The National Science Board's The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2026, prepared by the National Science Foundation's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) and published May 4, 2026, carries the federal government's latest figures on who earns science and engineering (S&E) degrees. The 2024 data show the number of S&E degrees rising at every level, women earning about a quarter of engineering and computing bachelor's degrees, and Black, Hispanic, and American Indian or Alaska Native students earning smaller shares of S&E degrees at the bachelor's level and above than their share of the young adult population. For deans and program chairs who report on access & inclusion to their institutions or accreditors, these are the national comparison points.

Degree volume, 2014 to 2024

NCSES reports that S&E degree awards increased at every level over the decade. In 2024, U.S. institutions awarded 153,019 S&E associate's degrees, 793,867 bachelor's degrees, 289,091 master's degrees and 45,929 research doctorates. Between 2014 and 2024, S&E associate's awards grew 22 percent, bachelor's 17 percent and doctorates 13 percent, while master's awards grew 77 percent. The S&E share of all master's degrees rose from 22 percent to 31 percent, and S&E fields accounted for 79 percent of all research doctorates in 2024.

Computing degrees grew quickly, the report notes. Bachelor's degrees in computer and information sciences rose from about 56,000 to about 122,000, and master's degrees in the field from about 25,000 to about 91,000, making it the most common S&E master's field in 2024. Engineering bachelor's degrees rose from 93,264 to 117,332.

Women's share by field and level

In 2024, men earned the larger share of degrees at every level in engineering, computer and information sciences, mathematics and statistics, and physical sciences, according to the report. Women earned a majority at every level in psychology, biological and biomedical sciences, agricultural sciences and natural resources, and social sciences. The supplemental tables give women's shares in the fields most relevant to engineering and computing programs:

  • Engineering: 19.6 percent of associate's degrees, 25.4 percent of bachelor's, 28.8 percent of master's and 27.8 percent of doctorates.
  • Computer and information sciences: 23.1 percent of associate's, 23.5 percent of bachelor's, 34.3 percent of master's and 25.9 percent of doctorates.
  • Mathematics and statistics: 30.2 percent of associate's, 39.0 percent of bachelor's, 37.4 percent of master's and 30.9 percent of doctorates.
  • Physical sciences: 42.4 percent of associate's, 45.0 percent of bachelor's, 39.3 percent of master's and 34.0 percent of doctorates.
  • Technology and technical fields: 16.9 percent of associate's and 17.4 percent of bachelor's degrees.

By contrast, women earned 81.2 percent of psychology bachelor's degrees and 66.9 percent of biological and biomedical sciences bachelor's degrees in 2024.

Race and ethnicity compared with the population

NCSES compares the race and ethnicity of U.S. citizen and permanent resident S&E degree recipients with the U.S. resident population ages 20 to 34. Students of unknown race or ethnicity and those on temporary visas are excluded. In 2024:

  • Hispanic or Latino: 23.3 percent of the population ages 20 to 34; 34.0 percent of S&E associate's recipients, 19.4 percent of bachelor's, 15.2 percent of master's and 10.7 percent of doctoral recipients.
  • Black or African American: 14.0 percent of the population; 8.8 percent of associate's and bachelor's recipients, 10.2 percent of master's and 6.8 percent of doctoral recipients.
  • American Indian or Alaska Native: 0.8 percent of the population; 0.8 percent of associate's recipients, 0.4 percent of bachelor's and master's, and 0.3 percent of doctoral recipients.
  • Asian: 7.2 percent of the population; between 10.8 and 14.1 percent of recipients at each degree level.
  • White: 51.5 percent of the population; 40.4 percent of associate's, 53.4 percent of bachelor's, 55.5 percent of master's and 65.1 percent of doctoral recipients.

The associate's level is the only degree level at which Hispanic students' share of S&E degrees exceeds their population share. At each level above it, the share is smaller than the one before.

Where the pipeline narrows earlier

The report also tracks what happens before and during college. In the 2020-21 school year, 69 percent of Asian students, 55 percent of White students, 51 percent of Hispanic students and 47 percent of Black students attended public high schools that offered a full range of mathematics, science and computer science courses. About 49 percent of public high schools offered computer science and 48 percent offered calculus.

Among students who were ninth graders in fall 2009 and enrolled in postsecondary education by 2017, about 695,000 (38 percent) first declared a STEM major. Of those, 55 percent completed a STEM certificate or degree, 16 percent completed a non-STEM degree and 29 percent did not complete a degree as of 2021. STEM majors who had scored in the top fifth in grade 11 mathematics completed STEM degrees at a rate of 71 percent, compared with 34 percent for those in the bottom fifth.

Using the numbers

Programs that track access & inclusion can download the supplemental tables in spreadsheet form from the NCSES report page and set their own enrollment and completion data beside the national shares for their field and degree level. NCSES notes that its doctoral figures come from the Survey of Earned Doctorates, which changed how it collects field of study in 2021, so comparisons across years at that level carry a caveat.

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