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CCCESD/CDDGC
Council of Chairs of Canadian Earth Science Departments
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CCCESD/CDDGC
Council of Chairs of Canadian Earth Science Departments
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This page reports the survey of Canadian Earth Science departments from the calendar year 2007. In total, 36 schools responded for some part of this time frame. Two schools provided no data this year, and for them data from the previous year were carried forward. Full details of the response rate can be found on the page listing responses.
Figure 1 shows total undergraduate and graduate student enrolment. The steady rise in undergraduate program registrations from 2003 appears to have leveled off in 2007, and even declined in the Geology + Geophysics subset. Regionally, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces have seen an overall decline in undergraduate enrolments since 2003, but Ontario has doubled its enrolment since 2003, while the western provinces have seen a 40% increase. The overall increase in enrolment from 2002-2006 appears now to be visible itself in the graduation numbers, with the first, albeit modest, increase in graduates since 2001 (Figure 3).
Numbers of first year and service course registrations, Figure 2 are increased dramatically from 2000-2005, but appear to have stabilized with 3 years in a row around 40000.
The number of registrations for graduate work (Figure 1) showed a modest increase to about 2005, followed by a drop in 2006 and a small increase in 2007, although the number of students enrolled in MSc programs in the Geology + Geophysics subset appears to have undergone a steady decline from 2002 to 2006, but has increased again in 2007. The large "graduating class" of PhD students in 2006 (Figure 3) produced in an overall drop in number of students registered in PhD programs, but this appears to have rebounded in 2007. The number of students graduating with MSc and PhD degrees (Figure 3) has declined in all geographic regions, but is close to levels of before 2006. There is no obvious correlation between enrolment in undergraduate programs and MSc or PhD registrations.
Figure 4 presents an analysis of the gender distributions over the past six years (data are not available for earlier timeframes) for undergraduate, masters and doctoral level graduate students and faculty cohorts. Women comprise approximately 45% of both the undergraduate and MSc levels, and this number appears relatively stable over 6 years. At the PhD level, the fraction of women is about 31% and in faculty positions, it drops to 16%.
Numbers of faculty, Post-Doctoral Associates/Fellows, and support staff are shown on Figure 5 and Figure 6. Faculty numbers are now at a 15-year high, the second highest value since records began, after a 10% climb from 2000 to 2002 which might have been the result of CRC appointments. The steady decline of support staff from 1988 to 2000 appears to have leveled off, while the number of post doctoral assistants continues to show a steady rise with a 80% increase since 1998. The ratio of support staff to faculty continues a steady decline. Regional details of these values (Personnel summary, 2007) reveals that the increase in post-doctoral positions is restricted to Ontario and the West. Notable decreases have occurred nationally in the number of demonstrators hired at universities (down nearly 40% in three years), and a rapid climb in the number of adjunct faculty appointments continues (up 33% in 3 years).
Figure 4 in the 2006 survey also presents an analysis of the
age distribution of university-paid faculty in Canada. The distribution reveals
that 20% of the teaching faculty are 40 or under, 57% are in the age range
41-55, and 23% are over 55. The fraction of faculty that are women is
almost 18%, and their broad age distribution is 30% aged 40 and under, 63% age
41-55 and 7% over 55.
Regional analysis by year:
