African Americans in Stem Fields

Many African American freshmen hope to become science majors but their num... Page 1 of 4

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BUSINESS OFFICE FEATURES Affinity Groups for Diversity 9 May 2008

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African Americans Studying STEM: Parsing the Numbers

Anne Sasso United States 16 May 2008

In 2006, 34% of African-American freshmen intended to major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, according to data from Science and Engineering Indicators 2008. That number is larger than the percentage of incoming white freshmen--29.5%--who planned to major in science or engineering. Given the abundance of stories in the media about the underrepresentation of minority students in STEM fields, these data are encouraging and surprising, but the trend is not especially new. Data going back to 1985 show AfricanAmerican freshmen consistently specifying STEM majors at a higher rate than their white peers. African Americans also enroll in college at rates roughly on par with their representation in the population, so at the very beginning of college, the representation of African Americans in STEM fields is slightly in excess of their representation in the general population.

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At the very beginning of college, the representation of African Americans in STEM fields is...