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Newsletter Contents

Synopses of new reports in the Report Library on the Engineering Trends Web Site engtrends.com

1. "Undergraduate Enrollments in US Engineering Colleges Have Been Increasing Significantly; An Analysis of Individual Engineering Disciplines and Predictions of Near-Term Degrees"
2. "Research Expenditures by Engineering Colleges Continue to Increase; Trends in Individual Disciplines Differ; Analysis of Data Since AY1980-81 Considering Actual vs. Constant Dollars, Expenditures per Faculty Member and Fractions of Engineering Expenditures by Individual Disciplines"
3. "Research Expenditures per Engineering Doctoral Degree Are No Longer Declining; Master's Degree Expenditures Continue to Decline; Expenditures per Graduate Degree in Larger Disciplines Vary Significantly from Overall Engineering Expenditures"

New Studies Underway at Engineering Trends

Notice to Engineering Trends Members - New My Membership Page on the Web Site

Organizational Memberships in Engineering Trends Are Now Available

Synopses of New Reports in the Report Library on the Engineering Trends Web Site

Undergraduate Enrollments in US Engineering Colleges Have Been Increasing Significantly; Analysis of Individual Engineering Disciplines and Predictions of Near-Term Degrees (Report 0908A)

Undergraduate enrollments in US engineering colleges have increased significantly from Fall 2005 through Fall 2007. Over this two-year period, first-year and total full-time enrollment increases were 7.4% and 2.3%, respectively. Undergraduate engineering degrees should reverse their current declining trend in AY2007-08 or AY2008-09, at the latest.

Undergraduate enrollments in fourteen engineering disciplines were analyzed in order to predict near-future degree trends. Continued enrollment growth (both first-year and total full-time) for biomedical, civil, nuclear and petroleum engineering will sustain the ongoing undergraduate degree growth of these disciplines. The new enrollment growth trends for chemical and environmental engineering should reverse recent degree declines and provide significant degree growth in just a few years.

Modest increases in enrollments for bioengineering, computer science and materials engineering should provide the basis for slow degree growth in the near term. Only modest enrollment growth in mechanical engineering in recent years should lead to a significant decline in the rate of degree growth that had been underway since AY2001-02.

Essentially constant enrollments (both first-year and total full-time) have been exhibited for aerospace and computer engineering in recent years. Degree growth for aerospace engineering should end in a year or two and an extended period of degree decline should be expected for computer engineering.

Declining enrollments in electrical and industrial engineering should result in the continuation of the declining degree trends that have been underway.

Research Expenditures by Engineering Colleges Continue to Increase; Trends in Individual Disciplines Differ; Analysis of Data Since AY1980-81 Considering Actual vs. Constant Dollars, Expenditures per Faculty Member and Fractions of Engineering Expenditures by Individual Disciplines (Report 0908B)

This report considers the research expenditures of thirteen engineering disciplines over the period from AY1980-81 through AY2006-07, the most recent year for which data are available. The disciplines selected for study were aerospace (including aeronautical), bioengineering, biomedical, chemical, civil, computer (including computer science in engineering colleges), electrical, environmental, industrial, materials, mechanical, nuclear and petroleum engineering. Discipline comparisons were made on the basis of expenditures (actual and inflation-adjusted), expenditures per faculty member (actual and inflation-adjusted) and the fraction of total engineering expenditures by each discipline.

Research expenditures for engineering as a whole since AY2000-01 show two distinctly different three-year periods of growth. From AY2000-01 through AY2003-04, expenditures increased 33.9% and 23.9% in actual dollars and inflation-adjusted dollars, respectively. From AY2003-04 through AY2006-07, the increases were only 12.9% and 2.4%, respectively.

Bioengineering, biomedical, materials and nuclear engineering continue to have significantly higher research expenditures per faculty member than all of engineering; computer, environmental, industrial, mechanical and petroleum engineering continue to be significantly lower.

Only two disciplines have had long-term increases in their fractions of total engineering research expenditures - bioengineering and biomedical engineering. The increases have been substantial; each has increased from about 1% in AY1990-91 to about 5% in AY2006-07.

Research Expenditures per Engineering Doctoral Degree Are No Longer Declining; Master's Degree Expenditures Continue to Decline; Expenditures per Graduate Degree in Larger Disciplines Vary Significantly from Overall Engineering Expenditures (Report 0908C)

Faculty, graduate degree and research expenditure data reported by US engineering colleges were analyzed to obtain estimates of the average research expenditures per master's degree and per doctoral degree. Degree expenditures from AY1990-91 through AY2006-07 were determined for overall engineering and five engineering disciplines (civil, chemical, computer (last four academic years), electrical and mechanical engineering).

Research expenditures per master's degree declined in both AY2005-06 and AY 2006-07. It is noteworthy that growth in this metric since AY1990-91 has been only about 50% in actual dollars. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the AY2006-07 value is essentially the same as that in AY1990-91.

For doctorates, it appears that the recent declining trend in research expenditures per degree has ended. The overall trend since AY1990-91 has been an increase of about 90% in actual dollars and an increase of about 20% in inflation-adjusted dollars.

Research expenditures per master's degree in the five disciplines selected for study continue to exceed the values for engineering. The data for civil and chemical engineering have maintained a long-term growth pattern since AY1990-91, have continued to be substantially greater than engineering and have grown considerably in just the last two years.

Doctoral research expenditure trends for the five disciplines generally follow the pattern shown for engineering as a whole. All five disciplines continue to exhibit lower values of this metric than overall engineering. The values for civil and computer engineering are less than half that of engineering.

New Studies Underway at Engineering Trends

Degrees in Telecommunications (primarily master's) and in Information Technology (including Information Systems and Information Engineering) (both bachelor's and master's) have been reported by engineering colleges for about a decade and substantial growth has taken place. The numbers of degrees awarded and the numbers of colleges awarding these degrees are now within the ranges of the smaller "traditional" engineering disciplines. A report on these new programs is being prepared.

Additional studies are underway on the continuously increasing growth in the number of engineering college faculty, a state-by-state comparison of the numbers of engineering degrees awarded and enrollment trends in master's and doctoral programs in engineering colleges.

Notice to Engineering Trends Members - New My Membership Page on the Web Site

A new page has been added to the Engineering Trends Web site - My Membership. This page contains the most recent contact information for a member. Members are encouraged to upgrade their contact information. Access to My Membership is via the member's username and password. The My Membership page also contains the expiration date of the membership.

Organizational Memberships in Engineering Trends Are Now Available

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Can We Be of Assistance?

Engineering Trends specializes in client-defined studies comparing engineering colleges and departments at individual universities.  We follow closely enrollment and degree trends for the US and individual engineering colleges.  Our predictions of engineering degree trends have been credible.  We would be pleased to assist you in your activities in this regard.  Engineering Trends has the capability to provide rapid responses and accurate analyses at low cost to our clients.  All studies are based upon a no-cost quotation specifying the scope of the study and the delivery time, as well as the cost.

We welcome your suggestions of reports to be added to the Report Library section of our Web site and reviewed in forthcoming newsletters.  You may contact us via our Web site www.engtrends.com, info@engtrends.com and/or (906) 482-1523.  We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Richard W. Heckel
Founder & Technical Director
rheckel@engtrends.com