Chart - STEM Degrees/Certificates Awarded by Race/Ethnicity 2019 Community and Economic Development

While STEM graduates aren't the only contributors to PA’s innovation economy, the number of STEM degrees awarded each year serves as a proxy for the labor pool’s interests and its level of skill development and sophistication (<a href="https://milkeninstitute.org/report/state-technology-and-science-index-2018">Milken 2018 Report</a>). As businesses grow in PA, they need skilled and well-educated workers who are prepared for the innovation economy. STEM degree programs help equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to enter the workforce and be successful in a tech-driven, global economy. (<a href="https://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx">PA Department of Education</a>). With the conclusion of the 2018-19 school year, nonresident alien students were dramatically overrepresented among STEM graduates, whereas white students were slightly underrepresented and Black or African-American students were dramatically underrepresented. Note about data: This table presents data collected from Title IV institutions in the United States. Prior to 2009-10, the data include only Title IV primarily postsecondary institutions. Source: <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/TrendGenerator/app/build-table/4/24?f=6%3D42&cid=35">U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Completions component 2018-19 provisional data</a>