Enrollment
Recent trends in undergraduate and graduate enrollment reflect the increasing diversity of the U.S. college and graduate-school population. Most notably, underrepresented minorities, Hispanics in particular, are an increasing share of students, whereas whites are a decreasing share. Among all racial and ethnic groups, more women than men enroll in college.
Undergraduate enrollment
Type of school
The large majority of undergraduate U.S. citizens and permanent residents are enrolled in public colleges. However, this proportion varies across racial and ethnic groups. Students who are black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or more than one race, unknown, or other have the largest share enrolled in private for-profit institutions. Asian, Hispanic or Latino, and American Indian or Alaska Native students have the largest share of enrollees in public institutions. White enrollees and those of more than one race, unknown, or other have the largest share of students in private nonprofit institutions.
Undergraduate enrollment (2 and 4 year, full and part time), by type of school, ethnicity, and race: 2016
Note(s)
Hispanic or Latino may be any race. Race and ethnicity breakouts are for U.S. citizens and permanent residents only. Data are based on degree-granting institutions eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs and do not match previously published data that were based on accredited higher education institutions.
Source(s)
National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Fall Enrollment Survey, unrevised provisional release data, 2016. Related detailed data: WMPD table 2-5.
Full-time study
Full-time enrollment is more prevalent in 4-year institutions than in 2-year institutions for all racial and ethnic groups. However, enrollment patterns differ somewhat among these groups. At 2-year institutions, only American Indian or Alaska Native and black or African American students had more than 40% enrolled as full-time students. At 4-year institutions, all groups had at least 70% enrolled full time, but Asian students had the highest full-time rate (82%).
Among those enrolled full time in undergraduate institutions, women are more likely than men to be full-time students across most racial and ethnic groups, both in 2-year and in 4-year institutions. The one exception is for Asian women, who make up slightly less than half of Asians in 2-year institutions.
Full-time undergraduate enrollment, by institution type, ethnicity, and race: 2016
Note(s)
Hispanic or Latino may be any race. Race and ethnicity breakouts are for U.S. citizens and permanent residents only. Data are based on degree-granting institutions eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs and do not match previously published data that were based on accredited higher education institutions.
Source(s)
National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Fall Enrollment Survey, unrevised provisional release data, 2016. Related detailed data: WMPD table 2-3 and table 2-4.
Full-time undergraduate enrollment, by institution type, ethnicity, race, and sex: 2016
Note(s)
Hispanic or Latino may be any race. Race and ethnicity breakouts are for U.S. citizens and permanent residents only.
Source(s)
National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Fall Enrollment Survey, unrevised provisional release data. Related detailed data: WMPD table 2-3 and table 2-4.
Students with one or more disabilities
In 2016, 19.5% of undergraduate students reported a disability. Undergraduates with one or more disabilities are more likely to be age 30 or older than those without a disability and are slightly more likely to attend a 2-year institution than are those without a disability. Note that comparing the share of students with one or more disabilities over time is complicated by changes in survey questions that have resulted in an increase in the share of students with reported disabilities.
In addition, 28% of undergraduate students with one or more disabilities were enrolled in a science and engineering (S&E) field, the same proportion as those without disabilities. Compared with undergraduates without disabilities, those with one or more disabilities were less likely to receive financial aid (73% versus 71%) and were less likely to be enrolled full time for a full year at one institution (34% versus 30%).
Disability status of undergraduate students, by age and institution type: 2016
Note(s)
For disability status, those who reported any type of disability related to blindness, deafness, severe vision or hearing impairment, substantial limitation of mobility, or any other physical, mental, or emotional condition that lasted 6 months or more were classified as with disability. Age categories drawn from National Postsecondary Student Aid Study.
Source(s)
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16). Related detailed data: WMPD table 2-6.
Graduate enrollment
Graduate enrollment
Among students enrolled in graduate school in S&E fields in 2016, whites are the largest group. Among blacks or African Americans, both the share (7%) and the number (17,630) of female students are larger than those for male students (4%, 12,970). Among Asians, male students have a larger number and about the same share. Six percent of female S&E graduate students and 5% of male S&E graduate students are either more than one race, unknown, or other. About 241,000 graduate students enrolled in S&E fields in 2016 were temporary visa holders and are not included in the race and ethnicity breakouts. Temporary visa holders make up 32% of women and 44% of men enrolled in graduate school in S&E fields.
Women and men reported similar primary sources of support among the S&E full-time graduate students enrolled in 2016. The main sources were support from their institution and self-support (including loans). Federal support was the third most reported source of primary support for graduate school.
Graduate students in science and engineering, by ethnicity, race, citizenship, and sex: 2016
Note(s)
Hispanic or Latino may be any race. Graduate students includes both master's and doctoral students.
Source(s)
National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, 2016. Related detailed data: WMPD table 3-1.
Primary source of support for full-time science and engineering graduate students, by sex: 2016
Note(s)
Graduate students includes both master's and doctoral students.
Source(s)
National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, 2016. Related detailed data: WMPD table 3-6.
