ERIC Number: EJ1091627
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0485
EISSN: N/A
Trends in Undergraduate Economics Degrees, 1991-2014
Siegfried, John J.
Journal of Economic Education, v47 n1 p89-93 2016
The number of undergraduate economics degrees awarded by colleges and universities in the United States rose by 18 percent from 2007 to 2010. The upward trend ended abruptly in 2010 and was followed by three years of virtual stagnation (Siegfried 2014). In 2013-14, undergraduate economics degrees began to accelerate again, rising about 5 percent in just one year. Most of the 2013-14 growth was centered in private universities, accompanied by a modest boost from large PhD-granting public universities. The 2013-14 growth rate in undergraduate economics degrees awarded by public institutions that do not award PhDs in economics was collectively 0. Bachelor's degrees awarded for an identical set of 272 institutions from 1991 through 2014 are reported herein. Additional data shows the same thing for those 246 institutions among the 272 that were able to divide their graduates into men and women. After peaking at 35 percent in 2003, the percentage of undergraduate economics degrees awarded to women by the 246 institutions has hovered in the 31 percent to 33 percent range for a decade, settling just above 33 percent in 2014. There is a notable difference in the female fraction of economics majors at public and private institutions. Public university graduates average 31 percent female; those where the highest economics degree offered is a bachelor's degree average only 25 percent. Private college and university graduates average 36 percent female; private selective liberal arts colleges are the category with the highest female proportion, about 38 percent, bolstered by the inclusion of several all-women colleges.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Study, Economics Education, Trend Analysis, Academic Degrees, Public Colleges, Private Colleges, Gender Differences, Bachelors Degrees, Masters Degrees, Doctoral Degrees
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Numerical/Quantitative Data; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A