Count of First-Time Science and Engineering Graduate Students Still Climbing

A leading indicator portends good news for those seeking to grow the count of science and engineering experts in the United States, even though the indicator is two years old. A new report out of the National Science Foundation (NSF) shows that in 2008 there were more students enrolled in graduate programs for these subjects than in the previous year. Overall enrollment grew 2.5 percent over 2007, and first-time full-time enrollments actually increased by nearly 8 percent.

NSF's Division of Science Resources Statistics released the data in a report on the agency's Web site. The survey of graduate students and postdoctorates in science and engineering was co-sponsored by NSF and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The number of students entering these programs for the first time has been increasing for the last 10 years, with the exception of a one-year decline from 2003 to 2004.

The count of new full-time grad students--a record 108,819--was the largest in the history of the survey, which began in 1973. The report's authors observed also that this was the first year since 2003 when enrollment in the engineering fields grew faster among U.S. citizens and permanent residents than among foreign students on temporary visas. For the latter segment, growth is slightly stronger among women than men.

The total count of enrollment in science and engineering graduate programs was 529,275 in 2008.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • AI robot with cybersecurity symbol on its chest

    Microsoft Adds New Agentic AI Tools to Security Copilot

    Microsoft has announced a major expansion of its AI-powered cybersecurity platform, introducing a suite of autonomous agents to help organizations counter rising threats and manage the growing complexity of cloud and AI security.

  • modern college building with circuit and brain motifs

    Anthropic Launches Claude for Education

    Anthropic has announced a version of its Claude AI assistant tailored for higher education institutions. Claude for Education "gives academic institutions secure, reliable AI access for their entire community," the company said, to enable colleges and universities to develop and implement AI-enabled approaches across teaching, learning, and administration.

  • central cloud platform connected to various AI icons—including a brain, robot, and network nodes

    Linux Foundation to Host Protocol for AI Agent Interoperability

    The Linux Foundation has announced it will host the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol project, an open standard originally developed by Google to support secure communication and interoperability among AI agents.

  • open laptop in a college classroom with holographic AI icons like a brain and data charts rising from the screen

    4 Ways Universities Are Using Google AI Tools for Learning and Administration

    In a recent blog post, Google shared an array of education customer stories, showcasing ways institutions are using AI tools like Gemini and NotebookLM to transform both learning and administrative tasks.