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How many S&E graduates attended community college?

Notes:
Data include graduates who earned degrees in the 2 academic years preceding survey year 1999 and the 2 academic years preceding survey year 2008.
S&E = science and engineering.
Physical sciences = chemistry, physics, astronomy, and earth/ocean/atmospheric sciences.

Graduates in physical sciences, engineering, and computer/mathematical sciences are less likely to have attended community college than are graduates in biological/agricultural/environmental life sciences and social sciences/psychology. The proportion of S&E graduates who attended community college remained stable in all five fields between the degree period 2001–2002 and the degree period 2008–2009.

Key Observations

  • Community college attendance was slightly higher among 2008–2009 graduates in biological/agricultural/environmental life sciences and engineering than among 2001–2002 graduates in those fields.
  • Among graduates in physical and computer/mathematical sciences, there was a slight decrease in community college attendance over time.
  • Nearly half (48%) of social sciences/psychology graduates in both degree periods had previously attended community college.
STEM Education Data and Trends 2014
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