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…

Each fall, the American Institute of Physics (AIP's) 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, and asks them to provide the number of degrees they conferred in the previous academic year. The academic year…

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…

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…

A physics master's degree provides the recipient with a variety of career options. Some master's recipients will continue their education at the graduate level in physics or another field, where others enter the workforce pursuing a wide range of employment opportunities. This "Focus On" provides an in-depth analysis of physics…

Academic year 2009-10 produced more physics bachelor's and more physics PhDs than in any other year in US history. The 6,017 physics bachelor's degrees earned in the class of 2010 represent a 65% increase from the class of 1999 eleven years earlier. The 1,558 PhDs in the class of 2010 is up 43% from a recent low 6 years earlier. Non-US citizens…

Each fall the Statistical Research Center conducts its Survey of Enrollments and Degrees, which asks all degree-granting physics and astronomy departments in the US and Puerto Rico to provide information concerning the number of students they have enrolled and counts of recent degree recipients. In the academic year 2007-08 there were 252…

This document reports on academic enrollments (including Fall 2006) and degrees conferred at the bachelor's, master's, and doctorate levels (including academic year 2005-2006) at colleges and universities with physics or astronomy degree-granting programs. The findings presented in this report are based on an annual survey of all the physics and…

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the US government set in motion a broad set of measures whose aim was to screen foreign applicants for entrance into the US, to try to identify those who it was felt might attempt to carry out further attacks. Since the 2001-02 academic year had already begun in most schools, and since it took time for…

Concerned about the impact on physics programs, the American Institute of Physics conducted a small targeted survey in 2003 covering all physics graduate programs across the United States. Responses were received from 72% of all such departments, including 75% of the 185 programs that granted doctorates in physics and 64% of the programs' that…

This report will document the changes in the number and citizenship of incoming graduate physics and astronomy students. It will provide student characteristics, such as gender, age, and the type of program in which they are enrolled. It will also discuss the educational backgrounds of the incoming students, highlighting differences between US and…

The American Institute of Physics has regularly reported information about physics and astronomy graduate students since 1968. In more recent years the survey has shifted to focus on first-year graduate students, with a survey of the full population of graduate students every few years. This report covers surveys of first-year students for the…

The 1990s have seen change in the populations of graduate students in physics departments across the country. The Graduate Student Survey captures demographic characteristics of approximately 10,600 physics and astronomy students who were enrolled in the 1996-97 academic year. It describes the students' sources of support, areas of specialization,…

This report presents 1991-92 data on enrollment trends in graduate physics as well as the educational backgrounds of physics and astronomy students, the proportions in which they chose their research specialties, career opportunities in terms of employers, and work activities and starting salaries. Highlights from the report show the following:…