SAF-2019-Presentation-on-NR-Enrollment-Trends

ENROLLMENT TRENDS IN NATURAL
RESOURCES DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE
U.S. WITH AN EMPHASIS ON DIVERSITY
Terry L. Sharik

Peter Ziegler

Research Professor

Principal Investigator

Tara L. Bal

Deelan Jalil

Research Assistant Professor

Data Analyst

Andrew Meeks
Application Developer

Food and Agricultural Education Information Systems

Society of American Foresters National Conference

Louisville, KY, November 2, 2019


Key References





Sharik, T. L., R. J. Lilieholm, W. W. Richardson, and
W. E. Lindquist. 2015. Undergraduate enrollment
in U.S. natural resource academic programs: Trends,
drivers, and implications for the future of the
profession. Journal of Forestry 113 (6):538-551.
Sharik, T. L. 2015. Strategies for diversifying
student demographics in natural resources. Journal
of Forestry 113 (6):579-580.


Status of NAUFRP Institutions Contributing to FAEIS database.
Institution Name
Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University
Alcorn State University
American Samoa Community College
Auburn University
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Clemson University
Colorado State University
Cornell University
Delaware State University
Duke University
Florida A and M University
Fort Valley State University
Humboldt State University
Iowa State University

Kansas State University
Kentucky State University
Lincoln University of Missouri
Louisiana State University
Louisiana Tech University
Michigan State University
Michigan Technological University
Mississippi State University
New Mexico State University
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
North Dakota State University
Northern Arizona University
Oklahoma State University
Oregon State University
Paul Smith's College of the Adirondacks
Purdue University
Rutgers University- New Brunswick
Salish Kootenai College
South Dakota State University
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Stephen F. Austin State University
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Tennessee State University
Texas A&M University

TYPE
1890
1890

1862
1862
NLG
1862
1862
1862
1890
PVT
1890
1890
NLG
1862
1862
1890
1890
1862
NLG
1862
NLG
1862
1862
1890
1862
1862
NLG
1862
1862
PVT
1862
1862

1994
1862
NLG
1890
NLG
NLG
1890
1862

Region
South
South
West
South
West
South
West
North-East
North-East
South
South
South
West
North-Central
North-Central
South
North-Central
South
South
North-Central

North-Central
South
West
South
South
North-Central
West
South
West
North-East
North-Central
North-East
West
North-Central
North-Central
South
South
North-East
South
South

2013 - 2017 Graduate Status
Not Offered
Not Offered
Not Offered
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete

Incomplete Data
No Data
Incomplete Data
Not Offered
Complete
Complete
Not Offered
Incomplete Data
Complete
Complete
Not Offered
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Not Offered
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Not Offered
Complete
Complete
Not Offered
Incomplete Data
Complete (Will Apply Remedy)
No Data
Complete
Complete

Not Offered
Complete

2013-2017 Undergraduate Status
Incomplete Data
Not Offered
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Incomplete Data
No Data
Incomplete Data
Not Offered
Complete
Complete
Complete
No Data
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Not Offered
Complete
Complete

Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Incomplete Data
Complete (Will Apply Remedy)
No Data
Complete(Would like confirmation)
Complete
Not Offered
Complete


The Ohio State University
The Pennsylvania State University
The University of Montana-Missoula
The University of Rhode Island
Tuskegee University
University of Alaska- Fairbanks
University of Arizona
University of Arkansas at Monticello
University of California- Berkeley
University of Connecticut
University of Delaware
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Guam

University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Idaho
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Kentucky
University of Maine
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
University of Massachusetts
University of Michigan- Ann Arbor
University of Minnesota- St. Paul
University of Missouri
University of Nebraska- Lincoln
University of Nevada- Reno
University of New Hampshire
University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez
University of Tennessee
University of the Virgin Islands
University of Vermont
University of Washington- Seattle
University of Wisconsin- Madison
University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point
University of Wyoming
Utah State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Washington State University
West Virginia State University
West Virginia University

1862
1862
NLG

1862
1890
1862
1862
NLG
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
1890
1862
NLG
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
1862
NLG
1862

NLG
1862
1862
1862
1862
1890
1862

North-Central
North-East
West
North-East
South
West
West
South
West
North-East
North-East
South
South
West
West
West
North-Central
South
North-East
North-East
North-East
North-Central

North-Central
North-Central
North-Central
West
North-East
South
South
South
North-East
West
North-Central
North-Central
West
West
South
West
North-East
North-East

Complete
Complete (Will Apply Remedy)
Complete (Will Apply Remedy)
Complete
Incomplete Data
Complete
Complete
Incomplete Data
Complete
Complete
Complete

Incomplete Data
Complete
Incomplete Data
Incomplete Data
Complete
Complete (Will Apply Remedy)
Complete
Complete
No Data
Complete
Incomplete Data
Complete
Complete (Will Apply Remedy)
Complete
Complete
Complete (Will Apply Remedy)
No Data
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Waiting on Confirmation of Data
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Not Offered
Complete

Complete
Complete (Will Apply Remedy)
Complete (Will Apply Remedy)
Complete
Incomplete Data
Complete
Complete
Incomplete Data
Complete
Complete
Complete
Incomplete Data
Complete
Not Offered
Incomplete Data
Complete
Complete (Will Apply Remedy)
Complete
Complete
No Data
Complete
No Data
Complete
Complete (Will Apply Remedy)
Complete
Complete
Incomplete Data
No Data
Complete
Not Offered

Complete
Complete
Complete
Waiting on Confirmation of Data
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Not Offered
Complete


Undergraduate Enrollment


Undergraduate NR enrollment by field of study at 31
NAUFRP institutions, 1980–2009.


Proportion of undergraduate NR enrollment in various fields
of study at 31 NAUFRP institutions for 1980, 1990, 2000,
and 2009.


USDA Forest Service employment in NR-related job series,
2001–2010 (USDA Forest Service, unpubl. data, 2010, file
date Apr. 24, 2011).


Undergraduate NR enrollment by academic area at 61

NAUFRP institutions, 2005–2017 (FAEIS October 1, 2019).
35

8

30

7
25

6
5

20

4

15

3

10

2
5

1
0

Total Enrollment (1000's)

Academic Area Enrollment (1000's)

9

0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Environmental Science and Studies

Fisheries and Wildlife

Forestry

Natural Resources Conservation and Management

Natural Resources Recreation

Range Science and Management

Watershed Science and Management

Wood Science/Products


Proportion of NR undergraduates enrolled in various
academic areas at 61 NAUFRP institutions, 2012 & 2017
(FAEIS October 1, 2019).
2017
(n=28,707)

2012
(n=26,506)
Wood
Range Science,
Science/Produc
389, 2%
ts, 617, 2%

NR Recreation,
3017, 11%

Watershed
Science, 387,
2%

Fisheries &
Wildlife, 7599,
29%

Forestry, 4036,
15%
NR
Conservation &
Management,
5041, 19%

Environmental
Science/Studies
, 5420, 20%

Range Science,
351, 1%
Wood
Science/Products,
614, 2%

Watershed
Science, 431,
2%

NR Recreation,
2165, 8%

Forestry, 4140,
14%
NR
Conservation
&
Management,
6404, 22%

Fisheries &
Wildlife, 7768,
27%

Environmental
Science/Studies,
6834, 24%

Gender


Gender Context






Among 15 major disciplines recognized by the U.S.
Census Bureau, at 30% Agriculture and Natural
Resources is second only to Engineering in the lowest
percent of females with bachelor’s degrees in the
workforce (Carnevale et al. 2011).
Among the 10 Agriculture and Natural Resources
sub-disciplines, Forestry has the lowest percent
females at 17%.
About 55% of all undergraduates in the U.S. in all
disciplines are women.


Undergraduate NR enrollment by gender for 61 Institutions,
(FAEIS, only complete data, October 1, 2019), 2005–2017,
excluding unknown gender.

Gender

2005 2006

Female

5,891 6,342 6,783 7,207 8,172 8,900 10,561 10,801 10,866 11,070 11,608 12,088 13,135

%
Male

34.7

35.9

2008

37.8

2009

39.3

2010

39.6

2011

41.0

2012

41.1

2013

41.8

2014

43.4

2015

44.6

2016

44.8

2017

46.6

11,04 11,954 12,111 11,873 12,629 13,571 15,189 15,502 15,150 14,429 14,421 14,873 15,048
%

Total

34.8

2007

65.2

65.3

64.1

62.2

60.7

60.4

59.0

58.9

58.2

56.6

55.4

55.2

53.4

16,925 18,296 18,894 19,080 20,801 22,471 25,750 26,303 26,016 25,499 26,029 26,961 28,183

Undergraduate enrollment in NR programs at 61 NAUFRP
institutions (with completed data) by academic area and
gender, 2012 & 2017, excluding unknown gender.

2012

2017

Female

Male

% Female

% Female

Environmental Science & Studies

2,841

2,531

Fisheries & Wildlife

3,484

4,114

NR Conservation & Management

2,358

2,661

NR Recreation

1,038

1,978

Range Science & Management

131

257

Watershed Science & Management

126

261

Wood Science/Products

131

486

52.9
45.9

47.0
34.4
33.8
32.6
21.2
17.7
41.1

57.6
50.4
51.3
39.7
42.5
34.6
25.6
23.0
46.6

Areas

Forestry

692
Total 10,801

Data from FAEIS database, October 1, 2019.

3,214
15,502

Race/Ethnicity


Race/Ethnicity Context






Among 15 major disciplines recognized by the U.S.
Census Bureau, at 10% Agriculture and Natural
Resources has the lowest percent of minorities with
bachelor’s degrees in the workforce (Carnevale et
al. 2011).
Among the 10 Agriculture and Natural Resources
sub-disciplines, Forestry has the lowest percent
minorities in the workforce at 7%.
About one-third of all undergraduates in the U.S. in
all disciplines are minorities.


Total undergraduate enrollment in NR programs by race/ethnicity from
61 NAUFRP Institutions, FAIES dataset, 2005–2017 (excluding non-US
citizens, two or more races, unknown and unspecified).
30

Enrollment (Thousands)

25

20
15

10
5

0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

American Indian or Alaskan Native
Black, non-Hispanic
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
Total

Asian
Hispanic
White, non-Hispanic


Total minority undergraduate enrollment in NR programs by race/ethnicity from 61
NAURFP Institutions, FAIES dataset, 2005–2017 (excluding non-Hispanic white, nonUS citizens, two or more races, unknown and unspecified).

Enrollment (Thousands)

5
4
3
2

1
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

American Indian or Alaskan Native

Asian

Black, non-Hispanic

Hispanic

Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

Total Minority


Total and Percent undergraduate enrollment in NR programs by
race/ethnicity from 61 NAUFRP Institutions, FAIES dataset, 2005–2017
(excluding non-US citizens, two or more races).

Race/Ethnicity
American Indian or
Alaskan Native

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011 2012 2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

198 (1.0) 194 (1.0)

208 (1.0)

209 (1.0)

336 (1.5)

400 (1.6)

342 (1.3) 327 (1.3 294 (1.2)

309 (1.2)

263 (1.0)

274 (1.1)

286 (1.1)

Asian

315 (1.6) 419 (2.2)

520 (2.5)

601 (2.8)

624 (2.7)

685 (2.8)

757 (2.9) 789 (3.1) 749 (2.90

765 (3.1)

820 (3.3)

898 (3.4)

1020 (3.8)

Black, non-Hispanic

147(0.8) 243 (1.3)

316 (1.5)

322 (1.5)

336 (1.5)

325 (1.3)

506 (1.9)

Hispanic

472 (2.5) 573 (2.9) 679 (3.3)

684 (3.2)

438 (1.7) 461 (1.8) 448 (1.80 464 (1.9) 502 (2.0) 482( 1.8)
1423
1552
815 (3.6) 1090 (4.5) 1371 (5.3)
(5.5)
(6.1) 1677 (6.8) 1888 (7.5) 2069 (7.9)

Native Hawaiian or
other Pacific Islander

2005

Unknown Ethnicity

28 (0.1)
4372
(22.8)

18 (0.1)
2602
(13.4)

24 (0.1)
12 (0.1)
20 (0.1) 34 (0.10
31 (0.1)
2869
(14.0) 3371 (15.7) 3492 (15.3) 3797 (15.6) 3174 (12.3)

Unspecified Minority

69 (0.4)

81 (0.4)

82 (0.4)

13548
(70.8)

White, non-Hispanic
Total

Total Minority

39 (0.2) 125 (0.5) 149 (0.6) 186 (0.7) 162 (0.6)
2458
2355
(9.6)
(9.2) 1614 (6.5) 1516 (6.0) 1719 (6.6)

214 (1.0)

208 (0.9)

283 (1.2)

307 (1.2) 151 (0.6) 148 (0.6)

15297
(78.7)

15749
(77.0) 16050 (74.8)

17055
(74.5)

17674
(72.8)

19451
(75.2)

20074
(78.0)

19,149

19,427

20,447

21,463

22,886

24,288

25,871

1229
(6.4)

1528
(7.9)

1829
(8.9) 2042 (9.5)

2339
(10.2)

2817
(11.6)

3246
(12.5)

10 (0.0)

2273 (8.4)

206 (0.8)
1650 (6.1)

48 (0.2)

47 (0.2)

84 (0.30

19873
(77.8)

19736
(79.7)

19847
(79.2)

20476
(78.5) 21095 (77.8)

25,722

25,544

24,762

25,069

26,090

3190
(12.4)

3316
(13.0)

3412
(13.8)

3706
(14.8)

3895
(14.9) 4375 (16.1)

27,120


U.S. Population of 18- to 24-year olds by

race/ethnicity, 2005 to 2009.

White, Non-Hispanic
Hispanic
Black
Asian and Pacific
Islander
American
Indian/Alaskan Native

2005
18,057,079
(61.9%)
5,145,678
(17.7%)
4,340,582
(14.9%)
1,241,298
(4.3%)
366,761
(1.3%)

2006
18,074,501
(61.7%)
5,196,018
(17.7%)
4,393,557
(15.0%)
1,239,657

(4.2%)
372,658
(1.3%)

2007
18,125,260
(61.5%)
5,247,627
(17.8%)
4,466,142
(15.2%)
1,242,635
(4.2%)
378,035
(1.3%)

2008
18,235,034
(61.2%)
5,360,039
(18.0%)
4,576,954
(15.4%)
1,251,080
(4.2%)
382,971
(1.3%)

2009
18,335,329

(60.8%)
5,502,605
(18.2%)
4,676,303
(15.5%)
1,261,022
(4.2%)
387,389
(1.3%)


Undergraduate NR enrollment at 67 NAUFRP institutions by race/ethnicity as a
percentage of the 18- to 24-year-old population in each group, 2005–2009 (US
Census Bureau 2010, U.S. Department of Education 2010; FAEIS database, Apr. 12,
2010).


Undergraduate NR enrollment by academic area and race/ethnicity at
61 NAUFRP institutions (FAEIS data, excluding unknown ethnicity,
non-US citizens, and two or more races), 2017.
Native

Academic Area
Natural Resources
Conservation &
Management
Environmental
Science and
Studies
Wood

Science/Products
Range Science
and Management
Watershed Science
and Management
Fisheries and
Wildlife
Natural Resources
Recreation

Forestry
Total Enrollment
in 2017

American
Hawaiian
Black,
White,
Total
Total
or other
Total Enrollment Indian or
Minority Minority %
nonAlaskan
Pacific Unspecified nonNative Asian Hispanic Hispanic Islander
Minority Hispanic

5427

42

339

126

507

177

61

4175

1252

23.1

5679

37

435

140

672

7

5

4383

1296

22.8

558

5

49

14

33

0

0

457

101

18.1

328

9

4

0

33

0

0

282

46

14.0

407

20

11

4

18

0

2

352

55

13.5

7158

98

112

112

618

10

10

6198

960

13.4

2025
3888

7
68

112
280
2273
(8.9)

5
7

3
3

1790
3458
21095
(82.8)

235
430

11.6
11.1

4375

17.2

25470

34
74
36
36
1020
286 (1.1) (4.0) 506 (1.9)

206 (0.8) 84 (0.3)


Undergraduate enrollment in NR programs at NAUFRP
institutions (FAIES data, n=61) by race/ethnicity and gender,
2017 (excluding unknown gender, unknown ethnicity).

Race/ Ethnicity
Asian
Unspecified Minority
Hispanic
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
ALL Non-US Citizens
Two or More Races
Black, non-Hispanic
White, non-Hispanic
American Indian or Alaskan Native
Grand Total

Female
620
48

1297
116
314
553
249
9260
122
12579

Male
399
36
975
90
254
464
257
11816
164
14455

Total
1020
84
2273
206
568
1019
506
21095

286
27057

% Female
60.8
57.1
57.1
56.3
55.3
54.3
49.2
43.9
42.7
46.5


Graduate Enrollment


Graduate NR enrollment by academic area at 54 NAUFRP
institutions, 2005–2017 (FAEIS October 1, 2019).
6.5

2500
2000
1500

5.5

1000

500
0

Total Graduate Enrollment
(1000s)

Academic Area Enrollment

3000

4.5

Environmental Science and Studies

Fisheries and Wildlife

Forestry

Natural Resources Conservation & Management

Natural Resources Recreation

Range Science and Management

Watershed Science & Management

Wood Science/Products