Between 2012 and 2021, the number of S&E awards conferred by U.S. postsecondary institutions increased at all levels (Figure HED-11). Proportionally, the greatest increase occurred at the certificate level: the number of S&E certificates awarded doubled from 39,000 in 2012 to 79,000 in 2021. The number of S&E associate’s degrees awarded increased by 31%, S&E bachelor’s degrees increased by 29%, S&E master’s degrees increased by 41%, and S&E doctoral degrees increased the least, by 17%. As discussed below, growth in engineering and computer and information sciences degrees accounted for much of the increase in total S&E degrees awarded at most levels.

S&E awards conferred, by award level: 2012–21
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S&E awards conferred, by award level: 2012–21

(Number)
Year Certificates Associate's degrees Bachelor's degrees Master's degrees Doctoral degrees
2012 39,476 118,662 628,836 154,402 40,878
2013 43,014 120,346 657,959 158,787 42,513
2014 50,188 124,916 680,302 163,584 44,830
2015 51,781 129,468 694,701 173,854 45,343
2016 55,929 128,526 711,624 191,012 45,936
2017 58,569 132,433 730,573 201,311 46,596
2018 64,991 137,984 754,094 203,441 47,782
2019 70,959 145,685 773,662 205,067 48,712
2020 72,881 148,449 795,235 210,637 48,984
2021 78,775 155,029 811,706 217,146 47,763
Note(s):

Data are based on institutions eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Certificates include only awards of less than 2 academic years below the associate's degree level. Doctoral degree programs include research doctoral degree programs only and do not include professional doctoral programs (e.g., Doctor of Medicine).

Source(s):

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations (2022) of the National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Completions Survey, provisional release data.

Science and Engineering Indicators

The increase in the number of S&E certificate and degree awards reflects not only a growing population of postsecondary students but also an increasing share of postsecondary awards in S&E fields of study. The share of certificates awarded in S&E fields increased at the highest rate among all award levels, doubling from 4% of all certificates awarded in 2012 to 8% in 2021 (Figure HED-12). The share of awards in S&E fields at the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degree levels also increased but to a much lesser degree. Although the percentage of S&E doctorates did not increase, it remained the highest at 66%.

S&E degrees as a percentage of total degrees awarded: 2012 and 2021
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S&E degrees as a percentage of total degrees awarded: 2012 and 2021

(Percent)
Degree level 2012 2021
Certificates 4.1 8.0
Associate's degrees 11.6 14.9
Bachelor's degrees 34.7 38.9
Master's degrees 20.3 24.9
Doctoral degrees 65.7 65.6
Note(s):

Data are based on institutions eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Certificates include only awards of less than 2 academic years below the associate's degree level. Doctoral degree programs include research doctoral degree programs only and do not include professional doctoral programs (e.g., Doctor of Medicine).

Source(s):

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations (2022) of the National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Completions Survey, provisional release data.

Science and Engineering Indicators

At the certificate level, the most popular S&E field among award recipients in both 2012 and 2021 was computer and information sciences. In 2012, students earned 23,000 certificates in computer and information sciences, followed by agricultural sciences and natural sciences (7,000 certificates) and social sciences (6,100 certificates) (Figure HED-13). By 2021, the number of certificates in these fields had grown but did so at different rates; the number of certificates in computer and information sciences more than doubled to 47,000 certificates, whereas agricultural sciences and natural resources certificates increased by 48%, and social sciences certificates increased by 65%.

S&E certificates awarded, by field: 2012 and 2021
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S&E certificates awarded, by field: 2012 and 2021

(Number)
Field 2012 2021
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 7,013 10,350
Biological and biomedical sciences 209 2,602
Computer and information sciences 22,952 47,138
Engineering 659 1,968
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 26 136
Mathematics and statistics 56 525
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 1,047 3,376
Physical sciences 43 142
Psychology 1,391 2,512
Social sciences 6,080 10,026
Note(s):

Data are based on institutions eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Certificates include only awards of less than 2 academic years below the associate's degree level.

Source(s):

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations (2022) of the National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Completions Survey, provisional release data.

Science and Engineering Indicators

Computer and information sciences and the social sciences were also the most common S&E fields for associate’s degree awards in both 2012 and 2021, although the number of associate’s degrees awarded in computer and information sciences declined during this period (Figure HED-14). Similarly, in 2021, the most popular S&E field at the bachelor’s degree level remained the social sciences, although the number of awards had decreased since 2012. The decline in social sciences bachelor’s degrees stands out because the number of bachelor’s degrees increased in all other S&E fields during this time. The number of computer and information sciences bachelor’s degrees more than doubled over the decade, from 48,000 to 105,000.

S&E undergraduate degrees awarded, by field: 2012 and 2021
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S&E undergraduate degrees awarded, by field: 2012 and 2021

(Number)
Field 2012 2021
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 12,498 11,821
Biological and biomedical sciences 3,870 9,178
Computer and information sciences 39,989 33,350
Engineering 3,450 6,330
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 136 208
Mathematics and statistics 1,529 4,842
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 20,735 27,184
Physical sciences 3,574 6,298
Psychology 6,133 19,920
Social sciences 26,748 35,898
(Number)
Field 2012 2021
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 29,984 40,408
Biological and biomedical sciences 96,141 132,392
Computer and information sciences 47,930 105,389
Engineering 82,520 127,200
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 7,013 7,379
Mathematics and statistics 19,783 28,668
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 17,880 23,671
Physical sciences 20,517 23,329
Psychology 118,998 138,039
Social sciences 188,070 185,231
Note(s):

Data are based on institutions eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs.

Source(s):

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations (2022) of the National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Completions Survey, provisional release data.

Science and Engineering Indicators

Engineering is among the most popular S&E fields for advanced degree recipients. The most popular S&E field among 2012 master’s degree recipients was engineering, but greater growth in computer and information sciences master’s degrees meant that this field had become the most prevalent S&E field among master’s degree recipients by 2021 (Figure HED-15). In contrast, relatively few doctoral degree recipients had studied computer and information sciences. Instead, the largest number of doctoral degree recipients in 2021 had studied engineering, followed by health sciences and then biological and biomedical sciences.

S&E graduate degrees awarded, by field: 2012 and 2021
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S&E graduate degrees awarded, by field: 2012 and 2021

(Number)
Field 2012 2021
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 6,274 7,219
Biological and biomedical sciences 12,316 19,405
Computer and information sciences 21,015 54,026
Engineering 40,510 47,442
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 2,270 2,145
Mathematics and statistics 6,625 13,019
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 3,922 8,924
Physical sciences 4,833 4,866
Psychology 28,117 33,127
Social sciences 28,520 26,973
(Number)
Field 2012 2021
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 1,319 1,452
Biological and biomedical sciences 7,879 7,419
Computer and information sciences 1,690 2,502
Engineering 8,773 10,916
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 815 973
Health sciences 4,313 7,457
Mathematics and statistics 1,670 1,959
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences 370 656
Physical sciences 4,657 4,865
Psychology 4,717 5,160
Social sciences 4,675 4,404
Note(s):

Data are based on institutions eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Doctoral degree programs include research doctoral degree programs only and do not include professional doctoral programs (e.g., Doctor of Medicine).

Source(s):

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations (2022) of the National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Completions Survey, provisional release data.

Science and Engineering Indicators

In contrast with the growth in S&E awards at all levels between 2012 and 2021, the trend in the number of S&E-related awards differed by award level (Figure HED-16). The number of S&E-related certificates and associate’s degrees awarded decreased between 2012 and 2021, while the number of bachelor’s and master’s degrees increased. The number of S&E-related doctoral degrees, which are comparatively rare, fluctuated with little long-term change.

S&E-related awards conferred, by award level: 2012–21
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S&E-related awards conferred, by award level: 2012–21

(Number)
Year Certificates Associate's degrees Bachelor's degrees Master's degrees Doctoral degrees
2012 611,229 296,419 213,551 98,764 444
2013 574,920 288,495 234,075 105,786 460
2014 568,463 281,774 253,671 112,194 489
2015 550,479 273,943 273,893 117,470 507
2016 529,454 261,833 287,445 126,393 515
2017 517,563 258,048 298,709 136,877 484
2018 505,163 253,585 307,096 143,154 458
2019 507,686 255,426 315,432 148,630 502
2020 468,186 245,644 322,133 152,812 518
2021 474,734 253,005 333,920 160,649 469
Note(s):

Data are based on institutions eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Certificates include only awards of less than 2 academic years below the associate's degree level. Doctoral degree programs include research doctoral degree programs only and do not include professional doctoral programs (e.g., Doctor of Medicine).

Source(s):

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations (2022) of the National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Completions Survey, provisional release data.

Science and Engineering Indicators

The field of health professions and related programs, which includes degrees in registered nursing, is by far the most prevalent broad S&E-related field (Table HED-4). This field accounted for the largest share of S&E-related awards from the certificate level to the doctorate level for both 2012 and 2021. Despite a 36% decline in the number of certificates awarded in health professions and related programs since 2012, it remained the most popular S&E-related field for certificates by a large margin. In contrast, the number of degrees in health professions and related programs increased by 64% (from 183,000 to 299,000) at the bachelor’s level and by 70% (from 86,000 to 146,000) at the master’s level. Other S&E-related degrees with proportionally large growth over this period included bachelor’s and master’s degrees in homeland security and fire protection. Awards with declining numbers included bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science and mathematics teacher education.

S&E-related degrees awarded, by degree level and field: 2012 and 2021

(Number and percent change)

* = value < 0.05%.

Note(s):

Data are based on institutions eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Certificates include only awards of less than 2 academic years below the associate's degree level. Doctoral degree programs include research doctoral degree programs only and do not include professional doctoral programs (e.g., Doctor of Medicine).

Source(s):

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations (2022) of the National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Completions Survey, provisional release data.

Science and Engineering Indicators