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Enrollment Trends

Up to Labor Market for PhDs


Voices: Foreign Graduate Students
symmetry - March 2005 - "Should the United States be concerned with the drop in applications and enrollment of foreign science graduate students? If so, why?"
Catching Up in International Grad Students
Inside Higher Ed, Aug 2007. "Graduate schools are reporting a continued rebound in applications from and admissions offers to those from outside the United States, but levels at most institutions still have not reached 2003 levels, according to a report being released today by the Council of Graduate Schools."
Doctoral Student Enrollment Trends in Science and Engineering at Selected AAU Institutions, 1991-1995
by Rocco Russo, ETS. Detailed enrollment data show substantial drops in first-year enrollments in programs surveyed in biochemistry (down 29%), economics (down 41%), mathematics (down 34%), and mechanical engineering (down 41%). (Requires Adobe Acrobat)
Graduate School Applications Plummet
A CGS survey reports that applications to graduate schools from China, India, and South Korea dropped by 45%, 28%, and 14%, respectively from 2003 to 2004. Overall applications to engineering graduate schools declined 36% between 2003 and 2004. Results from a CGS study. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
First-year Science & Engineering Graduate Enrollment Figures
Data from the NSF for 1990-1997. First-year S&E enrollments peaked in 1992 and have steadily declined ever since. 1997 enrollments are down 11.5% from 1992. Astronomy is down 22%, physics is down 25%, geosciences are down 10%, math is down 26%, chemistry is down 4%. Biology, on the other hand, is up 2%, with big increases in cell biology, genetics, and pathology. (Requires Microsoft Excel to read)
International grad student applications on the rise
Engineering Science blog, August 2007.
Findings from 2005 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey
"The Council of Graduate Schools has been engaged in a multi-year examination of international graduate admissions trends.... The major findings were a 5% decline in international graduate applications and a 3% increase in international graduate admissions (admits) between 2004 and 2005."