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Undergraduate STEM Students
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Download this data here (Last updated on February 29, 2024)
Sources & Methodology:
- We define STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) majors using the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program list. This list is based on the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) hierarchy defined by the National Center for Education Statistics.
- Peer comparison degrees awarded data comes from the National Center for Education Statistics' IPEDS database. Due to the number of variables that we're using, we download the IPEDS Access database rather than using the system's web interface. In that database, we pull data from the "Cyyyy_A" Completions table, filtering on bachelor's degrees. That table contains data on awarded degrees rather than unique recipients, so double majors are counted multiple times. Note that different institutions often assign different CIP codes to what might be very similar majors, which can affect whether those majors appear as STEM. All non-IPEDS data in this dashboard is available in Berkeley's data warehouse reporting system, Cal Answers.
- The IPEDS dataset used for the two peer comparison charts in this dashboard has different ethnic categories than are used on campus, which make it somewhat difficult to determine underrepresented minorities. To do so, we're grouping the American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African-American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and Two or More Races counts. We group Non-Hispanic, Asian, White, International, and Unknown into non-URM. International students fall into a separate category for federal reporting, rather than in specific ethnic groups. All of the remaining dashboard pages use UC Berkeley's gender and ethnicity categories. When grouping by gender, we use the H020 field mapping created by UC's Office of the President. The "Underrepresented Minority" ethnicity category includes students who self-identify as African American, Asian Underrepresented, Chicanx/Latinx, Native American/Alaska Native, or Pacific Islander. The "Asian Non-Underrepresented" ethnicity category includes students who self-identify as Asian, except for underrepresented groups. The "International" category includes non-US citizens/non-permanent residents; these students are not counted under specific ethnicities in accordance with federal reporting requirements. The "White/Other" ethnicity category includes students who self-identify as White or do not provide information.
- The STEM Pipeline charts utilize both undergraduate admissions and entering cohort data for the past 10 years, combining data for freshman and transfer entrants who intend, declare, or graduate with a STEM major. The charts show the percentage of STEM students who are women/nonbinary and underrepresented minorities at each point in the pipeline; the total count of students at each point becomes progressively smaller (e.g., we admit fewer students than apply, etc.).
- Charts showing currently enrolled students use the most recent Spring student census, excluding visiting students and those who have not yet declared a major. Students who have both a STEM and a non-STEM major are counted under the STEM category in overall counts. Students with multiple STEM majors are counted once within each STEM field in the more detailed charts.
- Charts showing degree data count awarded degrees (a single student can receive multiple degrees), prorated for multiple majors.
Notes on Other Available Data:
- The National Center for Education Statistics (often referred to as "IPEDS," the name of their primary data collection program for postsecondary institutions) publishes data on awarded degrees by CIP category and gender. The completions counts that they produce will be slightly different than those we use on campus, due to retroactive adjustments that we may make as better data becomes available over time.
- The enrollment and degree data published on the UC Information Center website shows some of that data by "broad field of study." These fields don't necessarily correspond exactly to the STEM fields used in this dashboard.
- In Fall 2017, the Office of Planning & Analysis posted a time-to-degree study, which included information about STEM majors. Note that this paper considered degree recipients, rather than degrees awarded.