For the first time, this edition of the “Higher Education in Science and Engineering” Indicators report classifies degree data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) according to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) Taxonomy of Disciplines (TOD). The implementation of the TOD means that IPEDS degree data presented in this report are not comparable to the data presented in earlier editions.

The TOD was developed to promote uniformity in reporting of academic disciplines across the NCSES data collections. The TOD is closely aligned with the National Center for Education Statistics Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), which is used in the IPEDS Completions Survey. However, because the NCSES TOD is used for the reporting of different academic discipline concepts (e.g., degrees, research fields) with different purposes, there are some differences between the TOD and IPEDS CIP structure.

The adoption of the TOD with respect to IPEDS data has changed the distribution of degree awards among S&E, non-S&E, and S&E-related fields; the latter of these was not present in the prior taxonomy (Figure HED-A). The extent of this change varies considerably by degree level, with the greatest impacts observed at lower degree levels. The S&E share of degrees awarded in 2019 increases from 10% to 14% under the TOD at the associate’s level and increases from 36% to 38% at the bachelor’s level. Much of the increase is attributable to the shift of criminal justice and certain interdisciplinary fields from non-S&E to S&E; these fields are far more prevalent at lower degree levels. The shift of public administration degrees—which are most popular at the master’s level—from S&E to non-S&E leads to a small net decrease in the share of S&E master’s degrees. Educational psychology and school psychology, which have had their classification changed from education (non-S&E) to psychology (S&E), account for much of the comparatively small increase in S&E degrees at the doctoral level.

The new category of S&E-related fields includes health professions, protective services, science and mathematics teacher education, and technology-oriented programs. Degrees in registered nursing are by far the most common S&E-related degrees at the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s levels. A variety of other health-oriented practitioner and technician programs make up much of the remainder of S&E-related degrees. S&E-related degrees are most frequent at the associate’s level, where they account for 24% of degrees (Figure HED-A). This is because degrees in other S&E-related technician programs outside of health, such as automotive mechanics, are awarded almost exclusively at the associate’s level. Doctoral degrees in S&E-related fields are rare; this is largely because health fields are classified as S&E rather than S&E-related fields at the doctoral level. In contrast to lower degree levels, NCSES classifies health doctorates in the IPEDS degree data as S&E because these fields are more likely to be research oriented rather than practitioner oriented at the doctoral level. Note that in this report, doctoral degree programs include research doctoral degree programs only and do not include professional doctoral programs (e.g., Doctor of Medicine).

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education at all levels throughout the United States, and researchers are beginning to understand its short- and longer-term impacts on students’ learning and educational progress. In spring 2020, most undergraduates (87%) reported that they had experienced disruptions and changes in their enrollment as a result of the pandemic (Cameron et al. 2021). In particular, 84% of students reported that some or all of their in-person classes moved to online-only instruction, 4% reported that they withdrew from their institutions, and another 4% took a leave of absence in response to pandemic disruptions.

The pandemic also affected potential students, including postbaccalaureate students. In its summer 2020 interviews of 2015–16 bachelor’s degree recipients, the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:16/20) follow-up survey asked these college graduates about the effects of the pandemic on their participation in postsecondary education. Compared to all 2015–16 bachelor’s degree recipients, lower shares of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree recipients reported that they had either delayed or pursued additional education or training because of the pandemic. Whereas 13% of all bachelor’s degree recipients reported that they delayed enrolling in additional education or training due to the pandemic, 9% of STEM degree recipients delayed enrolling (Thomsen et al. 2022). Among all bachelor’s degree recipients, 14% pursued additional education or training because of the pandemic, compared with 12% of STEM degree recipients.

Despite many institutions and students returning to in-person instruction and the reduction in illness achieved through vaccination and other measures, the pandemic has continued to affect postsecondary enrollment, student learning and well-being, institutional finances, and workforce development. Data on spring enrollment in postsecondary education from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) indicate that total postsecondary enrollment fell 4.0% (685,000 students) from spring 2021 to spring 2022 (NSCRC Current Term Enrollment Estimates 2022: Table 1). This represents an additional decline beyond the 3.5% decrease observed between spring 2020 and spring 2021. Undergraduate enrollment dropped 4.7% between spring 2021 and spring 2022 on top of a 4.9% loss between spring 2020 and spring 2021. In all, there were nearly 1.4 million fewer undergraduates in 2022 than there had been before the pandemic, a 9.4% decline (NSCRC Current Term Enrollment Estimates 2022: Table 2).

Community colleges’ enrollment fell by 7.8% (or 351,000 students) between 2021 and 2022, and these institutions have now lost over 827,000 students since spring 2020 (NSCRC Current Term Enrollment Estimates 2022: Table 2). The California Community Colleges system alone lost nearly 300,000 students over this period, with the largest enrollment reductions among Black and Hispanic students (Bulman and Fairlie 2022).