Degrees Conferred in the Biological Sciences

Abstract

DURING the eleven-year period of 1949-50 through 1959-60 the total number of baccalaureate degrees conferred in the biological sciences declined from 22,521 in 1949-50 to 12,847 in 1954-55 and then increased each successive year, reaching a total of 16,730 in 1959-60. During this same period the number of master's degrees in the biological sciences declined in a similar fashion from 2,412 in 1949-50 to 1,658 in 1953-54 and then rose to 2,351 in 1959-60. The doctorates awarded annually, with the exception of slight drops in 1951-52, 1954-55, and 1958-59, increased each year of the period, rising from 644 in 1949-50 to 1,206 in 1959-60. The number of degrees conferred annually at each level from 1949-50 through 1959-60, together with the per cents of the total number of degrees awarded in the entire nation in all disciplines at each level, are shown in Table 1. The data in this table were obtained from the annual series Earned Degrees Conferred, Bachelor's and Higher Degrees, published by the U. S. Office of Education. Each annual report covers a period from July 1 of one year to June 30 of the next. No distinction is made between liberal-arts degrees and those awarded in connection with preparation for teaching, and those of other categories. The criterion used is that there is a substantive major in a biological science. Double majors are counted as one-half in each discipline. Thus a double major in biology and chemistry is allotted one-half to biology and one-half to chemistry. Previously to the 1951-52 year there was no category specifically designated "biological sciences (not elsewhere classified)," for the data collected by the Office of Education. It has therefore been necessary, when preparing the tables in this article, to allow for degrees in this category for the years 1949-50 and 1950-51, by reallocation, so that comparable data could be included for each year of the series. Facts for the eleven-year period. For the eleven-year period as a whole, the 173,258 degrees conferred in the biological sciences at the bachelor's level constituted 4.5 per cent of the total number of bachelor's and first-professional degrees conferred in all disciplines. The 22,907 master's degrees were 3.3 per cent of all master's and second-level degrees awarded. The 10,778 doctor's degrees were 11.5 per cent of all earned doctorates (Ph.D., Ed.D., etc.). These figures are shown in Table 2. A principal factor for a smaller per cent at the master's level, in comparison with the bachelor's level, is that the figures for bachelor's degrees include those of large numbers of pre-professional students who normally do not secure master's degrees.