Undergraduate Education

These publications and reports cover issues concerning undergraduate physics and astronomy education and degree production at 2-year colleges, 4-year colleges and Universities. They provide current data and historic trends for enrollments and degree production, including student demographics, educational experiences and post degree plans. This list includes the results of a survey of physics seniors and evaluation reports from 2 meetings: National Society of Black Physicists and National Conference of Black Physics Students.

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focus on Physics Enrollments in Two-Year Colleges (April 2013)
This report presents findings from the 2011-12 survey of physics in two-year colleges. We find that physics is offered on about 63% of two-year college campuses; this is little changed from previous studies. About 26% of the students enrolled in introductory physics courses are taking them at two-year colleges; this is up from 20% in 1995. This report focuses on student enrollments and course offerings. Future reports will examine number of faculty.

focus on Physics Bachelor's Degrees (September 2012)
This report presents findings from the annual AIP survey of Enrollments and Degrees. The trend data detailed in this focus on include bachelor's degrees from the class of 2010. In addition to degree trends we also examine issues of gender and race. This focus on is part of a series that also covers astronomy enrollments and degrees, physics enrollments, and physics graduate degrees.

2011 Roster of Physics Departments (August 2012)
The most current enrollment and degree data for each degree-granting physics department in the US. Academic year 2010-11 produced more physics bachelor's and more physics PhDs than in any other year in US history.
Current Report | Archive of Rosters


2011 Roster of Astronomy Departments (August 2012)
The most current enrollment and degree data for each degree-granting astronomy department in the US. The academic year 2010-11 also produced more astronomy bachelor's than in any other time in US history.
Current Report | Archive of Rosters


Physics in Two-Year Colleges: A Closer Look (August 2012)
We present preliminary findings from the 2011-12 Survey of Physics in Two-Year Colleges. Susan White gave this talk at the 2012 Summer Meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) in Philadelphia, PA.

focus on Physics Bachelor's One Year Later (June 2012)
The data to follow are based on a survey of physics bachelor's who earned their degrees in classes of 2009 and 2010. In the winter following the academic year in which they received their degree, the new degree recipients were asked about the educational or career paths they were pursuing.

focus on Astronomy Enrollments and Degrees (December 2011)
The trend data in this report includes astronomy enrollments from both fall 2009 and 2010 fall and astronomy degrees at the bachelor's, master's and doctorate levels from the classes of 2009 and 2010. In addition to presenting enrollments and degrees trends, it also examines issues of gender and citizenship.

focus on Physics Undergraduate Degrees (May 2011)
This report presents findings from the annual survey of Enrollments and Degrees. The trend data detailed in this focus on include bachelor’s degrees from the class of 2008. In addition to degree trends we also examine issues of gender and race. This focus on is part of a series that also covers astronomy enrollments and degrees, physics enrollments, and physics graduate degrees.

focus on Physics Enrollments (February 2011)
This focus on presents findings from the annual survey of Enrollments and Degrees. The trend data in this report include undergraduate and graduate level enrollments from the fall of 2008. It also includes breakdowns by both gender and citizenship for the graduate level enrollments.

focus on Physics Bachelor's Demographic Profiles (August 2010)
This focus on examines the characteristics of recent physics bachelor’s. It looks at the characteristics of the degree recipients themselves, including sex, age, and race. The report also examines their educational experiences including educational background, types of degrees earned, whether they participated in undergraduate research, and long range career goals. The data in this publication comes from three different SRC surveys.

focus on Size of Undergraduate Physics Programs (February 2010)
Data on the relative size of undergraduate physics programs. Each year, many undergraduate physics programs are required to undergo a departmental review and, in some cases, are asked justify their continued degree-granting status. This focus on is intended to assist those departments by presenting data that will permit individual departments to see where they fit on the national landscape of physics bachelor's degree production.

focus on MCAT, LSAT and Physics Bachelor's (February 2010)
A physics bachelor's degree is an excellent background for a broad range of careers outside the field of physics. This focus on shows that, as a group, physics bachelor's degree recipients achieve among the highest scores of any college major on the entrance exams for medical school and law school.

focus on Undergraduate Physics Enrollments and Degrees (January 2010)
This focus on presents findings from the annual survey of Enrollments and Degrees. The trend data detailed in this focus on include undergraduate enrollments from the fall of 2007 and bachelor's degrees from the class of 2007. In addition to presenting enrollments and degrees trends, it also examines issues of gender and race. This focus on is part of a series that also covers astronomy and graduate-level physics enrollments and degrees.

Physics and Astronomy Senior Report: Class of 2003
A window onto the backgrounds, influences, experiences, and future plans of physics and astronomy majors during their senior year.
Highlights (HTML) | Highlights | Full report

Reports on The National Conference of Black Physics Students
The National Conference of Black Physics Students (NCBPS) is held annually, with the goals of providing a deeper sense of community, a chance to network, information about further study and careers in physics, and an opportunity for students to present the results of original research. The Statistical Research Center has conducted evaluative studies of the Conference for the past 12 years.


Report on student participants at the 2003 Annual Conference of the National Society of Black Physicists and Black Physics Students
The National Society of Black Physicists' (NSBP) annual meeting brought together professional physicists, undergraduate students, and graduate physics students to present recent research, explore career opportunities, foster contacts, and reinforce a general sense of community among participants. This report presents findings from an evaluation survey that covered the students experiences at the meeting, and its effect on their plans to continue in physics.
2003 Report

Report on student participants at the 2004 Joint Annual Meeting of the National Society of Black Physicists and The National Society of Hispanic Physicists
The 2004 NSBP annual meeting was held jointly with the NSHP.
2004 Report

Does It Matter Where I Go To College?
This report compares outcomes for physics bachelors from large and small departments, defined by number of bachelor's degrees awarded. It also looks at differences in physics bachelors' outcomes between departments that grant PhDs in physics and those that award only a bachelor's degree in physics. Finally, the report shows that physics departments whose bachelors were very satisfied with the department's climate in the early 1990s had higher numbers of graduates per FTE faculty member in the mid- to late-1990s.
Highlights (HTML) | Highlights | Full report

Physics in the Two-Year Colleges: 2001-02
Findings from the 2001-02 Survey of Two-Year College Physics Programs. An updated look at program size; faculty background and current appointment; faculty turnover, including retirements and new hiring; and physics course offerings.
Highlights (HTML) | Highlights | Full report

2003 SPINUP/TYC Report
Findings from the 2003 Background Survey of Two-Year College Physics Programs. A look at program priorities, recent curricular changes and student issues. (Supported by funding from the Division of Undergraduate Education of the National Science Foundation)
Full report

Additional websites of interest

Strategic Programs for Innovations in Undergraduate Physics: Project Report, January 2003
This report describes the results of the project Strategic Programs for Innovations in Undergraduate Physics (SPIN-UP), organized by the National Task Force on Undergraduate Physics. It sets out to answer an intriguing question: Why, in the 1990s, did some physics departments increase the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in physics or maintain a number much higher than the national average for their type of institution?

Society of Physics Students