Question:
What information do you have on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in the U.S. by gender?
Response:
Postsecondary education: STEM degrees
The following table depicts the numbers of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics degrees/certificates at varying award levels.
Number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees/certificates conferred by postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity, level of degree/certificate, and sex of student: 2020–21 | ||||||||||
Sex and year | Total | American Indian/Alaska Native | Asian/Pacific Islander | Black | Hispanic | White | Two or more races | U.S. nonresident | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Asian | Pacific Islander | Total, all levels of degrees/certificates | |||||||
Total | 790,752 | 3,158 | 92,217 | 90,930 | 1,287 | 59,848 | 101,761 | 385,194 | 28,389 | 120,185 |
Males | 514,323 | 2,065 | 55,101 | 54,221 | 880 | 35,330 | 64,609 | 261,183 | 17,129 | 78,906 |
Females | 276,429 | 1,093 | 37,116 | 36,709 | 407 | 24,518 | 37,152 | 124,011 | 11,260 | 41,279 | Certificates below the associate’s degree level |
Total | 90,677 | 817 | 5,662 | 5,396 | 266 | 12,591 | 16,507 | 50,278 | 3,203 | 1,619 |
Males | 70,372 | 614 | 3,932 | 3,717 | 215 | 9,096 | 12,757 | 40,586 | 2,346 | 1,041 |
Females | 20,305 | 203 | 1,730 | 1,679 | 51 | 3,495 | 3,750 | 9,692 | 857 | 578 | Associate’s degrees |
Total | 87,382 | 665 | 9,220 | 9,008 | 212 | 8,897 | 17,859 | 44,348 | 3,400 | 2,993 |
Males | 62,103 | 423 | 5,791 | 5,646 | 145 | 5,788 | 11,601 | 34,436 | 2,225 | 1,839 |
Females | 25,279 | 242 | 3,429 | 3,362 | 67 | 3,109 | 6,258 | 9,912 | 1,175 | 1,154 |
Bachelor’s degrees | ||||||||||
Total | 437,302 | 1,387 | 61,330 | 60,659 | 671 | 30,150 | 57,390 | 232,278 | 18,181 | 36,586 |
Males | 270,160 | 847 | 35,943 | 35,504 | 439 | 15,903 | 34,132 | 148,298 | 10,460 | 24,577 |
Females | 167,142 | 540 | 25,387 | 25,155 | 23,258 | 14,247 | 23,258 | 83,980 | 7,721 | 12,009 |
Master’s degrees | ||||||||||
Total | 146,573 | 250 | 14,059 | 13,931 | 128 | 7,468 | 8,644 | 47,489 | 3,024 | 65,639 |
Males | 92,965 | 156 | 8,316 | 8,242 | 74 | 4,149 | 5,341 | 31,160 | 1,777 | 42,066 |
Females | 53,608 | 94 | 5,743 | 5,689 | 54 | 3,319 | 3,303 | 16,329 | 1,247 | 23,573 |
Doctor’s degrees | ||||||||||
Total | 28,818 | 39 | 1,946 | 1,936 | 10 | 742 | 1,361 | 10,801 | 581 | 13,348 |
Males | 18,723 | 25 | 1,119 | 1,112 | 7 | 394 | 778 | 6,703 | 321 | 9,383 |
Females | 10,095 | 14 | 827 | 824 | 3 | 348 | 583 | 4,098 | 260 | 3,965 |
NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data are for postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Reported racial/ethnic distributions of students by level of degree, field of study, and sex were used to estimate race/ethnicity for students whose race/ethnicity was not reported. STEM fields include biological and biomedical sciences, computer and information sciences, engineering and engineering technologies, mathematics and statistics, and physical sciences and science technologies. Degree counts are limited to degree-granting institutions; certificate counts include both degree- and non-degree-granting institutions. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2023, February). Table 318.45. Number and percentage distribution of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees/certificates conferred by postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity, level of degree/certificate, and sex of student: Academic years 2011–12 through 2020–21 [Data table]. In Digest of education statistics. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved February 9, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_318.45.asp
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