14 DAY TRIAL // In a fortunate turn of events, it would appear that the United States had a higher number of students enrolling in science and engineering (S&E) graduate programs in 2008. It is often being said that the strength of a country can be measured by the amount of scientists it has, and the US had taken a turn for the worse in past years. Over the last few decades, the overall quality of schools in the nation decreased markedly, with a few notable exceptions. America is currently lagging behind in international charts on learning quality, and doesn't even occupy one of the top 10 places.
Many scientists have voiced concerns that too few students were enrolling in S&E programs, saying that a lack of skeptical, inquisitive, young scientists has two catastrophic consequences. First of all, the entire field of scientific research risks losing its development speed, and grinding down to a halt. Secondly, reduced numbers of scientific minds pave the way for the emergence of religious fanatics, who would stop at nothing to introduce their views and beliefs on how the world evolved into the classrooms, to be taught right alongside valid, empirically-tested, scientifically-correct theories. The rise in S&E enrollment is a positive aspect in this debate, one that is bound to give fanatics and fundamentalists a run for their money when the new generation of researchers and scientists develops.
When compared to 2007, 2008 saw a 2.5 percent increase in the number of students who joined S&E graduate programs, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) reports. First-time, full-time enrollments of S&E graduate students also increased by an average of 7.8 percent, and the NSF team behind the investigation said that the trend held steady throughout all fields of research belonging to science and engineering. With the exception of the 2003-2004 school year, the enrollment trend has been keeping constant for at least 10 years, statistics show. This NSF survey is being conducted every year, with the first one having been completed back in 1973.
The new data were collected as part of the 2008 Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS). It was applied to students interested in obtaining graduate degrees in science, engineering, and selected health fields, and it was funded by the NSF and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The research team adds that additional information was collected from postdoctoral appointees and non-faculty researchers with doctoral degrees.