The majority (67%) of degree-granting physics departments in the United States grant a bachelor's degree as their highest degree. There are 84 departments that grant astronomy bachelor's degrees. Of these departments, 39 are separate, stand-alone astronomy departments, and 45 are in departments that award both astronomy and physics degrees. The…

The trend data detailed in this "Focus On" includes doctorates from the class of 2019. It presents data on the number of physics PhDs awarded in the U.S. including data on citizenship, women, and PhDs from underrepresented groups. It also includes data on educational background, time to degree, subfield of dissertation, and general…

The Academic WorkForce Survey has been conducted every two years since 1986. Between March and June 2018, researchers contacted 797 physics and astronomy departments (including 39 astronomy-only departments) that award a bachelor's degree or higher in physics or astronomy. Responses were received from 720 institutions, a 90% response rate. This…

In any academic department, faculty members retire or leave for a variety of reasons, and new faculty members are hired to replace departing faculty or fill newly created positions. This report focuses on departures, retirements, recruitments, and new hires in physics and astronomy departments. In our Academic Workforce Surveys, we collect the…

The number of both astronomy bachelor's degrees and PhDs awarded in the class of 2016 represent all-time highs. Astronomy bachelors have been increasing steadily for the last 15 years, with 469 degrees awarded in the class of 2016. With undergraduate astronomy enrollments continuing to grow, the trend is expected to continue for at least the next…

This report provides data on the size of degree-granting physics and astronomy departments by examining the number of bachelor's degrees awarded and the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) faculty members employed. The benchmarking data in this report is intended to allow physics and astronomy departments to see how they fit in the national…

Undergraduate astronomy enrollments in the US continue to rise with junior and senior level enrollments exceeding the previous year's all-time high. The increasing undergraduate enrollments have produced 428 bachelor's in the 2013-14 academic year, also an all-time high. Undergraduate astronomy degree production will continue to rise given the…

In the 2011-12 academic year there were 751 degree-granting physics departments in the U.S. Of these, 195 offered a PhD and 62 departments offered a master's as the highest physics degree. The remaining 494 departments offered a bachelor's as their highest physics degree. There were six universities that had two doctoral-granting physics…

The number of physics degrees earned in the U.S. continues to rise, with bachelor's and PhDs yet again reaching all-time highs. The 6,776 physics bachelor's degrees awarded in the 2011-2012 academic year represent an 8% increase over the previous year and an 86% increase from a recent low in 1999. Similarly, the number of PhDs (1,762) in…

Academic year 2010-11 produced 2 new all-time highs for physics bachelor's and physics PhDs conferred in the U.S. The 6,296 physics bachelor's degrees earned in the class of 2011 represent a 73% increase from a recent low in the class of 1999 twelve years earlier. The 1,688 PhDs in the class of 2011 is up 55% from a recent low 7 years earlier.…

Physics bachelor's degree production has more than doubled since the recent low in 1999 and total enrollments in US undergraduate physics programs continue to increase. The all-time high of 7,526 bachelor's degrees in the class of 2014 represents the 15th consecutive year that the number of physics bachelor's conferred has increased. First-year…

Interest in astronomy degrees in the U.S. remains strong, with astronomy enrollments at or near all-time highs for the 2012-13 academic year. The total number of students taking an introductory astronomy course at a degree-granting physics or astronomy department is approaching 200,000. Enrollments in introductory astronomy courses have been…

The U.S. has experienced a sharp increase in the number of bachelor astronomy degrees awarded in recent years with about twice as many degrees now being awarded than a decade ago. There were 385 astronomy bachelor's degrees awarded in the 2011-12 academic year. The number of astronomy PhDs awarded in recent years is up about 50% from a decade…

The number of astronomy bachelor's conferred in the U.S. continues to climb. The academic year 2010-11 produced more astronomy bachelor's than in any other time in U.S. history. The 408 astronomy bachelor's degrees earned in the class of 2011 more than doubled the class of 2000, and the number of astronomy PhDs conferred (160) is…

The Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics conducts an annual census of all degree-granting physics departments in the United States and Puerto Rico. The survey had a 95% response rate from the 751 departments that granted physics bachelor's degrees in the class of 2010. Results show that the number of physics bachelor's…