growth in degrees in the Asian countries
is clear. Considering the single data point of Russia, the US is
currently fourth and will probably decrease to fifth in just a few
years.
Doctoral degrees awarded in the US increased
significantly from AY1977-78 through AY1996-97. Full-time graduate
student enrollments that began to increase in the late 1990s have
resulted in substantial growth in graduate degrees (initially master's
and now doctoral). The doctoral degree trends are shown in Figure 2 and
are compared to doctoral degrees warded in selected countries.

Figure 2. Doctoral degrees awarded in the US and in
selected other countries.
At the present time, full-time doctoral enrollments in
the US are continuing to increase rapidly. Degrees should surpass the
record of AY1996-97 by AY2005-06 (possibly AY2004-05). However, the
fraction of foreign nationals awarded engineering doctorates has
steadily increased to 58% in AY2003-04. Disruption of the flow of
graduate students from foreign countries would have a serious impact on
the number of doctoral degrees awarded in the future.
The growth in engineering doctorates awarded in Asian
countries parallels the trends shown in Figure 1 for bachelor's degrees.
A different perspective is obtained from consideration
of bachelor's and doctoral degrees per capita. Table I shows the ranking
of 35 countries in terms of degrees per million population. The rankings
of the US (25th in bachelor's and 16th in doctoral degrees) should be a
cause for concern. This is especially so when the per capita data for
other countries are considered. The high rankings for most of the Asian
countries that graduate large numbers of engineers (see Figures 1 and 2)
are noteworthy.
Table I. Bachelor's and doctoral degrees awarded per million population
(2000 or year indicated).
|
|
Bachelor’s
Degrees
|
Doctoral
Degrees
|
|
Rank |
Country |
No./Cap. |
Country |
No./Cap. |
|
1 |
S. Korea |
1196 |
Sweden |
94 |
|
2 |
Taiwan 2001 |
1192 |
Finland |
72 |
|
3 |
Japan |
814 |
Austria |
42 |
|
4 |
Sweden |
772 |
Switzerland |
36 |
|
5 |
Finland |
712 |
S. Korea |
35 |
|
6 |
Poland 1996 |
560 |
Denmark |
35 |
|
7 |
Russia 1999 |
559 |
UK |
34 |
|
8 |
Ireland |
531 |
Lithuania |
31 |
|
9 |
Israel |
473 |
Japan |
30 |
|
10 |
Australia |
472 |
France 1999 |
30 |
|
11 |
Netherlands |
461 |
Portugal |
28 |
|
12 |
Spain |
386 |
Germany |
27 |
|
13 |
Iceland |
377 |
Netherlands |
26 |
|
14 |
Kazakhstan 1995 |
348 |
Australia |
25 |
|
15 |
UK |
344 |
Taiwan |
23 |
|
16 |
Belgium |
326 |
USA |
22 |
|
17 |
Switzerland |
311 |
Canada |
19 |
|
18 |
Canada |
308 |
Czech Rep. |
18 |
|
19 |
Columbia 1996 |
299 |
Norway |
17 |
|
20 |
Romania |
295 |
Belgium |
15 |
|
21 |
Turkey |
286 |
Croatia |
13 |
|
22 |
Bolivia |
265 |
Israel |
13 |
|
23 |
Chile 1996 |
254 |
Ireland |
13 |
|
24 |
Mexico |
242 |
Georgia |
13 |
|
25 |
USA 2003 |
231 |
Italy |
12 |
|
26 |
Syria 1995 |
219 |
Spain |
10 |
|
27 |
France |
210 |
Hungary |
10 |
|
28 |
Germany |
201 |
Greece |
9 |
|
29 |
Thailand 1995 |
185 |
Serbia/Mont. |
8 |
|
30 |
China |
164 |
Bulgaria |
7 |
|
31 |
Norway |
158 |
Turkey |
5 |
|
32 |
Iran |
152 |
Ghana |
4 |
|
33 |
Cuba |
122 |
Morocco |
4 |
|
34 |
Bulgaria |
114 |
China |
4 |
|
35 |
Brazil 1996 |
109 |
Brazil |
3 |
Materials Science And Engineering Statistical Trends
Degrees
MSE undergraduate degree trends do not follow closely those of
engineering as a whole. As shown in Figure 3, the growth in bachelor's
degrees during the late 1970s preceded that of engineering by about five
years. The growth in undergraduate degrees in engineering since AY
1998-99 has not been shared by MSE during that period. From their minima
in the mid-1970s to their maxima in the early 1990s, the master's
degrees awarded in MSE and engineering both doubled. Master's degrees in
engineering have set new records in AY2002-03 and AY2003-04; master's
degrees in MSE have yet to reach their AY1993-94 record. The MSE
doctoral trend follows that of engineering in both timing and extent of
increase (275%) from their minima in the late 1970s to their maxima in
AY1996-97.

Figure 3. MSE degree trends.
A comparison of MSE and engineering degree trends over the past three
decades is shown in Figure 4. The MSE fraction of engineering degrees
has been relatively constant except for the minor "bump" in the late
1970s and the slow but steady decline over the past half decade.
Master's degrees in MSE have not kept pace with engineering; the MSE
fraction has declined from about 3% in the late 1970s to about 2% in AY
2003-04. Doctoral degrees in MSE have generally held constant at about
7% over the past third of a century.

Figure 4. Comparison of MSE and engineering degree trends since
AY1970-71.

Figure 5. Full-time bachelor's (including first-year), master's and
doctoral enrollments in MSE.
Enrollments
Enrollment data provide a means for obtaining short-term predictions of
future degree trends. Figure 5 indicates that doctoral enrollments are
in an extended period of growth; degrees should continue to grow
significantly for at least the next four or five years. Undergraduate
degree enrollments have grown in the past few years. Degree growth
should begin in the near future with the duration of the growth period
being dependent upon the extent of the period of enrollment growth. The
continued decline in master's enrollments indicates that the number of
master's degrees in MSE will begin to decline in a year or two. Thus,
the MSE trend will depart substantially from that of engineering as a
whole.
The data for first-year full-time undergraduate enrollments are
noteworthy in several ways. The ratio of first-year to total full-time
enrollment over the eight-year period shown is about 0.16 for MSE. For
engineering as a whole the ratio for the same period is 0.28, a value
that is more understandable considering a comparison of just one year to
the entire four-year (nominally) program. Thus, a large fraction of the
MSE bachelor's degree graduates enroll in engineering with the intent of
studying another discipline. The corollary to this is that the number of
MSE graduates is dependent upon the visibility of MSE departments and
their efforts in recruiting students already enrolled in engineering.

Figure 6. Comparison of the fractions of degrees awarded to women in MSE
and all of engineering.
Women
As shown in Figure 6, the fraction of degrees awarded to women in MSE is
significantly higher than in engineering as a whole. With very few
exceptions, this broad statement applies to bachelor's, master's and
doctoral degrees and covers a period of a third of a century. It is
interesting to note that both the MSE and engineering data in Figure 6
for bachelor's degrees have an upward "bulge" from the mid-1970s through
the 1980s, the period during which total undergraduate degrees reached a
maximum. It can be concluded that the maximum was due in part to the
significant increases in the enrollment of women during this period.
Enrollment data now indicate that the period of growth in the fraction
of undergraduate degrees awarded to women may be coming to an end. This
new trend appears to apply to engineering disciplines, like MSE, that
have been favored by women.
Ethnicity and Foreign Nationals
The fractions of MSE and engineering degrees awarded to African
Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and
foreign nationals are shown in Table II. Undergraduate and graduate
degree fractions are included for the period from AY1988-89 through
AY2003-04.
African Americans. MSE fractions for undergraduate degrees are
significantly lower than those for engineering. It is noteworthy that
both MSE and engineering data indicate a decline over the last five
years. Graduate degree fractions are essentially the same. However, like
the undergraduate data, declines in the fractions for both master's and
doctoral degrees have occurred since AY1998-99.
Hispanic Americans. With very few exceptions, MSE and engineering
fractions for undergraduate and graduate degrees are essentially the
same. In addition, increasing trends have been maintained for the last
two decades. (The data for engineering include two universities in
Puerto Rico.)
Native Americans. Small numbers and data scatter interfere somewhat with
definitive statements regarding this group. In general, the data
indicate that MSE and engineering data do not differ significantly. It
may be possible to discern slight increasing trends in both the MSE and
engineering data, but such conclusions would be difficult to defend.
Asian Americans. MSE fractions are slightly, but consistently, less than
engineering fractions for bachelor's degrees. Both sets of data show a
generally increasing trend for the past two decades. For both master's
and doctoral degrees, the fractions are about the same and are much
larger than those of the other three ethnic groups. Long-term trends are
not clear in spite of the fact that the substantial quantity of data
should minimize statistical scatter.
Foreign Nationals. The fractions for bachelor's degrees in MSE and
engineering have remained essentially constant for the last two decades.
The average for MSE (3.7%) is about half that for engineering (7.9%).
The MSE and engineering fractions for graduate degrees are essentially
the same and have grown for the last two decades. For MSE in AY2003-04,
the fractions were 44.8% for master's degrees and 57.9% for doctoral
degrees.
Table II. Degrees awarded to African, Hispanic, Native and Asian
Americans and foreign nationals.
|
|
|
|
Academic Years |
|
Group |
|
Degree |
1988-89 |
1993-94 |
1998-99 |
2003-04 |
|
African American |
MSE |
Bachelor’s |
1.8% |
2.6% |
3.4% |
2.3% |
|
African American |
Eng |
Bachelor’s |
3.1% |
4.3% |
5.1% |
4.9% |
|
African American |
MSE |
Master’s |
0.3% |
1.2% |
3.2% |
2.6% |
|
African American |
Eng |
Master’s |
1.6% |
2.1% |
2.8% |
2.3% |
|
African American |
MSE |
Doctoral |
0 |
0.8% |
0.9% |
1.3% |
|
African American |
Eng |
Doctoral |
0.6% |
1.0% |
2.0% |
1.6% |
|
Hispanic American |
MSE |
Bachelor’s |
2.4% |
4.5% |
4.0% |
4.5% |
|
Hispanic American |
Eng |
Bachelor’s |
3.7% |
4.7% |
6.5% |
6.3% |
|
Hispanic American |
MSE |
Master’s |
1.5% |
1.5% |
2.1% |
1.6% |
|
Hispanic American |
Eng |
Master’s |
1.8% |
2.1% |
2.7% |
2.8% |
|
Hispanic American |
MSE |
Doctoral |
0 |
0.8% |
1.2% |
1.5% |
|
Hispanic American |
Eng |
Doctoral |
0.7% |
0.7% |
1.6% |
1.5% |
|
Native American |
MSE |
Bachelor’s |
0.4% |
0.1% |
0.4% |
0.5% |
|
Native American |
Eng |
Bachelor’s |
0.3% |
0.3% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
|
Native American |
MSE |
Master’s |
0 |
0 |
0.5% |
0.1% |
|
Native American |
Eng |
Master’s |
0.1% |
0.2% |
0.2% |
0.2% |
|
Native American |
MSE |
Doctoral |
0 |
0 |
0.5% |
0 |
|
Native American |
Eng |
Doctoral |
0.04% |
0.1% |
0.2% |
0.1% |
|
Asian American |
MSE |
Bachelor’s |
5.0% |
11.7% |
8.5% |
10.5% |
|
Asian American |
Eng |
Bachelor’s |
8.5% |
10.6% |
11.6% |
13.1% |
|
Asian American |
MSE |
Master’s |
6.7% |
5.6% |
5.7% |
8.9% |
|
Asian American |
Eng |
Master’s |
7.6% |
8.2% |
9.4% |
9.7% |
|
Asian American |
MSE |
Doctoral |
8.6% |
6.8% |
8.0% |
5.9% |
|
Asian American |
Eng |
Doctoral |
5.6% |
6.7% |
7.0% |
6.1% |
|
Foreign National |
MSE |
Bachelor’s |
3.8% |
3.1% |
4.2% |
3.6% |
|
Foreign National |
Eng |
Bachelor’s |
8.3% |
7.6% |
8.1% |
7.6% |
|
Foreign National |
MSE |
Master’s |
31.7% |
34.8% |
41.7% |
44.8% |
|
Foreign National |
Eng |
Master’s |
28.3% |
32.5% |
36.4% |
45.4% |
|
Foreign National |
MSE |
Doctoral |
43.6% |
52.4% |
| |