Enrollments and degrees

For the seventh straight year, undergraduate physics degree production in the US rose in 2006. The 5373 physics bachelor’s degrees conferred that year represent a 5% increase from the previous year and a 47% jump from 1999.

The number of physics PhDs awarded in 2006 also rose, to 1380, 26% more than two years earlier. In the class of 2006, physics made up 0.03% of bachelor’s degrees and 3% of PhDs awarded across all fields in the US.

In 2006, 57% of physics PhDs were awarded to non-US citizens. Projections suggest that US citizens will make up the majority by the end of this decade.

In recent years the number of women in physics has remained steady. They made up 21% of bachelor’s recipients and 17% of physics PhDs in the class of 2006. No change has been seen for many years in the proportions of underrepresented minorities in physics. In the late 1990s, an average of 10 physics PhDs were conferred to African Americans annually; that jumped to 18 in the early 2000s, but has since fallen to 11.

These are among the highlights in the recent Enrollments and Degrees Report, 2006, which covers physics and astronomy and is available free of charge at http://www.aip.org/statistics/gradtrends or from the American Institute of Physics, Statistical Research Center, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740; e-mail stats@aip.org ; phone 301-209-3070.