National and Global Trends in Graduate Education

ASEE Workshop on Graduate Education and Research Trends

Les Sims

Senior Scholar in Residence, CGS(Graduate Dean Emeritus, University of Iowa)

lsims@cgs.nche.edu

Dimensions of the Graduate Education Enterprise

2000-2001• 1,700 institutions• 1.9 million students• Over ½ million degrees annually

– 468,000 master’s degrees– 45,000 doctoral degrees

• CGS institutions enroll 2/3 of students, grant 75% of master’s degrees, and nearly all doctorate degrees

Graduate Enrollment Trends

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

TotalWomen

Source: CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate EnrollmentSource: CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment

Thousands

Graduate Enrollmentby Ethnicity

0

20

40

60

80

100

Thousands

1986 1992 1998 2002

American IndianAsianHispanicAfrican American

Source: CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment

Degrees Awardedrelative to 1985-86

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

85-86

86-87

87-88

88-89

89-90

90-91

91-92

92-93

93-94

94-95

95-96

96-97

97-98

98-99

99-00

00-01

All BA

All MA

All Doctoral

U.S. Engineering Degrees as a % of Total

5%

7%

9%

11%

13%

15%

85-86

86-87

87-88

88-89

89-90

90-91

91-92

92-93

93-94

94-95

95-96

96-97

97-98

98-99

99-00

00-01

BSMSPhD

Growth in S & E Ph.D. Degrees(Three-year averages: US Citizens and Permanent Residents)

-50%

0%

50%

100%

150%

200%

250%

Total S&E White Afr Amer Hispanic Native Am

1999 Degrees

Native Amer 117

Hispanic 658

African-Amer 715

TOTAL 17,428

White 13,656

S & E Graduate Enrollmentby race/ethnicity

(U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

White Asian/P.I. Black Hispanic Native Amer ? Ethnic

International Student Enrollment

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

1979/80 1984/85 1989/90 1994/95 1999/00

UndergraduateGraduateOther

Source: IIE, Open DoorsSource: IIE, Open Doors

ThousandsThousands

U.S. Science and Engineering Doctorate Degrees Earned by

International Students

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

Int'l S&E Int'l Engr

Doctoral S&E Degreesby World Region

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

U.S

. S &

E P

h.D

. Deg

rees

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

U.S

. Cit

izen

s an

d P

erm

Res

USA Europe Asia % US Citizens

U.S. Ph.D. Deg

Europe

Asia % Citizens/Perm Res

Engineering Doctorate Degrees

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

AsiaEUUS

Graduate Enrollment Projections

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

2000 2004 2008 2012

Th

ou

san

ds

TotalMenWomen

Source: NCES, Middle Alternative Projections to 2012Source: NCES, Middle Alternative Projections to 2012

Projections: graduate degrees

430

450

470

490

510

2000 2004 2008 2012

Mas

ter'

s D

egre

es

43

45

47

49

51

Doc

tora

te D

egre

es

Master's Doctorate

Source: NCES, Projections to 2012Source: NCES, Projections to 2012

Thousands Thousands

Projected International GRE Test Takers, FY03-04*

-60%

-50%

-40%

-30%

-20%

-10%

0%China India Korea Taiwan Japan Other

*Source: CGS Discussion List - ETS 1/16/04 Estimate

InternationalGraduate Applications Fall 2003 - Fall 2004

ACE, AAU, CGS, NAFSA, AIE, NASULGC Survey

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

All

Gra

d

Res

/Doc

Top-

25 I

ntl

Ove

r 10

%

All

PRC

Top-

25 I

ntl

-30-

49%

> -5

0%

All

UG

To

p-25

Int

l

PR

C U

G

Decrease No Change Increase

All Grad Applications PRC Grad Applications UG Applications

Graduate Programs: Trends and Changes

• Certificates – growing rapidly (both stand alone and as degree add-ons)

• Content –related to career needs• Preparing Future Faculty• Preparing Future Professionals• Professional Master’s Degrees

Composition – diversity challenges: ethnic/racial, gender, other enrollment

Graduate Programs: Research Content+

• Content – diverse, global, interdisciplinary

• Career considerations – publicize jobs of recent graduates; early career information; continuous career planning

• Skills development – communications, presentation, interpersonal/teamwork, technical/computer, project management

• Environment – employer expectations, roles/responsibilities, experiential/interns

Graduate Education Issues:Graduate Stipends and Funding

• NSF fellowships stipends: $27,500 (F2003); $30,000 (F2004); and . . .

• NIH, other agencies will follow suit.• Funding for master’s education is miniscule

compared to that for Ph.D.• Tuition continues to rise at well above CPI;

remissions/waivers needed.• Reauthorization if HEA: an opportunity to

increase priority of graduate education.

Graduate Education Issues:International issues: post-9/11

• SEVIS

• International Visitors

• Restrictions on research areas/materials

• Bologña Accord – EU Higher Education

3 + 2 proposed as common structure:

3 yrs equivalent to U.S. B.S. (?)

+ 2 yrs = equivalent of US M.S. (?)

Graduate Education Issues:Completion/Attrition and ttd

• Doctoral completion rate (50% lore); varies widely; most agree is too low.

• Attrition rates still significant in years 2, 3, 4, … of doctoral programs.

• Time to degree continues to increase.

• Similar problems, less extent, in master’s programs.

Graduate Education Issues:Diversity/Participation/access

• Participation of underrepresented groups increasing, but slowly; still low.

• Strategies need to reflect new realities of court decisions, public policy.

• Curricula should reflect cultural, historical, societal, global diversity.

Graduate Education Issues:Responsible Conduct of Research

• Ethical issues

• Human/Animal research subjects; informed consent

• Intellectual property issues

• Industry/university interactions

• Commercialization of research results

Graduate Education Issues:Mismatch: education/employers

• PFF – balanced instruction in T,R,S, skills, faculty roles/responsibilities.

• PFP – balanced instruction in R, skills, teamwork, non-academic work environments, project management.

• Professional Master’s – core MS, skills, teamwork, non-academic internship; business principles.