In recent years, S&E degree recipients have become increasingly diverse in terms of both sex and race and ethnicity, although the representation of women and some racial and ethnic groups remains uneven among S&E fields. Demographic data on S&E degree recipients illustrate the relative position of underrepresented groups in U.S. S&E, groups that are collectively termed the “missing millions” by NSB (NSB 2020). This section of the report extends some analyses from Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities 2023 (NCSES 2023) using 2021 data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) categorized by the NCSES Taxonomy of Disciplines to address differences in degree attainment by sex and by race and ethnicity.

The percentage of S&E certificates and degrees that women earned in 2021 differed by field and by award level (Figure HED-17). Across all award levels, women earned more certificates and degrees than men in agricultural and biological sciences, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences, social sciences, and psychology. Women earned the highest shares of certificates and degrees in psychology, accounting for 94% of certificates in psychology and at least 74% of psychology degrees at other levels.

In other S&E fields, women made up the minority of award recipients in 2021. In computer and information sciences and in engineering, women earned no more than about a third of awards at any level. In geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences, women earned about half of the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees but less than half of the certificates and doctoral degrees. In the physical sciences, women earned 54% of certificates, but the proportion of awards that women earned decreased as award level increased, with women receiving 34% of doctoral degrees.

From 2012 to 2021, the percentage of S&E awards that women earned either increased or remained about the same, depending on the field and award level. The largest increases occurred at the certificate level in biological and biomedical sciences (20 percentage points), mathematics and statistics (21 percentage points), and the physical sciences (19 percentage points) (Figure HED-18). In engineering, one of the fields in which women are most underrepresented, the share of awards that women earned increased by 6 percentage points or less at all award levels. Similarly, the share of computer and information sciences awards that women earned increased by 4–6 percentage points at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels.

As of 2021, American Indian or Alaska Native, Black or African American, and Hispanic students were underrepresented among S&E certificate and degree award recipients at most award levels relative to their proportions of the U.S. population ages 20–34 years old (Figure HED-19). One notable exception is that Hispanic students comprised 33% of S&E associate’s degree recipients, compared to 22% of the U.S. population ages 20–34 years old. On the other hand, Hispanic students comprised 10% of S&E doctoral degree recipients. Asian individuals were overrepresented among S&E postsecondary award degree recipients at all levels, and White individuals were overrepresented at all levels except the associate’s degree level.

The number of S&E certificates and degrees earned by students from most racial and ethnic groups has grown at most award levels over the last decade (Table HED-5). At the associate’s degree level and above, S&E degrees earned by Hispanic students increased by the greatest number from 2012 to 2021, including a 71,000 increase in S&E bachelor’s degrees. The prominent growth in Hispanic S&E degree recipients has occurred in tandem with a large increase in the overall U.S. Hispanic population, which is considerably younger than the nation’s non-Hispanic population.^{​From 2010 to 2020, the U.S. Hispanic or Latino population grew by 11.6 million, whereas the combined non-Hispanic population grew by 11.1 million. In 2020, the median age of the total population was 38.8 years, and the median age of the Hispanic or Latino population was 30.0 years. For more information, see U.S. Census Bureau (2023).} S&E degrees earned by students of more than one race grew most rapidly on a percentage basis during this time, but the number of degree recipients from this group is comparatively small. From 2012 to 2021, S&E degrees earned by American Indian or Alaska Native students decreased at the associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels; this was the only racial or ethnic group that experienced a decline in S&E master’s or doctoral degrees.

Between 2012 and 2021, the percentage of S&E awards collectively earned by American Indian or Alaska Native, Black or African American, and Hispanic or Latino students increased at every award level (Figure HED-20). The largest increase occurred at the associate’s degree level (from 31% to 42%), while the smallest increase occurred at the certificate level. The percentage of S&E bachelor’s degrees earned by students from these underrepresented groups increased from 22% to 28%, an increase that was driven by the increase in bachelor’s degree awards to Hispanic students. The percentage of S&E bachelor’s degrees earned by Hispanic graduates increased by at least 3 percentage points in every broad S&E field of study between 2012 and 2021 (Table SHED-15). In comparison, in each S&E field the percentage of bachelor’s degrees earned by Black students and American Indian or Alaska Native students either decreased or increased by a relatively small amount.

The cost of higher education has increased in recent decades, as has the percentage of students who borrow to finance their education and the total amount of student debt (Ma and Pender 2022). Concern over the cost of higher education has grown among policymakers and the public in general because it poses a barrier for many individuals who cannot afford these expenses. This section presents cost data for higher education for all students and, when possible, for S&E students specifically.

In academic year 2019–20, first-time, full-time undergraduate students attending 4-year institutions faced an average net price of attendance—tuition, fees, and living expenses minus grant aid—of $14,200 at public institutions, $28,100 at private nonprofit institutions, and $23,200 at private for-profit institutions (in constant 2020–21 dollars) (NCES 2022).^{​Grants include need- and merit-based funding such as scholarships, Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and state, local, and institution-provided grants. The term grant applies to any aid the student is not expected to repay.} To pay these costs, students used federal, state, local, and institution grants and took out student loans. Although the federal government provides most student loans, students also borrow through state loan programs and from private lenders. In 2019–20, most first-time, full-time undergraduates received some financial aid; the percentage of aid recipients ranged from 81% among students in public 2-year institutions to 94% among students in private nonprofit 2-year institutions (Table HED-6). Students in private 2-year institutions borrowed at the highest rates: 76% in private for-profit institutions, and 78% in private nonprofit institutions. Students in public 2-year institutions borrowed at the lowest rate, 17%. Among those who borrowed, students in public 2-year institutions borrowed the lowest average amount, $4,700, and students in private for-profit 2-year institutions borrowed the highest average amount, $7,600 (NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2021: Table 331.20).

Students’ ability to repay their student loan debt after leaving school is a major concern among the public and policymakers. In 2020, about 4 years after completing their bachelor’s degrees, the median amount borrowed among 2015–16 bachelor’s degree recipients who had taken out federal student loans was $30,000, and the average was $41,000, indicating that some students borrowed much higher amounts (Table HED-7). The total amount borrowed includes borrowing for education after completing the 2015–16 bachelor’s degree: graduates who had enrolled for an additional postsecondary degree or certificate had borrowed a median amount of $43,500, compared with a $27,000 median amount among students who had no further enrollment. By major field of study, the median amounts borrowed ranged from $27,000 among engineering graduates to $36,000 among graduates in health care fields.

By 2020, the median amount that 2015–16 bachelor’s degree recipients owed in education loans was 92% of what they had borrowed, and the average amount owed was 78% of the amount they had borrowed (Table HED-7). Although 28% of borrowers were currently repaying their loans in summer 2020, reflecting the administrative forbearance that the federal government granted in response to the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, that percentage differed by students’ undergraduate field. Among biological and physical sciences, science technology, mathematics, and agricultural sciences majors, 17% were repaying their loans in 2020. In contrast, 37% of computer and information sciences majors were in repayment. Among those in repayment, the median monthly payment was $200, and the average was $230.

In fall 2021, 949,000 international students—including nondegree students, students enrolled both in person and online from abroad, and individuals on optional practical training—were enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions (Figure HED-21). International students accounted for an estimated 4.7% of total U.S. enrollment in fall 2021, a slight increase from the 4.6% share in 2020 but still below the pre–COVID-19 pandemic high of 5.5% in 2017–19 (IIE 2022c). Enrollment of international nondegree students, such as those on short-term exchange programs, experienced the greatest proportionate decrease from 2019 to 2021. International undergraduate enrollment, which peaked in 2017, and graduate enrollment, which peaked in 2016, both began declining prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. International undergraduate enrollment decreased by 4% from 2020 to 2021, in contrast to graduate enrollment, which increased by 17% (Figure HED-21).

Regulatory changes around the optional practical training (OPT) program led to increases in these students prior to the pandemic, but their numbers fell between 2019 and 2021. International student participation in OPT measured 185,000 students in 2021, a 9% decrease from 204,000 in 2020, which was a decline from the 2019 peak of 224,000 (Figure HED-21). OPT is a temporary work permission program that allows eligible international students on F-1 visas to acquire work experience related to their field of study. The STEM OPT extension allows qualified students who have earned degrees in STEM fields to receive an extension on their OPT tenure.^{​For more information on the OPT program, see U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS/ICE 2022a). In 2022, the list of fields eligible for the STEM OPT Extension was expanded. NCSES classifies many of the fields in the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List as S&E, but the NCSES S&E and DHS STEM definitions are not identical. For more information, see U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS/ICE 2022b).} The increase in international students on OPT in the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic followed a 2016 modification of the program that expanded the duration of the STEM OPT extension from 17 months to 24 months (IIE 2022a). According to one analysis, annual approvals of OPT applications for STEM students increased fivefold, from 34,000 in 2008 to 172,000 in 2016 (Ruiz and Budiman 2018).

Enrollment of international student visa holders traveling to the United States for postsecondary degrees in S&E fields has increased substantially since fall 2020.^{​These data are tabulated from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and are not comparable to the IIE data cited earlier. SEVIS data used in this report are limited to foreign national students on F-1 visas who are enrolled in person at U.S. higher education institutions and exclude individuals approved for OPT. Additionally, these data are not comparable to SEVIS data analyzed in earlier versions of this report due to a change in the taxonomy of S&E fields.} In 2022, S&E enrollment of international students on active F-1 visas, excluding those approved for OPT, was 11,000 at the associate’s level, 146,000 at the bachelor’s level, 191,000 at the master’s level, and 117,000 at the doctoral level (Figure HED-22). International S&E master’s enrollment more than doubled from 2020 to 2022; as a result of this sharp increase, total international S&E graduate enrollment reached 308,000 in 2022, the highest level in the past decade. Students on temporary visas have long accounted for much higher shares of total S&E degrees awarded by U.S. institutions at the master’s and doctoral levels than they have at the associate’s and bachelor’s levels. Consequently, compared to international undergraduate enrollment, changes in international graduate enrollment may have a greater impact on U.S. S&E higher education (see section International Degree Recipients).

India and China are the most common countries of origin for international S&E graduate students on visas in the United States (Figure HED-23; Table SHED-16, Table SHED-17). In 2022, there were 113,000 S&E master’s students from India and 43,000 from China, each of which was higher than the number of S&E master’s students from all other countries combined (34,000). S&E graduate enrollment from India is predominantly at the master’s level and has varied dramatically in recent years. S&E master’s enrollment from India reached a pre-COVID pandemic peak of 81,000 in 2016 and then bottomed out at 36,000 in 2020; since that time, enrollment has rapidly increased to 113,000 in 2022, by far the highest level in the past decade. Enrollment of graduate students from China has also increased since 2020, but not to the same extent as enrollment of students from India. At the doctoral level, China is the most common country of origin, with 37,000 S&E doctoral students enrolled in U.S. institutions in 2022, followed by India with 18,000 (Figure HED-23).

Students from India and China, who drive the overall trends for international S&E graduate student enrollment in the United States, are heavily concentrated in computer and information sciences and in engineering (Table SHED-16, Table SHED-17). Accordingly, the decrease in master’s enrollment from India and China coincided with declining numbers of students in these fields from 2016 to 2020 (Figure HED-24). Likewise, increased master’s enrollment from India and China from 2020 to 2022 has resulted in substantial increases in enrollment in these fields, especially computer and information sciences. In 2022, 72,000 (76%) of the 95,000 international master’s students studying computer and information sciences in the United States originated from India (Table SHED-16).

Global S&E connections and research collaboration, which can be facilitated by the international exchange of students, are areas of substantial interest to NSB (NSB 2020). The United States is the most popular destination for internationally mobile tertiary (postsecondary) students, though its share of all international students has declined (see Glossary section for definition of internationally mobile students). The United States enrolled 957,000 international students in 2020, followed by the United Kingdom (551,000), Australia (458,000), Germany (369,000), and Canada (323,000) (Figure HED-25). From 2016 to 2020, the number of international students decreased in the United States, whereas international enrollment increased in all other top countries of destination. The United States hosted 15% of all international students worldwide in 2020 (OECD 2022a), down from 17% in 2010 and 23% in 2000 (OECD 2012).

International students in the United States earn low shares of S&E postsecondary degrees at the associate’s and bachelor’s levels and much higher shares of S&E graduate degrees (Figure HED-26). In 2021, temporary visa holders earned 3% of S&E associate’s degrees, 7% of S&E bachelor’s degrees, 34% of S&E master’s degrees, and 35% of S&E doctoral degrees.^{​The 35% share is derived from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) IPEDS and is similar to that reported by the NCSES Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED), according to which temporary visa holders accounted for 37% of U.S. S&E research doctorates in 2021 (NCSES SED 2021: Table 3-3).} The high proportion of international students among S&E advanced degree recipients and its potential consequences for the U.S. labor force has been a long-standing topic of interest among policymakers. Surveys of foreign-born S&E doctorate recipients have shown that most of these individuals intend to and ultimately do remain in the United States after graduation (for more information, see the forthcoming Indicators 2024 report “The STEM Labor Force: Scientists, Engineers, and Skilled Technical Workers” section “Stay Rates of U.S.-Trained S&E Doctorates”). The temporary visa holder share of S&E degrees has increased for all degree levels, though most substantially at the master’s level, where the share increased from 26% in 2012 to 34% in 2021—down from its peak level of 39% in 2017.

Postsecondary degree recipients on temporary visas are more concentrated in S&E fields than U.S. citizens and permanent residents are, especially at advanced degree levels. In 2021, at the master’s level, 57% of temporary visa holders earned degrees in S&E fields, compared to 19% of U.S. citizens and permanent residents (Table SHED-13); at the doctoral level, the vast majority (83%) of temporary visa holders earned degrees in S&E fields compared to 59% of U.S. citizens and permanent residents (Table SHED-14). The overall high representation of temporary visa holders among S&E advanced degree recipients varies greatly by S&E field. In 2021, temporary visa holders earned 7% of doctoral degrees in psychology and more than half of doctoral degrees in computer and information sciences (59%), engineering (60%), and mathematics and statistics (54%) (Table SHED-14). Temporary visa holders also accounted for about half of the master’s degrees awarded in each of these three fields (Table SHED-13).

Over the last decade, China and India have consistently been the top countries of origin for U.S. S&E research doctorate recipients on temporary visas (Figure HED-27).^{​These data are from the NCSES SED and differ from doctorate data from the NCES IPEDS used elsewhere in this report. The SED collects country of origin for degree recipients on temporary visas, whereas IPEDS does not.} S&E doctorate recipients from China increased from 3,900 in 2012 to 5,600 in 2021, which was slightly lower than the pre-pandemic high in 2019. In contrast, S&E doctorate recipients from India remained relatively flat over this period, numbering around 2,000 each year. S&E doctorate recipients from Iran experienced rapid growth (164% increase) from less than 300 recipients in 2012 to more than 700 recipients in 2021, surpassing the number from South Korea, which has declined.