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Australia Degree Attainment

Degree Attainment: Engineers Australia studied the trends of women’s shares of bachelor’s degree completions by degree duration (3 year, 4 year, and double degrees) from 2001 to 2018. In 2018, women received 15.9% of three-year bachelor’s degrees in engineering and 13.7% of four-year bachelor’s degrees in engineering. The fields of maritime engineering and technology, automotive engineering and technology, and manufacturing engineering and technology had the lowest representations of women among their bachelor’s degree holders in 2018. While the field of process and resource engineering had women representing over 29% of its bachelor’s degree holders in 2018, this still shows severe underrepresentation of women in its field.

Overall, women’s representation of enrolled and completing engineering degree earners has increased from 2001 to 2018, across all degree levels, with one exception. While in 2001 women comprised close to 17% of those who completed bachelor’s degrees in engineering, their representation slightly decreased in 2018, where they comprise about 15% of bachelor’s degree holders. On the contrary, women’s representation has increased from 2001 to 2018 among enrolled students enrolled in doctoral engineering programs and those who complete doctoral programs. For instance, in 2001, they represented 22% of those who enrolled in doctoral engineering degrees, and in 2018, this increased to over 26%. Similarly, in 2001, they represented 19.4% of those who completed doctoral engineering degrees, but in 2018, their representation increased to 28.7%

Australia higher ed deg type

 

Australia higher ed eng fields
Source: Engineers Australia (2020). Australia’s Next Generation of Engineers: University Statistics for Engineering.

 

Australia higher ed deg levels
Source: Engineers Australia (2020). Australia’s Next Generation of Engineers: University Statistics for Engineering.

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