It is noteworthy that the trend variations for foreign nationals have generally followed those of engineering as a whole for about three decades. For example, degrees awarded to foreign nationals grew to a maximum in the mid-1980s, subsequently declined through 1990 and experienced a period of negligible variation through 2000. However, this three-decade period of trend similarity may have ended in the last few years. In AY2003-04, 7.6% of bachelor's degrees were awarded to foreign nationals. This fraction declined steadily to 6.0% in AY2008-09 (the lowest since AY1973-74).

The graph below shows the total number of undergraduate engineering degrees awarded per capita (degrees per million population) since AY1966-67. For almost two decades, bachelor's degrees have remained essentially constant at about 250 per million. Prior to this period, there was a maximum of 330 in AY1984-85 and a minimum of 176 in AY1975-76.

Comparisons of degrees per capita of other countries provide some perspective to the US data in recent years. In AY2003-04, 90% of the undergraduate engineering degrees ("first engineering degrees" for many European countries) were awarded in 25 countries. Degrees per capita in these countries ranged from 148 to 2037 (Engineering Trends Report 0209B provides a comprehensive view of these data). Only three countries (Argentina, Brazil and Thailand) ranked lower than the US in degrees per capita in AY2003.04.

Undergraduate Degrees Awarded to US Citizens in Fifteen Engineering Disciplines

The two graphs below show the total numbers of degrees awarded since AY1970-71 in fifteen engineering disciplines along with numbers of degrees awarded to US citizens. For essentially all disciplines, the differences between these two metrics (the numbers of degrees awarded to foreign nationals) is small, mirroring the situation for overall engineering.

For AY2008-09, the range of degrees awarded to foreign nationals was 1.3% to 19.8%. The disciplines with the largest fractions were petroleum (19.8%), industrial (12.1%), systems (9.5%), electrical (9.1%) and management (8.2%) engineering. Those with the smallest were nuclear (1.3%), mining and geological (2.9%), civil (3.0%), environmental (3.4%), mechanical (4.0%) and materials (4.8%) engineering.

Undergraduate Degrees Awarded per Capita in Fifteen Engineering Disciplines

The two graphs below show the trends in degrees awarded per capita (degrees per million population) for the fifteen disciplines selected for study. Many of the disciplines exhibited the mid-1980s maximum and the mid-1970s minimum shown by engineering as a whole. However, since about 1990, few disciplines exhibit the essentially constant behavior of degrees per capita of overall engineering.

In recent years, aerospace, biological, civil, materials, mechanical, petroleum and nuclear engineering have shown significant growth in bachelor's degrees awarded per capita. In the last few years, computer and electrical engineering have had noteworthy declines.

Summary

This report focuses on the undergraduate degrees awarded to US citizens in engineering and engineering disciplines and degrees awarded per capita. Fifteen engineering disciplines were selected for study (aerospace, biological (bioengineering and biomedical), chemical, computer (including computer science in engineering colleges), civil, electrical, environmental, industrial, mining and geological, management, materials, mechanical, petroleum, nuclear and systems engineering). Data ranged from the mid-1960s through AY2008-09.

For engineering as a whole, the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to US citizens since AY1985-86 has varied between 60,000 and 70,000. The differences between total degrees and degrees awarded to US citizens (foreign national degrees) since AY1975-76 has remained essentially constant (7.6%). However, a slow decline has been underway since AY2003-04 to 6.0% in AY2008-09.

Overall engineering degrees awarded per million population since AY1990-91 have remained constant at about 250. It is noteworthy to compare this value to those of other countries. In AY2003-04, 25 countries awarded 90% of the undergraduate engineering degrees in the world. The degrees per capita of these countries ranged from 148 to 2037. The US was 22nd in this ranking, surpassing only Argentina, Brazil and Thailand.

The trends of individual engineering disciplines differed significantly from those of overall engineering. For AY2008-09, the range of degrees awarded to foreign nationals was 1.3% to 19.8%. The disciplines with the largest fractions were petroleum (19.8%), industrial (12.1%), systems (9.5%), electrical (9.1%) and management (8.2%). Those with the smallest were nuclear (1.3%), mining and geological (2.9%), civil (3.0%), environmental (3.4%), mechanical (4.0%) and materials (4.8%).

In terms of degrees per capita, many of the disciplines exhibited the mid-1980s maximum and the mid-1970s minimum shown by engineering as a whole. However, since about 1990, few disciplines exhibit the essentially constant behavior of degrees per capita of overall engineering.

In recent years, aerospace, biological, civil, materials, mechanical, petroleum and nuclear engineering have shown significant growth in bachelor's degrees awarded per capita. Computer and electrical engineering have had noteworthy declines.

Acknowledgments

The data used in this study originated from the annual surveys of the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies (degrees since the mid-1960s) and the US Department of Education (total engineering degrees prior to the mid-1960s). Engineering Trends acknowledges the efforts of these organizations in providing credible data and expresses its gratitude for their services to the engineering profession. Persons seeking further information about their surveys and the availability of survey data should visit the Web sites of the AAES/EWC (www.aaes.org) and the US Department of Education (www.ed.gov).

Footnote

Engineering Trends data are compiled mainly from information submitted by universities to the annual surveys of EWC and ASEE. On the very rare occasions where errors in data appear, Engineering Trends corrects the error, if possible, or deletes the data if the error is large enough to alter significantly the trend of the university or the US total.