Demographic Study of College of Sciences at University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Category

Education, Social Sciences & Mathematics > Higher Education & Demographic Studies > STEM Enrollment Trends & Statistical Analysis

Received

May 14, 2023

Accepted

March 27, 2024

Published

July 1, 2024

Authors

Laura Seo, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Nastasija Damjanovic, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Angelica Amansec, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Aika Dietz, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Monika Neda, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow

Authors

Laura Seo(LS)¹, Nastasija Damjanovic(ND)²*, Angelica Amansec(AA)³, Aika Dietz(AD)⁴, and Monika Neda, Ph.D.¹

Author Affiliations

¹Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA.

²Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA.

³Department of Computer Science, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA.

⁴William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA.

Corresponding Author

*Nastasija Damjanovic, nastasija.damjanovic@unlv.edu

DOI

https://doi.org/10.9741/2766- 7227.1027

Author Contributions

All authors contributed equally to this work. Each author was involved in conceptualizing the study, gathering and analyzing data, drafting the manuscript, and approving the final version of the manuscript.

Copyright

Articles in Spectra are freely available under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which allows others to re-use the work without permission as long as the work is properly cited.

Data Availability Statement

The author of this article confirms that all included sources are fully available without restrictions.

Ethical Considerations

The author declares that no conflicts of interest exist.

Funding

This study was funded by the Office of Undergraduate 2022 Summer Research Fellowship.

Abstract

In the United States, STEM-related industries are among the fastest-growing. Our study examines the enrollment of students in the College of Sciences (CoS) and the demographics of the student bodies in both undergraduate and graduate programs from 2010 to 2021 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Using the method of least squares, a polynomial fit model was used to find trends as well as to calculate enrollment predictions for the years 2025 and 2030. Our results demonstrate that, currently, the UNLV CoS is male dominant in the graduate program and female dominant in the undergraduate program. However, female enrollment is trending up in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Additionally, the graduate student body population is non-minority dominant while the undergraduate is minority dominant. Moreover, minority students of both genders are trending up in enrollment.

Keywords

Method of Least Squares, Polynomial Fit, Diversity, Gender, Minority, Enrollment

Submission Type

Primary research article

Recommended Citation

Seo, L., Damjanovic, N., Amansec, A., Dietz, A., Neda, M. (2023) Demographic Study of College of Sciences at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal, 3(2), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.9741/2766-7227.1027