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News Release 12-104

NSF Releases Report Detailing Substantial Growth in Graduate Enrollment in Science and Engineering in the Past Decade

Biomedical engineering continues to be one of fastest-growing fields

InfoBrief

Graduate enrollment in S&E and health programs increased by about 30 percent.


June 1, 2012

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

A recent report released by the National Science Foundation found that graduate enrollment in science and engineering grew substantially in the past decade.

Approximately 632,700 graduate students were enrolled in science, engineering and health programs in the United States as of fall 2010. This was a 30 percent increase from 493,000 students in 2000, according to the National Science Foundation's Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.

The growth in first time, full-time graduate student enrollment in science, engineering, and health programs over this time was even greater, with a 50 percent increase from approximately 78,400 students in 2000 to almost 118,500 students in 2010.

Enrollment in biomedical engineering, which increased by over seven percent between 2009 and 2010, continues to be one of the fastest growing science and engineering fields and has experienced 165 percent growth--the most rapid growth over the last decade--from approximately 3,200 graduate students in 2000 to 8,500 students in 2010.

Please visit the NSF's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) for more reports and other products.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Deborah Wing, NSF, (703) 292-5344, email: dwing@nsf.gov

Program Contacts
Kelly H. Kang, NSF, (703) 292-7796, email: kkang@nsf.gov

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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