GAINS IN CHEMISTRY GRADS PERSIST

Abstract

U.S. UNIVERSITIES and colleges with chemistry programs approved by the American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training (CPT) conferred a record high of nearly 14,000 bachelor’s degrees in chemistry during the 2007–08 academic year. The number of chemistry master’s degrees awarded by these schools rose slightly during the same period, but the number of chemistry Ph.D.s fell more than 4% from a 2006–07 peak. Chemical engineering bachelor’s degrees and Ph.D.s rose in 2007–08, while chemical engineering master’s degrees fell a bit. These are the key findings in the latest report of graduates submitted by the 647 schools with ACS-approved chemistry bachelor’s programs. In 2007–08, they granted 13,921 bachelor’s degrees, an 8.0% increase from the previous academic year. Chemistry departments at 307 schools, the same number that reported in 2006–07, awarded 2,051 master’s degrees in chemistry, up 0.4% from the previous year. And 200 institutions, again the same number as in 2006–07, reported grantin...