The following lists shed light on a dynamic landscape, where Hispanic/Latino students are present at private and public institutions across a variety of states.
Careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (collectively known as STEM) are increasingly valued and sought after by students and employers alike, given their growing importance for solving 21st century issues ranging from environmental conservation and food security to global health challenges and our growing dependence on internet technology and artificial intelligence, among other issues. For the first time, Hispanic Outlook presents the top schools for Hispanics/Latinos in STEM across the nation, based on the number of graduate degrees (the sum of all Masters and PhD degrees) granted to Hispanics/Latinos in eight key STEM fields (using 2019-20 data from NCES’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System – IPEDS).
The following lists shed light on a dynamic landscape, where Hispanic/Latino students are present at private and public institutions across a variety of states. Some institutions stand out for granting the highest number of graduate degrees to Hispanic/Latino students across several of these key STEM fields. The following institutions appear in three or more of these top ten lists:
• Texas A & M University - College Station, in 2nd place for Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Sciences, 4th place for Natural Resources and Conservation, 5th place for Physical Sciences, 7th place for Mathematics and Statistics, and 9th place for Engineering
• Florida International University, in 2nd place for Engineering, 3rd place for Natural Resources and Conservation, 4th place for Computer and Information Sciences, and 4th place for Health Professions and Related Programs
• The University of Florida, in 1st place for Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Sciences, 3rd place for Engineering, and 6th place for Biological and Biomedical Sciences
• The University of Texas at El Paso, in 1st place for Engineering, 6th place for Physical Sciences, and 10th place for Health Professions and Related Programs
Hispanic/Latino students sometimes constitute a large proportion of all students obtaining graduate degrees in these key STEM areas. Institutions with more than a third of all graduate degrees granted to Hispanic/Latino students are:
• Miami Regional University, with 95% in Health Professions and Related Programs
• The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, with 66% in Health Professions and Related Programs and 61% in Mathematics and Statistics
• Florida International University, with 49% in Health Professions and Related Programs, 47% in Computer and Information Sciences, and 43% in Natural Resources and Conservation
• The University of Texas at El Paso, with 63% in Engineering and 35% in Physical Sciences
• Barry University, with 34% in Biological and Biomedical Sciences
These lists also show that the largest numbers of Hispanic/Latino students are present in STEM programs at several of the most prestigious institutions in the country, including Ivy League schools and those that rank among the top 12 nationally (according to QS, 2021):
• Harvard University (ranked #1), in 1st place for Natural Resources and Conservation
• Stanford University (ranked #2), in 7th place for Engineering
• University of California-Berkeley (ranked #4), in 5th place for Natural Resources and Conservation
• University of California-Los Angeles (ranked #5), in 2nd place for Physical Sciences
• Yale University (ranked #6), in 2nd place for Natural Resources and Conservation
• Columbia University (ranked #7), in 10th place for Biological and Biomedical Sciences
• New York University (ranked #9), in 3rd place for Biological and Biomedical Sciences and in 6th place for Computer and Information Sciences
• Cornell University (ranked #12), in 6th place for Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Sciences
At the same time, however, the data presented here highlights the work that remains to be done to increase the presence of Hispanic/Latino students in graduate STEM programs. At the top-tier institutions mentioned above, Hispanic/Latino students still represent a small proportion of all graduate students obtaining degrees in these fields (less than 10% at each one, except for UCLA, where degrees for Hispanics/Latinos in Physical Sciences are 12% of the total).
Even at those institutions where a high proportion of graduate degrees are granted to Hispanics/Latinos, the absolute number of these degrees remains relatively low. Indeed, in each of the key STEM fields listed, Hispanic/Latino students obtained less than 600 graduate degrees at all of the top 10 institutions added together, with the exception of Health Professions and Related Programs, where Hispanics/Latinos obtained 3,404 graduate degrees across all top 10 institutions. The STEM field with the least number of Hispanic/Latino graduate degrees is Natural Resources and Conservation, with only 99 at the top 10 schools all together.
Finally, Hispanic/Latino men generally obtain substantially more graduate degrees than women in the areas of Engineering and Computer and Information Sciences, which underlines the need to continue boosting the presence of Latinas in these key STEM programs. At the same time, there are more Latina women than men in the fields of Health Professions and Related Programs, and in Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Sciences, indicating that Hispanic/Latino men also need to be actively recruited for these areas.
|
HO TOP 10 SCHOOLS FOR HISPANICS IN GRADUATE-LEVEL STEM PROGRAMS 2019-2020
|
|
Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields
|
State
|
All Hispanic/Latino graduate degrees
|
Grand total (all students) graduate degrees
|
Hispanic/Latino men
|
Hispanic/Latino women
|
Percent Hispanic/Latino
|
1
|
University of Florida
|
FL
|
34
|
321
|
13
|
21
|
11%
|
2
|
Texas A & M University-College Station
|
TX
|
31
|
294
|
9
|
22
|
11%
|
3
|
University of California-Davis
|
CA
|
29
|
248
|
7
|
22
|
12%
|
4
|
Ohio State University-Main Campus
|
OH
|
27
|
276
|
3
|
24
|
10%
|
5
|
Western University of Health Sciences
|
CA
|
26
|
100
|
4
|
22
|
26%
|
6
|
Cornell University
|
NY
|
22
|
283
|
7
|
15
|
8%
|
7
|
Colorado State University-Fort Collins
|
CO
|
20
|
235
|
5
|
15
|
9%
|
8
|
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
|
LA
|
14
|
135
|
3
|
11
|
10%
|
9
|
Washington State University
|
WA
|
14
|
213
|
4
|
10
|
7%
|
10
|
Michigan State University
|
MI
|
13
|
219
|
8
|
5
|
6%
|
|
Biological and Biomedical Sciences
|
State
|
All Hispanic/Latino Graduate Degrees
|
Grand total (all students) Graduate Degrees
|
Hispanic/Latino men
|
Hispanic/Latino women
|
Percent Hispanic/Latino
|
1
|
Johns Hopkins University
|
MD
|
51
|
753
|
23
|
28
|
7%
|
2
|
University of South Florida
|
FL
|
49
|
264
|
27
|
22
|
19%
|
3
|
New York University
|
NY
|
45
|
470
|
14
|
31
|
10%
|
4
|
Barry University
|
FL
|
43
|
128
|
14
|
29
|
34%
|
5
|
Boston University
|
MA
|
42
|
533
|
22
|
20
|
8%
|
6
|
University of Florida
|
FL
|
42
|
390
|
19
|
23
|
11%
|
7
|
University of Miami
|
FL
|
39
|
233
|
6
|
33
|
17%
|
8
|
Georgetown University
|
DC
|
37
|
493
|
11
|
26
|
8%
|
9
|
University of California-San Diego
|
CA
|
32
|
275
|
15
|
17
|
12%
|
10
|
Columbia University in the City of New York
|
NY
|
31
|
480
|
16
|
15
|
6%
|
|
Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services
|
State
|
All Hispanic/Latino Graduate Degrees
|
Grand total (all students) Graduate Degrees
|
Hispanic/Latino men
|
Hispanic/Latino women
|
Percent Hispanic/Latino
|
1
|
Western Governors University
|
UT
|
136
|
1531
|
114
|
22
|
9%
|
2
|
University of Maryland Global Campus
|
MD
|
95
|
1334
|
68
|
27
|
7%
|
3
|
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
|
GA
|
85
|
1885
|
77
|
8
|
5%
|
4
|
Florida International University
|
FL
|
67
|
142
|
56
|
11
|
47%
|
5
|
Grand Canyon University
|
AZ
|
46
|
374
|
25
|
21
|
12%
|
6
|
New York University
|
NY
|
37
|
1365
|
17
|
20
|
3%
|
7
|
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
|
IL
|
33
|
803
|
13
|
20
|
4%
|
8
|
Boston University
|
MA
|
29
|
670
|
24
|
5
|
4%
|
9
|
Johns Hopkins University
|
MD
|
26
|
484
|
17
|
9
|
5%
|
10
|
Nova Southeastern University
|
FL
|
26
|
165
|
19
|
7
|
16%
|
|
Engineering
|
State
|
All Hispanic/Latino Graduate Degrees
|
Grand total (all students) Graduate Degrees
|
Hispanic/Latino men
|
Hispanic/Latino women
|
Percent Hispanic/Latino
|
1
|
The University of Texas at El Paso
|
TX
|
116
|
185
|
79
|
37
|
63%
|
2
|
Florida International University
|
FL
|
71
|
225
|
52
|
19
|
32%
|
3
|
University of Florida
|
FL
|
56
|
686
|
37
|
19
|
8%
|
4
|
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
|
MI
|
54
|
1369
|
39
|
15
|
4%
|
5
|
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
|
GA
|
52
|
1459
|
36
|
16
|
4%
|
6
|
University of Southern California
|
CA
|
51
|
1451
|
41
|
10
|
4%
|
7
|
Stanford University
|
CA
|
50
|
929
|
31
|
19
|
5%
|
8
|
Arizona State University Campus Immersion
|
AZ
|
48
|
977
|
32
|
16
|
5%
|
9
|
Texas A & M University-College Station
|
TX
|
45
|
1020
|
35
|
10
|
4%
|
10
|
University of Central Florida
|
FL
|
44
|
375
|
33
|
11
|
12%
|
|
Health Professions and Related Programs
|
State
|
All Hispanic/Latino Graduate Degrees
|
Grand total (all students) Graduate Degrees
|
Hispanic/Latino men
|
Hispanic/Latino women
|
Percent Hispanic/Latino
|
1
|
Miami Regional University
|
FL
|
469
|
493
|
212
|
257
|
95%
|
2
|
Nova Southeastern University
|
FL
|
468
|
2027
|
141
|
327
|
23%
|
3
|
Grand Canyon University
|
AZ
|
434
|
3516
|
73
|
361
|
12%
|
4
|
Florida International University
|
FL
|
427
|
874
|
98
|
329
|
49%
|
5
|
Chamberlain University-Illinois
|
IL
|
363
|
4068
|
49
|
314
|
9%
|
6
|
The University of Texas at Arlington
|
TX
|
326
|
1652
|
43
|
283
|
20%
|
7
|
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
|
TX
|
263
|
399
|
66
|
197
|
66%
|
8
|
University of Southern California
|
CA
|
231
|
1716
|
81
|
150
|
13%
|
9
|
Western Governors University
|
UT
|
226
|
4222
|
36
|
190
|
5%
|
10
|
The University of Texas at El Paso
|
TX
|
197
|
346
|
48
|
149
|
57%
|
|
Mathematics and Statistics
|
State
|
All Hispanic/Latino Graduate Degrees
|
Grand total (all students) Graduate Degrees
|
Hispanic/Latino men
|
Hispanic/Latino women
|
Percent Hispanic/Latino
|
1
|
University of Miami
|
FL
|
25
|
202
|
17
|
8
|
12%
|
2
|
California State University-Fullerton
|
CA
|
20
|
75
|
8
|
12
|
27%
|
3
|
San Diego State University
|
CA
|
15
|
57
|
7
|
8
|
26%
|
4
|
The University of Texas at Austin
|
TX
|
11
|
111
|
10
|
1
|
10%
|
5
|
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
|
TX
|
11
|
18
|
4
|
7
|
61%
|
6
|
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
|
IL
|
11
|
292
|
5
|
6
|
4%
|
7
|
Texas A & M University-College Station
|
TX
|
10
|
113
|
5
|
5
|
9%
|
8
|
California State University-Long Beach
|
CA
|
9
|
56
|
4
|
5
|
16%
|
9
|
The Pennsylvania State University
|
PA
|
9
|
148
|
8
|
1
|
6%
|
10
|
University of California-Irvine
|
CA
|
9
|
142
|
6
|
3
|
6%
|
|
Natural Resources and Conservation
|
State
|
All Hispanic/Latino Graduate Degrees
|
Grand total (all students) Graduate Degrees
|
Hispanic/Latino men
|
Hispanic/Latino women
|
Percent Hispanic/Latino
|
1
|
Harvard University
|
MA
|
14
|
195
|
5
|
9
|
7%
|
2
|
Yale University
|
CT
|
12
|
178
|
5
|
7
|
7%
|
3
|
Florida International University
|
FL
|
10
|
23
|
2
|
8
|
43%
|
4
|
Texas A & M University-College Station
|
TX
|
10
|
45
|
2
|
8
|
22%
|
5
|
University of California-Berkeley
|
CA
|
10
|
109
|
2
|
8
|
9%
|
6
|
Oregon State University
|
OR
|
9
|
135
|
8
|
1
|
7%
|
7
|
University of California-Santa Barbara
|
CA
|
9
|
80
|
4
|
5
|
11%
|
8
|
University of Colorado Boulder
|
CO
|
9
|
73
|
1
|
8
|
12%
|
9
|
American Public University System
|
WV
|
8
|
84
|
4
|
4
|
10%
|
10
|
Duke University
|
NC
|
8
|
156
|
3
|
5
|
5%
|
|
Physical Sciences
|
State
|
All Hispanic/Latino Graduate Degrees
|
Grand total (all students) Graduate Degrees
|
Hispanic/Latino men
|
Hispanic/Latino women
|
Percent Hispanic/Latino
|
1
|
University of California-San Diego
|
CA
|
23
|
218
|
17
|
6
|
11%
|
2
|
University of California-Los Angeles
|
CA
|
18
|
156
|
14
|
4
|
12%
|
3
|
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
|
MI
|
17
|
208
|
9
|
8
|
8%
|
4
|
Florida State University
|
FL
|
14
|
163
|
8
|
6
|
9%
|
5
|
Texas A & M University-College Station
|
TX
|
14
|
156
|
2
|
12
|
9%
|
6
|
The University of Texas at El Paso
|
TX
|
13
|
37
|
8
|
5
|
35%
|
7
|
University of Arizona
|
AZ
|
13
|
182
|
6
|
7
|
7%
|
8
|
University of California-Irvine
|
CA
|
13
|
118
|
6
|
7
|
11%
|
9
|
University of Oregon
|
OR
|
13
|
150
|
8
|
5
|
9%
|
10
|
Ohio State University-Main Campus
|
OH
|
12
|
131
|
8
|
4
|
9%
|
Source: NCES, IPEDS DATABASE AS OF 2019-2020 ACADEMIC YEAR