Introduction

Engineering bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees awarded to women increased substantially from AY1975-76 through AY2000-01 as shown in the graph below. Recently,

these growth trends have been changing. The transition is seen more clearly in the graph below that shows the fractions of engineering degrees awarded to women. The relative degrees awarded at each of the individual degree levels increased by about 0.7% per year for AY1975-76 through AY2000-01. Beginning in AY2000-01 (through AY2004-05), bachelor's degrees awarded to women declined 0.2% per year, master's degrees increased only 0.1% per year and doctoral degree growth slowed to 0.3% per year. Enrollment data indicate that the onset of this transition can be traced back to the mid-1990s. The reasons for the transition are unclear.

This report considers the degrees awarded to women (bachelor's, master's and doctoral) in nine engineering disciplines (aerospace, bioeng+biomedical, chemical, civil, "computer" (computer engineering, computer science (universities with engineering colleges) and computer-related degrees), electrical, industrial, materials (science and engineering) and mechanical engineering). Both degrees and relative degrees (fractions of totals) will be shown.

Bachelor's Degrees Awarded to Women

The two graphs below indicate that "broadbrush" statements regarding the interests of women in engineering careers mask the important characteristics of this topic. Only discipline-specific analyses of trends appear to be worthy of consideration. Women have shown great interest in careers in specific engineering disciplines. Three of the nine disciplines shown below award more than 35% of their bachelor's degrees to women and it appears that a fourth discipline will join this group in a year or two.

Significant growth in the numbers of bachelor's degrees awarded to women in the past five to ten years has occurred in many of the disciplines shown. However, AY2004-05 degree data indicate that a degree transition may be underway. Such a transition has been expected based on undergraduate enrollment data in the recent past.

The relative enrollment data in the second graph below indicate that growth in the number of degrees awarded to women was enhanced by the substantial growth in total engineering degrees since AY1998-99. This growth has essentially ceased. The most recent trends provide insight to the current preferences of women in specific engineering disciplines.

Materials and probably bioeng+biomedical engineering continue to maintain relative degree growth. Chemical, civil, mechanical and possibly electrical engineering show no annual variation. Aerospace, "computer" and industrial engineering have declined in the relative number of bachelor's degrees awarded to women over the past four to five years.

Master's Degrees Awarded to Women

Most of the engineering disciplines analyzed in this report have undergone growth in the numbers of master's degrees awarded to women, as shown in the graph below.

New trends seem to have arisen in AY2004-05, however. "Computer" decreased substantially and mechanical, industrial and materials engineering showed negligible growth. The new trends in "computer", industrial and materials engineering were anticipated from past enrollment data. The minimal increase in total number of master's degrees awarded in AY2004-05 may indicate that other disciplines may show slower growth or declines in master's degrees awarded to women in AY2005-06 and beyond.

The relative master's degree trends are shown in the graph below. "Computer" continues to decline since the maximum in AY2000-01. Aerospace, industrial, materials and mechanical engineering remained constant in recent years. Bioeng+biomedical, chemical and electrical engineering are increasing in relative degrees awarded to women. The similarities and differences in the relative degrees at the bachelor's and master's levels are noteworthy.

Doctoral Degrees Awarded to Women

Doctoral degrees awarded to women continue to increase significantly in most engineering disciplines as shown in the graph below. The major exceptions to this general trend are aerospace and industrial engineering each of which has remained essentially constant in recent years.

Much of the growth in doctoral degrees awarded to women stems from the substantial growth in the total number of doctoral degrees. The fractions of doctoral degrees awarded to women indicate new trends since AY2000-01 as shown in the second graph below.

Only civil engineering continues to increase in the fraction of engineering doctorates awarded to women. The other disciplines included in this study have remained constant in their relative degrees or have begun to decline.

Summary

This study investigated the trends in bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees awarded to women in nine major engineering disciplines since AY1975-76. Both numbers of degrees and relative degrees (fractions of total degrees) were considered.

The fraction of undergraduate degrees awarded to women exceeded 35% in three disciplines (bioeng+biomedical, chemical and industrial engineering) in AY2004-05. A fourth discipline (materials engineering) seems poised to join this group in a year or so. It is incorrect to conclude that women are not attracted to engineering when they clearly have a strong preference for specific engineering disciplines at the undergraduate level.

For master's programs, bioeng+biomedical engineering had a relative degree fraction of 44% in AY2004-05, followed by chemical (29%), civil (26%), materials (26%) and electrical (19%) engineering. Only three disciplines (bioeng+biomedical, chemical and electrical engineering) continue to increase in the relative number of master's degrees awarded to women.

For doctoral degrees, bioeng+biomedical engineering had a relative degree fraction of 29%, followed by chemical (23%), materials (23%), civil (22%) and industrial (22%) engineering. Only civil engineering continues to increase in the relative number of doctoral degrees awarded to women.

Acknowledgments

The data used in this study originated from the annual surveys of the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies. Engineering Trends acknowledges the efforts of this organization 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 ASEE Web site (www.aaes.org).

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.