Enrollments and Degrees Report, 2005. AIP Report, Number R-151.42

The Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics has been collecting Enrollment and Degree data for over four decades. This departmental census goes out in the fall of each year to all physics and astronomy departments in the US and Puerto Rico. This report is based on data collected in the fall of 2005 from the 764 departments that offer physics degrees and from the 76 departments that offer astronomy degrees. There were 1,244 physics PhD's conferred in the class of 2005, a 14% increase from the previous year. The proportion of foreign citizens among new physics PhD's is at an all-time high with 60% of the class of 2005 being non-US citizens. The number of enrolled junior and senior physics majors has been steadily rising and is now at levels that exceeds the recent highs of the early 1990s. The 5,113 physics bachelor's in the class of 2005 represents the sixth consecutive year of increase, resulting in an overall gain of 40% from a recent low in 1999. The 343 astronomy bachelor's produced in the class of 2005 establishes a new all-time high. Astronomy bachelor's experienced an unprecedented two-year increase (61%) from 2000 to 2002. First-year student enrollments at master's granting departments continue to rise, up 61% from six years earlier. After seven years of increasing enrollments, first-year graduate student enrollments at PhD-granting departments have dropped for the second consecutive year. Based on recent trends in first-year student enrollments at doctoral-granting departments, PhD production will continue to increase for at least the next few years and it is expected that US citizens will return to being in the majority of new PhD's by 2008 or 2009. Fifteen out of the 185 doctoral-granting departments were responsible for producing about 30% of all the PhD's conferred during the last three years. (Contains 14 tables and 18 figures.)