UCSD tops list for female STEM students

More women are studying science, technology, engineering and math at UC San Diego than at any other major college in the country, a recent analysis of enrollment has found.

The study conducted by BestColleges.com found that one in three women at UC San Diego graduate with a STEM degree, about three times the national average.

The site analyzed 100 of the largest schools in the country and listed the top 20 with the highest proportion of female STEM majors in 2013.

The University of California was well represented on the list, with UC Davis and UC Berkeley also in the top five.

Although women make up almost half of the U.S. labor force, men work in more than three-quarters of jobs related to STEM. The gap has sparked a nationwide push to get more girls interested in the field while in school, including a White House Council on Women and Girls initiative to increase STEM mentoring to girls at all grade levels, among other steps. The initiative also is focused on building support networks to encourage women to pursue STEM careers.

The BestColleges.com study found 33 percent of female students at UC San Diego majored in STEM subjects in 2014. North Carolina State University at Raleigh was a close second, with 32 percent of female students in STEM.

The field dropped off after the top two. UC Davis was third with 24 percent of students in STEM, followed by UC Berkeley, also with about 24 percent.

UC San Diego communications and public affairs manager Christine Clark said the analysis is new this year, so there was no data immediately available about how the school compared with other universities in past years.

It is clear, however, that UC San Diego does have a great number of students overall studying STEM subjects.

Biology was the most popular major at the school in 2014, with 22 percent of students studying the subject. Economics was second most popular with 11 percent, followed by computer engineering at 9 percent, electrical and electronic engineering at 5 percent and general psychology also at 5 percent.

STEM subjects also were popular at other UC campuses, but not to the same degree.

Also in the top 20 were Virginia Polytechnic Institute, UCLA, University of Washington, UC Irvine, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin, University of Illinois, Texas A&M, Purdue University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Maryland, SUNY Buffalo, Rutgers University, the University of Texas at Austin, University of Florida and Michigan State University.

While UC San Diego accepts more female than male students, men still outnumber women at the school 52 percent to 48 percent.

That breakdown, however, is different from a national trend that finds women outnumbering men on colleges.

At UC Davis, for instance, the breakdown is 58 percent female students and 42 percent male students. Female students also outnumber males 52 percent to 48 percent at UC Berkeley and 56 percent to 44 percent at UCLA.

The BestColleges.com study was conducted to provide prospective students with information to help make informed decisions about enrollment. The study also looked at whether STEM majors make more money upon graduation and if women in STEM earn more than non-STEM majors.

The results confirm that STEM graduates earn about 35 percent more than their non-STEM peers just out of college. By mid-career, this gap grows to a difference of 47 percent.

The study also found that at schools where 20 percent or more of female students major in STEM subjects, almost 90 percent of the women are able to repay their loans within three years.

At the other end of the list, the for-profit Christian schools Grand Canyon University and Liberty University had only 1.5 percent of female students in STEM fields.

Of California schools at the bottom of the list, CSU Fullerton had about 4 percent of female students in STEM, CSU Northridge and CSU Fresno had about 5 percent, CSU Los Angeles and CSU Long Beach had 6 percent and CSU Sacramento had about 7 percent.

The student can be found at https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/where-women-study-stem.