2014 Taulbee Report Sneak Preview

By Stu Zweben and Betsy Bizot

The 2014 Taulbee Report will be published in the May 2015 issue of CRN. As we have done for the past few years, we’re providing a preview of the degree and enrollment numbers for bachelor’s and doctoral level programs in the departments responding to the survey.

The total number of Ph.D.s awarded dropped slightly (by 2.6 percent) from last year’s all-time high. The departments that responded this year reported 1,940 graduates in 2013-14; last year’s respondents reported 1,991 graduates.

The set of departments reporting from one year to the next varies somewhat. Thus, for trends it is of interest to focus on the set of departments that reported in both years. The accompanying table shows the one year comparison of some key bachelor’s and doctoral data for these departments.

Bachelor’s program enrollment, and indeed enrollment growth, showed little sign of abating. There was an 18.6 percent increase in enrollment from 2012-13 to 2013-14 in U.S. CS departments that reported both years. The corresponding increase for all departments reporting both years was 17.4 percent. Last year’s respective increases were 22.0 percent (U.S. CS) and 21.1 percent (overall). The number of new bachelor’s students in fall 2014 is up 17.0 percent over the fall 2013 figure in U.S. CS departments reporting new majors for both years (compared to 13.7 percent last year), and is up 18.0 percent among all departments reporting both years (13.8 percent last year). The number of bachelor’s graduates increased 13.6 percent among U.S. CS departments and 12.0 percent among all departments reporting both years.

At the doctoral level, overall Ph.D. production for 2013-14 among U.S. CS departments reporting both years fell 3.7 percent, and fell 4.1 percent among all departments reporting both years. However, total doctoral enrollment increased 3.9 percent among U.S. CS departments and 4.4 percent among all departments reporting both years. The number of new doctoral students for fall 2014 rose 4.7 percent among U.S. CS departments and 3.6 percent among all departments, when compared with the fall 2013 figures.

Watch the May 2015 CRN for a more complete analysis of the Taulbee data.