Though there has been a reported growth in the number of doctoral degrees conferred between 2006 and 2007 by U.S. graduate schools, the numbers at MSU show there hasn’t been such an increase in East Lansing.
A survey released by the Council of Graduate Schools, or CGS, shows the number of doctorates given by U.S. graduate schools increased by 9 percent between 2006 and 2007 compared with an average annual growth of 2 percent during the past decade.
MSU, a member of CGS, conferred 458 doctoral degrees during the 2007-08 academic year, about 50 less than in 2006-07.
The CGS survey, Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 1997 to 2007, compiled applications for admission, enrollment and degrees conferred data from more than 600 institutions in conjunction with the Graduate Record Examinations Board.
The number of degrees bestowed each year at MSU fluctuates, and factors such as the number of admitted students and the job market, affect final numbers, said Karen Klomparens, dean of the Graduate School, in an e-mail.
“A better market for jobs means students have a good goal to focus on for completion,” Klomparens said.
Despite a nationwide surge in enrollment for doctoral degrees during the late 1990s, the rate of completion lagged behind enrollment numbers because of the varying length of time to complete the degree, said Stuart Heiser, public affairs manager for the CGS.
“There was a very large increase in the late 1990s to 2000 in doctoral enrollment, mostly attributed to international students,” Heiser said. “We would expect that six to seven years later they are completing their doctorates.”
Double-digit admission application increases in two fields — biological sciences and engineering — nationwide between 2006 and 2007 are welcomed figures for U.S. graduate schools looking to add to their notoriety abroad.
Matthew Rupp, a computer science doctoral student and representative for MSU’s Council of Graduate Students, looked for graduate schools blending computer science and biological sciences when deciding where to continue his studies.
“I was really interested in computers back then and biology as well,” Rupp said. “I was just lucky enough to find a school interested in merging those two fields together.”
Engineering and computer and information sciences, and biological and biomedical sciences rank among the top five doctoral fields of study at MSU based on federal Classification of Instructional Programs, according to the Office of Planning and Budgets.
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