Physics Bachelor's One Year Later: Data from the Degree Recipient Follow-Up Survey for the Classes of 2009 and 2010 Combined. Focus On

Each fall, the Statistical Research Center conducts its "Survey of Enrollments and Degrees" which asks physics and astronomy departments to provide information concerning the number of students they have enrolled and counts of recent degree recipients. In connection with this survey, the authors ask for the names and contact information for their recent degree recipients. This degree recipient information is used to conduct the authors' follow-up survey in the winter following the academic year in which they received their degrees. The physics classes of 2009 and 2010 consisted of 5,908 and 6,017 bachelor's respectively. The authors received post-degree information on 41% of these degree recipients with less than a quarter of the information coming from the student's advisor. Four percent of the respondents were pursuing employment or graduate study outside the US and were not included in the analysis. Findings reveal that after receiving a bachelor's in physics, most new graduates either continue on to graduate school or enter the workforce in the year following their degree. Sixty percent of the new graduates from the classes of 2009 and 2010 combined chose to enroll in a graduate program. Of this group, the majority chose to study physics or astronomy. (Contains 5 figures.)