Figure 5-18 



College majors of National Merit Scholars, 

 1966-74 



50 



40 



20 



Science 



All other fields and undecided 



Engineering 



•«..^* 



J \ \ \ \ L 



1966 '67 '68 '69 70 71 72 73 74 



Selected fields of science 



(Percent) 



1966 '67 '68 '69 '70 '71 



Source: National Merit Scliolarsliip Corporation. 



Bachelor's degrees awarded 



Annual awards of bachelor's degrees in the 

 sciences and engineering are shown in figure 5- 

 19 for the years 1960 through 1972, the last year 

 for which National Center for Educational 

 Statistics data are available. Over the 1960-72 

 period, the annual recipients of science and 

 engineering degrees doubled, including a tripling 

 of the number of recipients of social science 

 degrees. Social science degrees — as a proportion 

 of all bachelor's degrees in science and 

 engineering — rose from about 26 percent in 

 1960 to almost 50 percent in 1972. 



Bachelor's degrees in science and engineering, 

 as a fraction of bachelor's and first-professional 

 degrees-^5 jn all fields, remained essentially 

 constant at approximately 30 percent between 

 1960 and 1972. The large increases in annual 

 recipients of social science degrees were respon- 

 sible for maintaining the fraction at a constant 

 level; engineering degrees, as a proportion of 

 degrees in all fields, declined continuously from 

 10 percent to 5 percent during the period and the 

 physical sciences fell from 4 percent to 2 percent. 



Graduate enrollments in science and 

 engineering 



Enrollments in the various fields at the 

 graduate level are affected by many complex 

 factors, including population trends, attitudes 

 and aspirations (such as the increasing career 

 interests of women), military draft regulations, 

 employment outlook, and financial capability of 

 the students. The availability or lack of Federal 

 support for fellowships, traineeships, and train- 

 ing grants has an obvious, though not precisely 

 measurable influence on graduate enrollments 

 in science and engineering. 



Enrollments for advanced degrees in science 

 and engineering fields, as shown by annual data 

 from the National Center for Educational 

 Statistics, have grown considerably over the 

 long term, doubling from 1960 to 1972 (figure 5- 

 20). Within the science and engineering fields, 

 engineering had the largest enrollment from 

 1960 through 1968, but declined in later years. 



During the 1960-72 period, however, the most 

 rapid growth in enrollment for advanced degrees 

 occurred in fields other than science and 



■" M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., etc. 



133 



