Trends of S&E students in the United States: an exploratory analysis from 1993-2008

Abstract

Correlations between possible factors in students’ decisions to pursue Science and Engineering degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate level are examined in this thesis. Factors representing supply and demand of graduates at the undergraduate level are examined. For graduate level students, different measures of opportunity cost are hypothized to have correlation with the number of graduates, both foreign and American. Due to data limitations, detailed examination cannot be done and only correlation can be determined. However, the results are expected to set the table for future studies on predictive variables; particularly on the role that opportunity cost plays for graduate students and the policy implications.