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May 3, 2010
           

By Mary Ann Cooper

The  Hispanic Outlook once again presents the Top 100 institutions for Hispanics based on degrees awarded as well as the Top 10 schools for first degrees by academic programs and the First Professional Degrees list. This information is made available by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.

Florida schools were dominant in each list, with Florida International University topping the list for conferring both the most bachelor’s degrees on Hispanics and the most master’s degrees on Hispanics and Nova Southeastern University conferring the most doctorates on Hispanics.
Here are highlights from each grouping.

Bachelor’s Degrees
The latest figures reveal that Florida International University (FIU) awarded 3,555 bachelor’s degrees to Hispanics in 2009. This represents 63 percent of the 5,663 degrees granted by FIU. In 2008, FIU awarded 3,369 bachelor’s degrees to Hispanics – 61 percent of its total of 5,497.

Once again, Latina conferees exceeded their male counterparts, accounting for 2,239 of the 3,555. That’s up from the 2,028 FIU awarded to Latinas the prior year. On this year’s list, schools in Texas again dominated the first tier of the Top 100 institutions, with three University of Texas (UT) schools – UT-Pan American, UT-El Paso and UT-San Antonio – among the top five of the Top 100.

California State University system schools Cal State Fullerton, San Diego State University, Cal State Northridge and Cal State Long Beach all made the top 10 of this list, just as they had one year prior. Arizona State University rounded off the top 10 for Hispanics receiving bachelor’s degrees, placing seventh.

The trend of more Latinas earning bachelor’s degrees than Latinos continues and is evident on this year’s Top 100 list. Once again, more than 90 percent of the Top 100 schools granting the most bachelor’s degrees to Hispanics had more Latina than Latino awardees. The few schools at which Latino bachelor’s recipients outnumbered Latina recipients included Barry University, Penn State-Main Campus, Texas Tech and Cal State Poly in both San Luis Obispo and Pomona.

Master’s Degrees
Florida International University is at the top, with 956 degrees conferred on Hispanics – 43 percent of its total master’s granted. This compares with 895 degrees conferred on Hispanics at FIU the previous year – representing 42 percent.

Latinas dominated the master’s again this year, outnumbering Latinos at more than 90 percent of the schools listed, as they did at the bachelor’s level. The schools with more Hispanic male than Hispanic female master’s degree recipients included just six schools – DeVry University-Illinois, Texas A&M University, University of California-Berkeley, Colorado Technical University Online, Capella University and American InterContinental University-Online.

The shrinking male trend in higher education is even more striking when numbers, for instance, from three years ago are compared to the 2009 figures. That year, Stanford University, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, Troy University, DeVry University-Illinois, University of Pennsylvania, American Intercontinental University-Online, Webster University, St. John’s University-New York and CUNY Brooklyn College had more Latino master’s degree recipients than Latina recipients.

Doctorates
Nova Southeastern University placed first for the second year in a row, granting 77 degrees to Hispanics of its total 772 conferred, so Hispanics represented 10 percent of awardees. University of Southern California placed second with 57 degrees (of 203); third was the University of California-Berkeley with 50 (of 869) degrees; and fourth was the University of California-Los Angeles with 48 (of 760) degrees. In 2008, Nova Southeastern University granted the most doctoral degrees to Hispanics – 81 of 881. The University of Southern California placed second with 55 Hispanic Ph.D.s of 708, and the University of California-Los Angeles and the University of California-Berkeley issued 45 and 37 doctorates, respectively, to Hispanics. The University of Florida rounded out the top five with 33 doctorates granted to Hispanics.

A closer examination of the numbers reveals a disturbing trend. The overall numbers for doctoral degrees among Hispanics is inching downward. Taking a look at this year’s top schools for doctorates to Hispanics, there were close to 200 more Ph.D. recipients among that group in 2008 than in 2009. The figure went from about 850 to little more than 650.

Arguably, the downward trend in numbers can be attributed to the current Great Recession, but greater drops in Ph.D.s among minorities might be expected for the next few years due to the multiyear nature of doctoral programs. This year’s numbers may have been propped up by those already in the doctoral system. Those discouraged from becoming doctoral candidates this year due to the recession may be just the “canary in the coal mine” and a harbinger of future drops.

In a troubled economy, fewer and fewer minorities might be able to afford the time and financial commitment of a Ph.D. While bachelor’s and master’s degrees are gateways for career entry or advancement, the Ph.D. might become a bridge too far for many Hispanics. The White House and Congress hope that sweeping changes to the student loan program and revamping the Pell Grant system will bring it closer.

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