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Roster of Physics Departments with Enrollment and Degree Data, 2022

SEP 14, 2023
Results from the 2022 Survey of Enrollments and Degrees
Patrick Mulvey headshot
Research Manager ,  AIP

Roster of Physics Departments with Enrollment and Degree Data, 2022

The Physics Roster is a listing of all degree-granting physics departments in the US. It includes enrollment data for the fall of 2022 and the degrees conferred during the 2021-22 academic year. These data come from AIP’s annual departmental survey of Enrollments and Degrees.

After two decades of steady increases, the 8,618 physics bachelor’s degrees awarded in the class of 2022
represents the second consecutive year that the number of physics bachelors conferred at US physics
departments has declined. The class of 2022 represents a 4.5% decline from the degree class of 2021
(see figure on page 19). Declines are expected to continue as undergraduate physics enrollment numbers
continue to fall.

The 2,015 physics PhDs conferred in the class of 2022 represents an 11% increase from the previous
year and the first time the number of physics PhDs awarded in the US has exceeded 2,000 degrees. (see
figure on page 19). Non-US citizens comprise 48% of the PhDs conferred in the class of 2022.

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