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ERIC Number: ED547607
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Jun
Pages: 13
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Astronomy Enrollments and Degrees: Results from the 2012 Survey of Astronomy Enrollments and Degrees. Focus On
Mulvey, Patrick; Nicholson, Starr
Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics
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 steadily increasing over the years and are now about 10% higher than what they were a decade earlier. These increasing enrollments have resulted in record numbers of students receiving doctorates and bachelor's degrees. Each fall the Statistical Research Center conducts its Survey of Enrollments and Degrees. The survey is sent to all degree-granting physics and astronomy departments in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to provide information concerning the number of students they currently have enrolled and the number of degrees they conferred in the previous academic year. In the 2011-12 academic year, there were 385 astronomy bachelor's degrees awarded at U.S. colleges and universities. This is 23 degrees below the all-time high reached the previous year. The 40 doctoral-granting astronomy departments in the U.S. awarded 152 astronomy PhDs in the class of 2012. This report also examines issues of gender and citizenship. The following are appended: (1) Number of Astronomy Degrees Granted by Highest Astronomy Degree Offered by Department, Academic Year 2011-12; and (2) Trends in Astronomy Enrollments and Degrees, Academic Years 2002-2013.
Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3067; Fax: 301-209-0843; e-mail: stats@aip.org; Web site: http://www.aip.org/statistics
Publication Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: American Institute of Physics, Statistical Research Center
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A