The National Science Foundation (NSF) reports in its latest Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering that the number and diversity of grad students and postdocs in these disciplines increased in 2007.
The report says that in 2007 the number of engineering and science students increased 3.3% over 2006, the largest one-year jump since 2002. Science graduate students outnumber engineering students by a 3-to-1 margin (about 385,000 to 132,000), but the percentage of engineering students increased more sharply in 2007, up 5.9% compared to 2.4% for science students.
The science and engineering student population continued to become more diverse in 2007. The number of women rose slightly more (2.9%) than men (2.6%) in 2007. Women now make up about 44% of the science/engineering graduate student population. And the percentage of students from underrepresented groups--Asian, African-American, Hispanic, and Native/Alaskan-American students--increased in each group from 2.7 to 3.7%. While the number foreign graduate students (temporary visa holders) increased by 8,424 in 2007, the percentage of foreign students remained about the same (29%) as in 2006.
The postdoctoral population also grew, from just under 35,000 in 2006 to more than 36,000 in 2007, a jump of nearly 2.9 percent. And while the number of foreign postdocs continued to outpace the number of U.S. postdocs in 2007, the percentage of American postdocs edged up from 40.4% to 41.7% in 2007.
The report says that in 2007 the number of engineering and science students increased 3.3% over 2006, the largest one-year jump since 2002. Science graduate students outnumber engineering students by a 3-to-1 margin (about 385,000 to 132,000), but the percentage of engineering students increased more sharply in 2007, up 5.9% compared to 2.4% for science students.
The science and engineering student population continued to become more diverse in 2007. The number of women rose slightly more (2.9%) than men (2.6%) in 2007. Women now make up about 44% of the science/engineering graduate student population. And the percentage of students from underrepresented groups--Asian, African-American, Hispanic, and Native/Alaskan-American students--increased in each group from 2.7 to 3.7%. While the number foreign graduate students (temporary visa holders) increased by 8,424 in 2007, the percentage of foreign students remained about the same (29%) as in 2006.
The postdoctoral population also grew, from just under 35,000 in 2006 to more than 36,000 in 2007, a jump of nearly 2.9 percent. And while the number of foreign postdocs continued to outpace the number of U.S. postdocs in 2007, the percentage of American postdocs edged up from 40.4% to 41.7% in 2007.
