ERIC ED439663: Physics and Astronomy Senior Report pdf

ERIC ED439663: Physics and Astronomy Senior Report

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This report provides data on students earning physics and astronomy bachelor’s degrees for the 1997-98 academic year. The report notes that: (1) after many years of steady decline, the number of undergraduates earning physics bachelor’s degrees has stabilized, with 3,821 degrees awarded in l997-98; (2) declines in undergraduate degrees persist at generally larger departments that also teach physics at the graduate level–for these schools, the cumulative decrease since 1989 is 32 percent; (3) satisfaction levels among physics bachelor’s recipients appears high; (4) roughly half of new bachelor’s recipients plan to immediately enter graduate school, with 31 percent planning to pursue physics studies and 19 percent planning to pursue other disciplines; (5) of students continuing on to graduate study, 86 percent expect to earn doctoral degrees and 61 percent hope for careers as college or university professors, percentages far higher than historically achieved; (6) physics and astronomy seniors perceive their respective post-baccalaureate job markets very differently, with physics seniors believing their potential employment prospects are far more positive than do their astronomy counterparts; and (7) perhaps as a result of their poorer bachelor-level job market, the proportion of astronomy graduates going directly to graduate school is higher (55

percent) than in physics. More than two-thirds of astronomy matriculates aspire to academic careers. Tables and figures summarize the data. (CH

• Creator/s: ERIC
• Date: 1999-12
• Year: 1999
• Book Topics/Themes: ERIC Archive, Astronomy, Bachelors Degrees, Doctoral Degrees, Education Work Relationship, Employment Experience, Employment Statistics, Enrollment Trends, Graduate Study, Higher Education, Occupational Information, Outcomes of Education, Physics, Undergraduate Study, Neuschatz, Michael, Mulvey, Patrick J., Nicholson, Starr

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