Participation in Education

Postsecondary Enrollment

Table A-11-2. Postbaccalaureate enrollment of U.S. residents and percentage distribution of students in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity and sex: Selected years, fall 1976–fall 2010

Race/ethnicity and sex	Enrollment (in thousands)					Percentage distribution of students
Race/ethnicity and sex	1976	1980	1990	2000	2010	1976	1980	1990	2000	2010
Total	1,492	1,523	1,687	1,916	2,628	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
White	1,336	1,352	1,450	1,479	1,825	89.5	88.8	86.0	77.2	69.4
Black	90	88	100	181	362	6.0	5.8	5.9	9.4	13.8
Hispanic	31	39	58	111	198	2.1	2.6	3.4	5.8	7.5
Asian/Pacific Islander	29	38	72	133	194	1.9	2.5	4.3	6.9	7.4
Asian	—	—	—	—	188	—	—	—	—	7.2
Pacific Islander	—	—	—	—	6	—	—	—	—	0.2
American Indian/Alaska Native	6	6	7	13	17	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.7	0.6
Two or more races	—	—	—	—	32	—	—	—	—	1.2

Male	840	800	784	797	1,032	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
White	762	718	677	625	745	90.7	89.8	86.4	78.4	72.2
Black	39	36	37	58	106	4.6	4.5	4.7	7.3	10.3
Hispanic	18	20	27	45	75	2.1	2.5	3.4	5.6	7.3
Asian/Pacific Islander	17	23	40	64	87	2.0	2.9	5.1	8.0	8.4
Asian	—	—	—	—	85	—	—	—	—	8.2
Pacific Islander	—	—	—	—	3	—	—	—	—	0.3
American Indian/Alaska Native	4	3	3	5	6	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.6	0.6
Two or more races	—	—	—	—	12	—	—	—	—	1.2

Female	651	723	902	1,119	1,597	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
White	574	634	773	854	1,080	88.2	87.7	85.7	76.3	67.6
Black	50	52	63	123	256	7.7	7.2	7.0	11.0	16.0
Hispanic	13	18	31	66	123	2.0	2.5	3.4	5.9	7.7
Asian/Pacific Islander	11	15	32	69	107	1.7	2.1	3.5	6.2	6.7
Asian	—	—	—	—	103	—	—	—	—	6.4
Pacific Islander	—	—	—	—	4	—	—	—	—	0.3
American Indian/Alaska Native	3	3	4	8	11	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.7	0.7
Two or more races	—	—	—	—	20	—	—	—	—	1.3

— Not available.

NOTE: Postbaccalaureate enrollment is the number of students with a bachelor's degree who are enrolled in master’s or doctoral programs, including those formerly classified as first-professional programs. Because of underreporting and nonreporting of racial/ethnic data and nonresident aliens, some estimates are slightly lower than corresponding data in other published tables. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. For more information on race/ethnicity, see Appendix C – Commonly Used Measures. For more information on the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), see Appendix B – Guide to Sources. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), "Fall Enrollment in Colleges and Universities" surveys, 1976 and 1980; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Fall Enrollment Survey" (IPEDS-EF:90); and IPEDS Spring 2001 and Spring 2011, Enrollment component.

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