U.S. Engineering Degrees Decline in 2007

Source: SSTI Weekly Digest, June 25, 2008 Issue.

" Despite a growing national demand for their skills, the number of engineers graduating from American colleges went down in 2007, according to latest edition of Profiles of Engineering and Engineering Technology Colleges, prepared by the American Society for Engineering Education.

"The decline in engineering bachelor’s degrees was the first since the 1990s, ending seven years of growth. Although the drop was small ­ 1.2 percent from the previous year ­ ASEE fears it is the beginning of a trend that may continue for several years. That’s because undergraduate enrollment dropped both in 2004 and 2005.

"Engineering master’s degrees show an even sharper drop than bachelor’s degrees, having declined 8.8 percent since 2005. Ph.D. degrees, by contrast, have been growing an average of 11 percent since 2004."

Go to ASEE's Engineering College Profiles and Statistics.