This E.D. Tab focuses on trends in degree completions in academic programs that have been deemed areas of national need by federal legislation and include: agriculture and conservation sciences; computer and information sciences; education; engineering and engineering-related technologies; foreign languages and literature; biological and life sciences; mathematics; physical sciences; protective services and criminal justice; social work; nursing; and health professions and related sciences. The analysis focuses on data from 1996-97 and 2001-02 and examines completions at institutions granting awards of associate's degrees and higher. In particular, it looks at the change in the total number of degrees completed in areas of national need between the two years, as well as degree completions in these areas by gender and race/ethnicity. Finally, the report examines the characteristics of students completing degrees in these areas of study. Generally, the areas of national need in which the most degrees were completed were sciences, engineering, education and health-related fields. There was some variation by degree type. Across all degree types, the number of degrees completed in many areas of national need declined or did not change between 1996-97 and 2001-02, with the exception of computer and information sciences degrees, which grew over the five-year time period. The gender distribution of degree completions in areas traditionally dominated by one sex or the other changed little between 1996-97 and 2001-02, although there was some variation by degree type. Over the same time period, the proportion of degrees awarded to non-White students increased, although patterns of over- and under-representation of non-White students persisted in certain areas.
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