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Newsletter Contents

Synopses of New Reports in Inside Engineering Education on the Engineering Trends Web Site  http://engtrends.com

1. "Women Faculty in Engineering - Will Past Growth Continue?"
2. "US News Undergraduate Rankings - Faculty, Degree and Research Expenditure Comparisons"
3. "Engineering Degrees Awarded to Women - Has the Period of Growth Ended?"

Engineering Degree Graphical Information in Degrees Since 1945 on the Engineering Trends Web Site Expanded from Eleven to Twenty-One Individual Engineering Disciplines

On-campus Recruiting - Engineering Trends Can Assist in the Selection of Universities to Visit  

New Studies Underway at Engineering Trends

1. "Undergraduate Engineering Enrollment Trends"
2. "Research Expenditures in Engineering and Engineering Disciplines"
3. "Ethnicity Trends for Master's and Doctoral Enrollments in Engineering and Individual Engineering Disciplines"

Synopses of New Reports in Inside Engineering Education on the Engineering Trends Web Site

Women Faculty in Engineering - Will Past Growth Continue? (Report No. 0506A)

Significant progress has been made in increasing the number of women in engineering faculty positions as shown by data compiled since Fall 2001. However, the fraction of women holding academic positions (10.3% in Fall 2004) indicates that substantial additional progress is necessary. Continued growth will require effort in increasing the number of women receiving doctoral degrees, increasing the fraction of those graduates who choose academic careers and providing the means for advancement of assistant professors through the academic ranks.

US News Undergraduate Rankings - Faculty, Degree and Research Expenditure Comparisons (Report No. 0506B)

The 2006 US News and World Report ranking of undergraduate engineering programs in colleges that award doctoral degrees was studied by subdividing the 116 colleges into eight groups in order of increasing rank. The first seven each included fifteen universities; the eighth had only eleven. Faculty, degree and research expenditure data for each group were determined and compared. Some measures declined with increasing group ranking and some measures were essentially independent of group ranking.

The fractions of total US bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees decreased with increasing group ranking as did the fractions of these degrees awarded to women. The most significant declines occurred in the first three groups (the highest ranking 45 universities). Similar declining trends were found for faculty numbers (total and women) and research expenditures. Doctoral degrees and research expenditures per faculty member also declined with increasing group rank. The influence of graduate parameters such as doctoral degrees and research expenditures presumably contributes to the similarity of the undergraduate and graduate rankings.

This study found a few meaningful parameters that did not vary significantly with the group rankings. There was relatively little variation among the eight groups in the number of bachelor's and master's degrees per faculty member even though doctoral degrees per faculty member decreased with increasing ranking. In addition, no significant ranking trend was found for the fraction of women holding faculty positions and the fractions of women awarded bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.

Engineering Degrees Awarded to Women - Has the Period of Growth Ended? (Report No. 0506C)

This study investigated the trends in bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees awarded to women in nine major engineering disciplines since AY1975-76. Both numbers of degrees and relative degrees (fractions of total degrees) were considered.

The fraction of undergraduate degrees awarded to women exceeded 35% in three disciplines (bioeng+biomedical, chemical and industrial engineering) in AY2004-05. A fourth discipline (materials engineering) seems poised to join this group in a year or so. It is incorrect to conclude that women are not attracted to engineering when they clearly have a strong preference for specific engineering disciplines at the undergraduate level.

For master's programs, bioeng+biomedical engineering had a relative degree fraction of 44% in AY2004-05, followed by chemical (29%), civil (26%), materials (26%) and electrical (19%) engineering. Only three disciplines (bioeng+biomedical, chemical and electrical engineering) continue to increase in the relative number master's degrees awarded to women.

For doctoral degrees, bioeng+biomedical engineering had a relative degree fraction of 29%, followed by chemical (23%), materials (23%), civil (22%) and industrial (22%) engineering. Only civil engineering continues to increase in the relative number of doctoral degrees awarded to women.

Engineering Degree Graphical Information in Degrees Since 1945 on the Engineering Trends Web Site Expanded from Eleven to Twenty-One Individual Engineering Disciplines

Requests to Engineering Trends for increased numbers of engineering disciplines covered on the Degrees Since 1945 page of our Web site have encouraged us to expand the number of disciplines from eleven to twenty-one. In addition, bioengineering and biomedical engineering are being reported separately (rather than combined as "biological") and computer engineering, computer science (in universities with engineering colleges) and computer science and engineering are being reported separately (rather than combined as "computer"). Engineering Trends believes that the separate reporting of these five disciplines is unique.

In addition, all data on engineering as a whole are now available to all Web site visitors. As in the past, all individual discipline degree data on the Web site are accessible by Engineering Trends members.

Non-members of Engineering Trends may now purchase from the Web site graphs of degree datasets for individual engineering disciplines.

On-campus Recruiting - Engineering Trends Can Assist in the Selection of Universities to Visit.

Are you visiting the universities that graduate the numbers and types of engineers that your organization is seeking for future employees? Effective recruiting is critical to the future success of any organization. Engineering Trends tracks all engineering colleges and departments (twenty-one specific disciplines) in the US. Our extensive databases contain information on the latest numbers of graduates (bachelor's, master's and doctoral) in each of these colleges and departments (including ethnicity and gender data). We can also provide data for universities in a given state for organizations that recruit in specific geographical areas. If you could use a comparison of the universities that you typically visit to others in which you might have an interest, please do not hesitate to contact us.

New Studies Underway at Engineering Trends

Undergraduate Engineering Enrollment Trends

First-year enrollments reached a maximum in Fall 2001 and full-time undergraduate enrollments reached a maximum in Fall 2003. This study considers the trends in both engineering and engineering disciplines through Fall 2005.

Research Expenditures in Engineering and Engineering Disciplines

The last Engineering Trends study of research expenditures (Report 1005C) indicated that new trends were underway for engineering and many individual engineering disciplines. This study will update that 2005 study.

Ethnicity Trends for Master's and Doctoral Enrollments in Engineering and Individual Engineering Disciplines

Report 0206C examined enrollments in engineering and engineering disciplines at the undergraduate level. This study will analyze enrollments for master's and doctoral students.

Can We Be of Assistance?

Engineering Trends specializes in client-defined studies comparing engineering colleges and departments at individual universities. We would be pleased to assist you in your activities in this regard. Engineering Trends has the capability to provide rapid responses and accurate studies at low cost to our clients. All studies are based upon a no-cost quotation specifying the scope of the study and the delivery time, as well as the cost.

We welcome your suggestions of reports to be added to the Inside Engineering Education section of our Web site and reviewed in forthcoming newsletters. You may contact us via our Web site http://engtrends.com, by e-mail at news@engtrends.com and/or by phone (906) 482-1523. We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Richard W. Heckel
Founder & Technical Director

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