Fast Facts: Enrollment (98)

Enrollment

Question:
Do you have information on postsecondary enrollment trends?

Response:

Undergraduate Enrollment

In fall 2020, the first year in which fall enrollment may have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, total undergraduate enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States¹ was 15.9 million students.² Between 2009 and 2020, total undergraduate enrollment decreased by 9 percent (from 17.5 million to 15.9 million students). In contrast, total undergraduate enrollment is projected to increase by 8 percent (from 15.9 million to 17.1 million students) between 2020 and 2030.

In fall 2020, female students made up 58 percent of total undergraduate enrollment (9.2 million students), and male students made up 42 percent (6.7 million students). Enrollment patterns for female and male students exhibited similar trends between 2009 and 2019. During this period, female and male enrollments both decreased by 5 percent (from 9.9 million to 9.4 million female students and from 7.6 million to 7.1 million male students). This translates to an average drop in enrollments of about half of one percent each year for both male and female students. In 2020—the first year in which fall enrollments were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic—female enrollment was 2 percent lower than in 2019, while male enrollment was 7 percent lower. This change, in the first fall of the pandemic, marked the largest single-year decline in male enrollment over the period. In contrast, female and male enrollments are projected to increase by 2030. Between 2020 and 2030, female enrollment is projected to increase by 6 percent (from 9.2 million to 9.8 million students), and male enrollment is projected to increase by 11 percent (from 6.7 million to 7.4 million students).

Of the 15.9 million undergraduate students enrolled in fall 2020, some 8.1 million were White, 3.3 million were Hispanic, 2.0 million were Black, 1.1 million were Asian, 669,000 were of Two or more races, 107,300 were American Indian/Alaska Native, and 42,500 were Pacific Islander. Trends in undergraduate enrollment between 2009 and 2020 varied across those racial/ethnic groups for which data were available.³ During this period, American Indian/Alaska Native enrollment decreased by 43 percent (from 187,600 to 107,300 students), White enrollment decreased by 25 percent (from 10.9 million to 8.1 million students), and Black enrollment decreased by 21 percent (from 2.5 million to 2.0 million students). In contrast, between 2009 and 2020, Hispanic enrollment increased by 42 percent (from 2.4 million to 3.3 million students). Asian/Pacific Islander enrollment remained steady (at 1.1 million students). All racial/ethnic groups had lower undergraduate enrollment in fall 2020 than in fall 2019.

In fall 2020, U.S. degree-granting postsecondary institutions enrolled 468,900 nonresident alien⁴ undergraduate students, a 25 percent increase from 376,500 students in 2009. In contrast, nonresident alien undergraduate enrollment was 15 percent lower in 2020 than in 2019 (468,900 vs. 548,600).

¹ Data in this Fast Fact represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
² Data in this Fast Fact may not sum to 15.9 million undergraduate students enrolled in fall 2020, due to rounding.
³ Disaggregated data on undergraduate students who were Asian, Pacific Islander, and of Two or more races were not collected in 2009. In 2009, data for undergraduate students who were Asian included students who were Pacific Islander. In 2009, students of Two or more races were required to select a single category from among the offered race/ethnicity categories (i.e., White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian/Alaska Native).
⁴ In the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), racial/ethnic data were not collected for nonresident alien students, and their data were compiled as a separate group. Race/ethnicity categories exclude nonresident aliens.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Undergraduate Enrollment. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved July 8, 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cha.

Numbers in figure titles reflect original numeration from source Condition of Education indicators.

Postbaccalaureate Enrollment

In fall 2020, the first year in which fall enrollment may have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, 3.1 million students¹ were enrolled in postbaccalaureate degree programs in the United States.² Postbaccalaureate degree programs include master’s and doctoral programs, as well as professional doctoral programs such as law, medicine, and dentistry. Between 2009 and 2020, total postbaccalaureate enrollment increased by 10 percent (from 2.8 million to 3.1 million students). Postbaccalaureate enrollment is projected to be 6 percent higher in 2030 than in 2020 (3.3 million vs. 3.1 million students).

In fall 2020, female students made up 61 percent of total postbaccalaureate enrollment (1.9 million students), and male students made up 39 percent (1.2 million students). Between 2009 and 2020, female enrollment increased by 14 percent (from 1.7 million to 1.9 million students) and male enrollment increased by 4 percent (from just under 1.2 million to just over 1.2 million students).³ In 2030, female enrollment is projected to be 5 percent higher than in 2020 (2.0 million students vs. 1.9 million students), while male enrollment is projected to be 7 percent higher than in 2020 (1.3 million vs. 1.2 million students).

Actual and projected postbaccalaureate enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by sex: Fall 2009 through 2030

The data in this figure is described in the surrounding text.

NOTE: Data are for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Postbaccalaureate degree programs include master’s and doctoral programs, as well as professional doctoral programs such as law, medicine, and dentistry. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Projections were calculated after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and take into account the expected impacts of the pandemic. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

Of the 3.1 million postbaccalaureate students enrolled in fall 2020, some 1.7 million were White, 383,900 were Black, 340,900 were Hispanic, 240,300 were Asian, 92,800 were of Two or more races, 13,800 were American Indian/Alaska Native, and 6,100 were Pacific Islander. Trends in postbaccalaureate enrollment between fall 2009 and 2020 varied across those racial/ethnic groups for which data were available.⁴ During this period, American Indian/Alaska Native enrollment decreased by 25 percent (from 18,300 to 13,800 students) and White enrollment decreased by 7 percent (from 1.8 million to 1.7 million students). In contrast, between fall 2009 and 2020, Hispanic enrollment increased by 86 percent (from 183,000 to 340,900 students), Asian/Pacific Islander enrollment increased by 26 percent (from 194,900 to 246,400 students), and Black enrollment increased by 14 percent (from 338,000 to 383,900 students).

In fall 2020, degree-granting postsecondary institutions enrolled 379,800 nonresident alien⁵ postbaccalaureate students, a 24 percent increase from the 305,700 students in 2009. Of note, nonresident alien undergraduate enrollment was 11 percent lower in 2020 than just prior to the pandemic in 2019 (379,800 vs. 426,100). This marked the lowest count of nonresident alien students enrolled in postbaccalaureate studies since 2013.

Postbaccalaureate enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity and nonresident alien status: Fall 2009 and 2020

The data in this figure is described in the surrounding text.

NOTE: Data are for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Postbaccalaureate degree programs include master’s and doctoral programs, as well as professional doctoral programs such as law, medicine, and dentistry. Disaggregated data on postbaccalaureate students who were Asian, Pacific Islander, and of Two or more races were not collected in 2009. In 2009, data for postbaccalaureate students who were Asian included students who were Pacific Islander. In 2009, students of Two or more races were required to select a single category from among the offered race/ethnicity categories (i.e., White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian/Alaska Native). Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Race/ethnicity categories exclude nonresident aliens. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figure is based on unrounded data.

¹ Data in this Fast Fact may not sum to 3.1 million students enrolled in postbaccalaureate degree programs in fall 2020, due to rounding.
² Data in this Fast Fact represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
³ Although male enrollment increased by 4 percent between 2009 to 2020 (from 1.17 million to 1.22 students), enrollment in both years rounds to 1.2 million students.
⁴ Disaggregated data on postbaccalaureate students who were Asian, Pacific Islander, and of Two or more races were not collected in 2009. In 2009, data for postbaccalaureate students who were Asian included students who were Pacific Islander. In 2009, students of Two or more races were required to select a single category from among the offered race/ethnicity categories (i.e., White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian/Alaska Native).
⁵ In the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), data for the nonresident alien category are collected alongside data for racial/ethnic categories. Race/ethnicity categories exclude nonresident aliens.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Postbaccalaureate Enrollment. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved July 8, 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/chb.

Numbers in figure titles reflect original numeration from source Condition of Education indicators.

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