Indicator 21: Postbaccalaureate Enrollment
(Last Updated: February 2019)

Between 2000 and 2016, Hispanic postbaccalaureate enrollment more than doubled (a 134 percent increase, from 111,000 to 260,000 students) and Black postbaccalaureate enrollment doubled (a 100 percent increase, from 181,000 to 363,000).

This indicator examines the racial/ethnic differences in postbaccalaureate fall enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by sex and institution type for U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Postbaccalaureate degree programs include master’s and doctoral programs, as well as programs such as law, medicine, and dentistry. Of the 2.5 million postbaccalaureate students enrolled in fall 2016, some 1.6 million were White, 363,000 were Black, 260,000 were Hispanic, 200,000 were Asian, 71,000 were of Two or more races, 14,000 were American Indian/Alaska Native, and 6,100 were Pacific Islander.

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Figure 21.1. Postbaccalaureate student enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by race/ethnicity: 2000 through 2016

NOTE: Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Prior to 2010, separate data on Asian students, Pacific Islander students, and students of Two or more races were not available. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2001 through Spring 2017, Fall Enrollment component. See Digest of Education Statistics 2005, table 205; Digest of Education Statistics 2012, table 263; Digest of Education Statistics 2016 and 2017, table 306.10.

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Between 2000 and 2016, Hispanic postbaccalaureate enrollment more than doubled (a 134 percent increase, from 111,000 to 260,000 students) and Black postbaccalaureate enrollment doubled (a 100 percent increase, from 181,000 to 363,000 students). In contrast, postbaccalaureate enrollment for other racial/ethnic groups with available data for 2000 to 2016¹ generally increased from 2000 to 2010 and then began to decrease around 2010. For instance, between 2000 and 2010, American Indian/Alaska Native enrollment increased by 36 percent (from 13,000 to 17,000 students) but then decreased by 20 percent to 14,000 students in 2016. Similarly, White enrollment increased by 23 percent between 2000 and 2010 (from 1.5 million to 1.8 million students) before decreasing by 11 percent to 1.6 million students in 2016.

Between 2010 and 2016, the enrollment of students of Two or more races more than doubled (an increase of 123 percent, from 32,000 to 71,000 students) and Asian enrollment increased by 7 percent (from 188,000 to 200,000 students). The enrollment of Pacific Islander students was 6 percent lower in 2016 (6,100) than in 2010 (6,500).

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Figure 21.2. Percentage of total postbaccalaureate student enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by race/ethnicity: 2000, 2010, and 2016

— Not available.
# Rounds to zero.
NOTE: Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Prior to 2010, separate data on Asian students, Pacific Islander students, and students of Two or more races were not available. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2001, Spring 2011, and Spring 2017, Fall Enrollment component. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 306.10.

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Due to the different growth rates of postbaccalaureate enrollment between 2000 and 2016, the distribution of enrollment by racial/ethnic group changed. During this time, Black enrollment as a percentage of total enrollment increased from 9 to 14 percent and Hispanic enrollment increased from 6 to 10 percent. Conversely, White enrollment as a percentage of total enrollment decreased from 77 to 64 percent and American Indian/Alaska Native enrollment decreased by less than 1 percentage point between 2000 and 2016.

Between 2010 and 2016, the enrollment of Asian students as a percentage of total enrollment increased from 7 to 8 percent and the enrollment of students of Two or more races increased from 1 to 3 percent. During the same period, the enrollment of Pacific Islander students as a percentage of total enrollment remained at less than one-half of 1 percent.

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Figure 21.3. Percentage distribution of male and female postbaccalaureate student enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by race/ethnicity: 2016

NOTE: Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Spring 2017, Fall Enrollment component. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 306.10.

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In 2016, a greater percentage of postbaccalaureate students were female than male across all racial/ethnic groups. The gap between female and male enrollment was widest for Black students (70 vs. 30 percent) and narrowest for Asian students (56 vs. 44 percent).

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Figure 21.4. Percentage distribution of postbaccalaureate student enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by race/ethnicity of student and control of institution: 2016

NOTE: Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data. Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2017, Fall Enrollment component. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 306.50.

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In 2016, about 47 percent of postbaccalaureate students attended public institutions, 43 percent attended private nonprofit institutions, and 10 percent attended private for-profit institutions. The percentages of students attending public institutions were above the average (47 percent) for White students (50 percent), American Indian/Alaska Native students (50 percent), students of Two or more races (49 percent), and Hispanic students (49 percent)²; the percentages for all other racial/ethnic groups attending public institutions were below the average. The percentages of students attending private nonprofit institutions were above the average (43 percent) for Asian (49 percent), Pacific Islander (45 percent), and White (43 percent) students; the percentages attending private nonprofit institutions were below the average for students from all other racial/ethnic groups. The percentages of students attending private for-profit institutions were above the average (10 percent) for Pacific Islander (26 percent), Black (24 percent), American Indian/Alaska Native (15 percent), and Hispanic (10 percent) students; the percentages attending private for-profit institutions were below the average for students from all other racial/ethnic groups.

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Endnotes

¹ Prior to 2010, separate data on postsecondary enrollment for Asian students, Pacific Islander students, and students of Two or more races was not available.
² Although rounded numbers are discussed, comparisons are based on unrounded data.

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