Broadening Participation in STEM Graduate Degrees and the U.S. STEM Workforce: Understanding Application, Admissions, And Matriculation in STEM Graduate Education

Maintaining US leadership in fields such as advanced manufacturing, advanced wireless, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science, semiconductors, and microelectronics depends on the talents of a diverse STEM workforce. Currently, there is a paucity of information about the pathways students follow into STEM graduate education and on to the scientific workforce.

This project will collect data on applications, admissions, and matriculation in graduate study for both international and domestic students and explore how pathways into graduate study differ by gender, race/ethnicity, citizenship status, disability status, veteran status, field of study, and degree level. By examining differences between groups in the number of applications submitted, the number of acceptances offered, and the likelihood that if admitted a potential student will actually enroll and pursue a degree, data will help to identify where investments of resources and improvements in recruitment and admission practices can have the greatest effects on increasing the size, diversity, and vitality of the advanced STEM workforce.

The study will also explore the important role international students play in STEM graduate education and careers and explore the relationship between enrollment of international students and those of U.S. domestic students, particularly from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields.

Little information exists today that documents trends in graduate program applications, admissions, and matriculation for domestic students. This project will answer the following questions: What are the key trends in graduate program applications, offers of admission, and matriculation for domestic and international students by degree level and broad and fine field of STEM study?

Has the proportion of women and racially and ethnically underrepresented students changed over time by broad and fine STEM field? Are there differences in aggregated graduate applications, offers of admission, and matriculation in STEM by sociodemographic and gender groups? Do acceptance and matriculation rates differ by field of study and citizenship status?

Among U.S. domestic students, are there differences in acceptance and matriculation rates by gender, race/ethnicity, and field of study? To the extent possible, differences in acceptance and matriculation rates by socioeconomic, first generation, veteran, and disability status will also be explored by fields of STEM study. The findings will provide a robust portrait of graduate application, admission, and matriculation rates of students in STEM fields such as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum information science.

This project will also examine the role that international students play in STEM graduate education and explore the relationship between enrollment of international students and those of U.S. domestic students.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.