Communications of the ACM
The STEM Enrollment Boom
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Undergraduates at four-year institutions have become much more likely to study science and technology fields, especially engineering and biology, according to a study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The study found that although science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enrollments are growing, professional-field enrollments such as business and education are shrinking. The study is based largely on the "freshman survey" conducted annually by UCLA on a national pool of freshmen at four-year institutions.
The researchers found the percentage of freshmen planning to major in STEM increased from 21.1 percent in 2007 to 28.2 percent in 2011. The data also shows the STEM gains were present for both male and female students, so gender gaps that remain in some STEM fields were not significantly changed. Engineering saw a 57.1-percent increase, while biology, the physical sciences, and mathematics had gains of 28.2, 11.1, and 12.6 percent, respectively.
Pennsylvania professor Jerry A. Jacobs says people who want more STEM students should focus on attracting more female students rather than offering criticism of the humanities, which he says offers important critical thinking skills that all students need.
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