This report presents an overview of research and development (R&D) in science and engineering (S&E) fields performed at institutions of higher education in the United States, including historical trends and recent patterns. The report first examines the financing and performance of R&D at universities based on patterns in funding and…

"Discovery," wrote William Press in a 2013 article in "Science," "leads to technology and invention, which lead to new products, jobs, and industries." Basic, curiosity-driven research continually expands the boundaries of knowledge across fields, providing insights that enrich lives. Such research helps drive the…

This report provides a summary of data relating to students, programs, training providers and funding in Australia's government-funded vocational education and training (VET) system (broadly defined as all activity delivered by government providers and government-funded activity delivered by community education and private training providers). The…

The science and engineering (S&E) labor force helps to create and advance our scientific and technological knowledge, transform these advances into goods and services, and fuel America's economy, security, and quality of life. This report details several aspects of the U.S. S&E workforce, including growth, demographic makeup, earnings, and…

New physics bachelors entering the workforce receive some of the highest starting salaries of any undergraduate majors. Bachelors accepting STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) positions in the private sector had a median starting salary of $55,000. Physics bachelors from 2013 and 2014 were contacted in the winter following the…

As part of its mandate from Congress, the National Science Board oversees the collection of a very broad set of quantitative information about U.S. science, engineering and technology, and every 2 years publishes the data and trends in its "Science and Engineering Indicators" ("Indicators") report. On occasion, the data reveal trends that raise…

"Science and Engineering Indicators" (SEI) is first and foremost a volume of record comprising the major high-quality quantitative data on the U.S. and international science and engineering enterprise. SEI is factual and policy neutral. It does not offer policy options, and it does not make policy recommendations. SEI employs a variety…

When you think of someone who is an engineer, do you imagine a man or a woman wearing a hardhat? How about when you imagine a teacher standing in front of a class of schoolchildren? If you answer "a man" to the first question, and "a woman" to the second, there's probably a reason. And the reason is simply that more men than…

In 2008, about 568,000 foreign students (those holding temporary visas) studied at U.S. universities and colleges, 248,000 of them in science and engineering (S&E). There was an expectation that fall 2009 foreign enrollments might be negatively affected by the 2008-09 world financial crisis because of schools' restrictions on enrollment,…

During the recent economic downturn, media and industry reports of skill shortages in the trades continued to appear. The intent of this paper is to examine the evidence for skill shortages in the trades persisting during the economic downturns over the last 20 years, using various indicators. These include employment growth, vacancy rates,…

In 2006, 4-H National Headquarters and National 4-H Council introduced an initiative aimed at increasing the number and quality of science, engineering, and technology programs that 4-H offers around the country, and increasing the number of youth involved in these programs. By engaging youth in informal science educational opportunities through…

ACT has been a leader in measuring college and career readiness trends since 1959. Each August, ACT releases The Condition of College & Career Readiness (www.act.org/newsroom/data/2015), an annual report on the progress of the ACT-tested graduating class relative to college readiness. Nationally, a record 59% of the 2015 graduating class took…

As Australia's economy recovers from the economic downturn, attention is turning once again to skills shortages. To gain insights into the labour market for tradespeople, this report investigates changes in supply, demand and how adjustment occurred through the varied economic conditions of the past 20 years. It concludes that there was no overall…

This report is the successor to "Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Demand through 2018," in which researchers examined the connections between educational attainment and educational demand in the labor market. In this report, the authors update the jobs projected to be available through 2020, using a macro-micro modeling…

With the support of the Noyce Foundation, National 4-H Council has contracted with Policy Studies Associates (PSA) to evaluate the implementation of the 4-H Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Initiative. The goals of this initiative are to increase the number and quality of science, engineering, and technology programs that 4-H offers…