Racial/ethnic distribution of graduates from doctorate and masters epidemiology degree programs in the United States, 2008 to 2018

Purpose: To identify trends in racial and ethnic diversity of epidemiology graduate degree recipients in the United States between academic years 2008 and 2018. Methods: National-level data from the National Center for Education Statistics was analyzed to assess the change in proportions of epidemiology degrees conferred to each racial/ethnic group – American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; Black or African American; Hispanic or Latino; White; and two or more races– over two time periods, Fall 2007- Spring 2012 (Period 1) and Fall 2012 - Spring 2018 (Period 2). Results: During Period 13,837 epidemiology graduate degrees were conferred, and 6960 in Period 2. Within race/ethnicity groups, there was a statistically significant increase in graduate epidemiology degrees awarded over the two time periods to students of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and to students reporting two or more races. The proportion of degrees awarded to non-White students in aggregate increased by 4.7 percentage points, from 33.5% to 38.2%, while awards to White students decreased by the same amount. Conclusions: Overall, the racial/ethnic diversity of epidemiology graduates in the United States increased between 2008 and 2018, however, further efforts are needed to increase awards within some racial minority subgroups.