According to statistics
DOI: 10.1063/1.3057369
According to statistics issued by the US Office of Education, the number of bachelor’s degrees granted in scientific fields in 1958–59 increased only 8.25% compared to a 9.5% increase the previous year. The rise in the number of bachelor’s degrees in all fields was 5.3% in 1958–59. However, there was an increase of 30% in the number of mathematics baccalaureates, and the physical sciences overtook biology by a small margin in the number of degrees granted.