Over Half of First-Time Graduate Students in 2023 Were Women

The Council of Graduate Schools has recently released a new report on graduate school enrollment in the United States.

In the fall 2023 semester, women represented over half of first-time graduate students at the master’s degree and certificate level (58.2 percent) and the doctoral level (56.5 percent). Women represented the vast majority of first-time graduate students in several disciplines, including health sciences (80.1 percent), public administration and services (79.6 percent), education (77.2 percent), social and behavior sciences (67.4 percent), biological and agricultural sciences (63.3 percent), and arts and humanities (59.2 percent).

From fall 2022 to fall 2023, women increased their representation in graduate first-time enrollment across all major racial groups, except for American Indian/Alaska Native women (decrease of 0.5 percent) and White women (decrease of 0.7 percent). African American women, Hispanic women, and Asian/Pacific Islander women increased their first-time graduate enrollment by 7.7 percent, 7.1 percent, and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Additionally, women received the majority of all graduate degrees and certificates earned during the 2022-2023 academic year. During this time, women earned 64.7 percent of graduate certificates, 59.3 percent of master’s degrees, and 57.2 percent of doctorates awarded by United States institutions.