Political Science Enrollment and Majors: An Update

2002, by Sheilah Mann
Former APSA Director of Education and Professional Development

The data indicate a general trend over the last three years marked by increases in the percentage of departments experiencing a growth in undergraduate enrollments and undergraduate majors from the previous academic year.

Data on trends in undergraduate student enrollment and degrees were presented as part of the 2000 Conference for Chairs in Washington, DC, held in conjuction with the APSA Annual Meeting. The data is from the Annual Survey of Political Science conducted and published for each academic year by the American Political Science Association as reported in surveys from 1982-83 through 1996-97.

These data show trends in undergraduate enrollment rates and degrees, by type of department: Ph.D., M.A. and undergraduate in terms of the percentage of departments reporting increases and decreases in enrollments and degrees from the previous year. Data for these tables were derived from the APSA's Annual Survey of Political Science Departments for each academic year from 1982/83 to 1998/1999. (Note the year given on each graph is the date of the end of each academic year.) These data are presented by the highest degree awarded and size for graduate departments and distinguish among undergraduate political science departments in public and private colleges and social science departments.

The data indicate a general trend over the last three years marked by increases in the percentage of departments experiencing a growth in undergraduate enrollments and undergraduate majors from the previous academic year. This trend represents a turnaround in the decline in enrollments and undergraduate majors experienced by most types of political science departments from 1991 through 1995 and 1996. Trends in the number of law school applicants during the 1990's-a steady decline in the number of applicants-and in the number of applicants who were political science majors from 1994-95 through 1997-98 with a slight increase in 1998-99 are somewhat similar to the trends reported by political science departments on their undergraduate enrollments and degrees.

The data is presented here on two separate pages:

• Trends in Enrollment
  
  
• Trends in Degrees

See also: Articles on Enrollment in APSA Journals