We focus on people who received their master’s degrees from a U.S. physics department and then left that department with no higher degree. Each year, there are students who earn a master’s degree en route while working toward a physics PhD at the same institution. They are not included in this analysis.
The initial post-degree outcomes of new physics masters are greatly influenced by the citizenship of the degree recipient. The majority of masters with U.S. citizenship either entered the workforce or remained in positions they held prior to receiving their degrees. The most common post-degree outcome for masters who are not U.S. citizens is the continuation of graduate studies. These differences in initial outcomes by citizenship have been the norm for exiting physics masters for many years.
Many of the employed new physics masters did not intend to end their education at the master’s level, with about 12% indicating...