'i !

! I

I I ! I

P.J. Jennings, Murdock University &

I ' J.R. De Laeter, of Technology

This is the seventh survey in a series of enrolment trends in 12 Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education has become Physics in Australian tertiary educational institutions. Previous the University College of Central Queensland. surveys covered the periods 1963-1973 (De Laeter, 1974; Watson-Munro, 1974); 1965-1975 (De Laeter & Watson­ 13 Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education has Munro, 1975); 1974-1978(DeLaeter&Watson-Munro, 1979); become the University College of Southern Queensland. 1977-1981 (DeLaeter &Jennings, 1982); 1980-1984 (Jennings Some changes have also been made to the presentation of the & De Laeter, 1984) and 1980-1987 (De Laeter & Jennings, results of the survey. As a result of the demise of the binary 1987). system of tertiary education in we have abandoned This survey contains information from all33 institutions which the distinction between institutions in the presentation of the have offered physics courses which are accepted by the data. We have also dropped the data on final year radiography Australian Institute of Physics. With the demise of the binary enrolments. system and the subsequent restructuring of the tertiary educational system in 1989 there have been many changes of All of the data were obtained directly from the Heads of the institutional names. The major changes are various Physics Departments. We have gone to great lengths to check the accuracy of the Tables. However, there may still be 1 Queensland Institute of Technology has become the some minor inaccuracies due to the difficulty of uniquely Queensland University of Technology. identifying physics students at some institutions. The approach we have adopted is consistent with that used in all of the 2 New South Wales Institute of Technology has become the previous surveys. Therefore the results and trends should be University of Technology, Sydney. comparable over the last 25 years. 3 The Royal Military College and the RAAF Academy have merged to form the Australian Defence Force Academy in Third Year Enrolments 1986. Table I contains the data for third year physics enrolments for 4 Chisholm Institute of Technology became part of Monash the period 1980-1990. Institutions are grouped by State. In University in July 1990. Figure I we have plotted these enrolments over the twenty· 5 Ballarat College of Advanced Education became Ballarat three year period, from 1968 to 1990. A few of the numbers University College. differ from those published in the previous surveys as a result of retrospective corrections notified by Departmental Heads 6 Deakin University dropped its physics major at the end of during the course of this survey. 1989. The third year enrolments continue to show modest growth 7 The Western Australian Institute of Technology became since 1983. Enrolments towards the end of the decade have Curtin University of Technology in 1987. begun to return to levels reached in the mid-seventies after a 8 The Northern Territory University began to offer physics substantial fall in the late seventies and early eighties. The in 1989. trends are similar in all States. The Australian results are similar to those from the US A where 9 The Royal Institute of Technology has become physics enrolments increased steadily through the late eighties the Victorian University of Technology. after a decline in the late seventies (Ellis & Mulvey 1989) 10 The South Australian Institute of Technology has merged These numbers also appear to be well-matched to vacant with part of the South Australian College of Advanced positions for physicists which have risen steadily in the late Education to form the University of South Australia. eighties (Prescott, 1990). Prescott concludes that employment 11 The Canberra College of Advanced Education has become prospects for pass graduates in physics are still attractive and the University of Canberra. that a choice of fields and institutions is available. t>

80 Australian & New Zealand Physicist Volume 28, Number 5, May 1991 PHYSICS ENROLMENTS IN AUSTRALIA 1980-1990

TABLE 1 : NUMBERS OF THIRD YEAR PHYSICS STUDENTS 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

Griffith University 14 10 12 15 15 23 20 11 26 24 23 James Cook University 7 2 3 8 2 3 4 3 6 7 3 Queensland University of Technology 5 13 10 14 11 13 14 9 11 10 15 University College of Central Queensland 17 15 11 14 12 14 16 14 13 21 31 University College of Southern Queensland 5 4 1 4 8 0 . 0 . 0 . University of Queensland 17 19 13 13 19 19 17 19 16 21 23

Total QUEENSLAND 65 63 50 68 67 72 71 56 72 83 95

Macquarie University 7 16 12 6 13 10 16 9 10 8 10 University of Newcastle 7 7 4 7 5 3 5 2 2 1 4 University of New England 7 4 3 4 6 10 9 4 3 3 1 University of New South Wales 25 27 16 15 25 17 16 20 28 18 25 36 33 47 48 38 45 55 57 65 46 45 University of Technology, Sydney 7 7 7 10 13 16 18 19 22 20 22 University of Wollongong 6 4 1 3 1 5 4 3 5 8 6

Total NEW SOUTH WALES 95 98 90 93 101 106 123 114 135 104 113

Australian National University 6 9 8 15 13 18 7 19 12 17 12 Royal Military College/ADF Academy 5 0 5 8 3 2 15 5 5 8 2 University of Canberra 17 15 15 13 17 11 6 8 1 . .

Total I AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY 28 24 28 36 33 31 28 32 18 25 14

I Ballarat University College 12 5 9 6 4 5 4 5 5 6 9 Chisholm Institute of Technology 16 19 19 22 24 24 24 25 22 15 15 e I 0 Deakin University 8 6 0 4 2 3 2 2 2 5 0 I e LaTrobe University 12 12 18 19 15 16 24 15 10 13 21 y 14 22 15 27 26 21 33 29 30 41 40 h RAAF Academy 32 24 24 36 38 33 ...... e Swinburne Institute of Technology . . . . • 26 29 32 34 39 38 e University of Melbourne 50 46 42 39 36 27 43 28 34 37 26 Victorian University of Technology 23 27 21 21 13 20 20 22 48 27 28

Total VICTORIAN 167 161 148 174 158 175 179 158 185 183 177

)f University of TASMANIA 18 13 12 9 18 14 9 6 14 11 12 n r­ Flinders University 8 7 7 10 5 5 11 15 21 14 17 rs University of Adelaide 42 34 37 39 39 31 34 46 43 40 46 lt University of South Australia 4 1 6 12 19 14 4 10 6 8 8 ls Total SOUTH AUSTRALIA 54 42 50 61 63 50 49 71 70 62 71 th re Curtin University of Technology 11 9 9 10 13 23 15 13 13 12 19 a Mll:fdoch University 9 15 14 14 13 18 13 8 16 16 11 1e Umversity of Western Australia 21 19 17 22 25 20 16 13 20 21 22 Total WESTERN AUSTRALIA 41 43 40 46 51 61 44 34 39 49 52 re ~s NORTHERN TERRITORY University . . . . . • . • • 1 1 1---

nt Total AUSTRALIA 468 444 418 487 491 509 503 471 543 518 535 te nt • Physics major not available ld - I> :n- Australian & New Zealand Physicist Volume 28, Number 5, May 1991 81

" ..

I lffi" Figure 1: Numbers of Third Year Physics Students

(/) c 600 -Q) "0 ::::l Total (/)- 0 500 (/) 1- ..2:l E ::::l z 400

300

0~----,------,-----,-----,-----,-----.-----,,-----.-----,-----,-----,------~ 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90

Year

It is also clear that several institutions still have quite small Most of the growth at fourth year level appears to be due to numbers in their final year classes. However, two of them have enrolments in postgraduate diploma courses which provide an ceased offering physics and several others have merged. The alternative for students not wishing to proceed to Honours. current process of restructuring may lead to fewer institutions At the present time it appears that the retention rate from third offering physics majors in the mid-nineties. year to fourth year studies in physics is about 45%, up from Fourth Year Enrolments 35% at the start of the decade. This reflects the increasing emphasis on higher qualifications noted by Prescott (1990). The data for four.h year enrolments from 1980 to 1990 are Fourth year enrolments at many institutions are very small and given in Table::!.. 'The trends in enrolments from 1968 to 1990 several have discontinued their programmes. The recent report are presented in Figure 2. The fourth year enrolments include of the A vee Academic Standards Panel in Physics found that honours, postgraduate diploma and masters preliminary honours enrolments were generally less than ten students per students. annum at all Australian Universities with the exception of the The fourth year enrolments have continued to grow, as noted University of Melbourne (Avee, 1990). Some institutions in the previous survey. Over the decade from 1981 to 1990 the have augmented their fourth year enrolments by offering both growth has been approximately 30% percent while third year honours and postgraduate diplomas in which students take numbers have grown by only about 15%. some of the same units. t::>

Figure 2: Numbers of Fourth Year Physics Students

250 Total

200

(/) ....c 150 Q) "0 ....::::l (/) 0 (/) 1- 100 .2l E z::::l

50

0~----.-----.-----.-----.-----.-----.-----.-----.-----.-----.-----.------68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 Year PHYSICS ENROLMENTS IN AUSTRALIA 1980-1990

TABLE 2 :NUMBERS OF FOURTH YEAR PHYSICS STUDENTS HONOURS, GRADUATE DIPLOMA AND MASTER'S PRELIMINARY

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

Griffith University 3 1 2 3 2 0 7 6 5 10 3 James Cook University 2 2 1 3 5 2 2 2 1 4 7 Queensland University of Technology 10 11 11 10 12 2 12 9 University College of Central Queensland ...... 20 University of Queensland 11 8 13 10 9 8 8 13 12 11 10

Total QUEENSLAND 26 22 27 26 28 12 29 30 18 25 40

Macquarie University 2 1 2 3 3 5 1 2 2 2 1 University of Newcastle 3 4 3 1 5 4 4 3 1 3 1 University of New England 2 6 2 1 3 3 5 4 2 4 6 University of New South Wales 6 17 17 10 15 17 10 13 14 14 9 University of Sydney 11 9 7 6 7 7 9 23 21 15 13 University of Technology, Sydney 2 1 3 10 12 11 12 13 12 11 6 University of Wollongong 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 2 5 3

Total NEW SOUTH WALES 27 38 35 31 45 47 43 61 54 54 39

Australian National University 4 6 3 7 11 12 5 9 11 3 14 Royal Military College/ADF Academy 1 0 1 1 1 2 3 2 1 1 0 University of Canberra ...... 1

Total AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY s 6 4 8 12 14 8 11 12 4 15

Ballarat University College 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Deakin University 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 LaTrobe University 5 4 5 2 2 3 2 2 9 2 6 Monash University 19 8 11 7 14 12 4 9 10 5 12 RAAF Academy 4 2 3 2 0 0 Swinburne Institute of Technology 1 2 19 14 23 19 18 36 79 40 43 University of Melbourne 25 25 16 21 16 15 18 22 18 16 23 Victorian University of Technology . . . . • 4 3 2

Total 57 42 ss 46 ss 54 45 71 116 63 84

University ofTASMANIA 8 6 s 6 3 13 6 4 4 4 4

Flinders University 6 4 4 2 5 4 0 7 13 14 12 University of Adelaide 8 5 11 8 10 6 10 6 15 13 12 University of South Australia 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total SOUTH AUSTRALIA 18 13 15 14 15 10 10 13 28 27 24

Curtin University of Technology 21 26 17 25 30 32 39 28 15 22 11 Murdoch University 1 2 6 2 3 1 3 3 3 10 12 University of Western Australia 7 13 10 7 11 12 8 13 7 8 9

Total WESTERN AUSTRALIA 29 41 33 34 44 45 so 44 25 40 32

Total AUSTRALIA 170 168 174 165 202 195 191 234 257 217 238

• Physics major not available I I>

Australian & New Zealand Physicist Volume 28, Number 5, May 1991 83 •.3; ''2.~1

PHYSICS ENROLMENTS IN AUSTRALIA 1980-1990

TABLE 3 : NUMBERS OF POSTGRADUATE PHYSICS STUDENTS MASTER'S AND PHD STUDENTS

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

Griffith University 4 4 4 4 7 11 7 6 11 10 13 James Cook University 1 2 3 5 5 7 8 5 5 5 7 Queensland University of Technology 16 15 14 20 23 18 30 35 35 36 52 University College of Central Queensland ...... 2 University of Queensland 17 15 17 18 24 19 18 23 18 21 33

Total QUEENSLAND 38 36 38 47 59 55 63 69 69 72 107

Macquarie University 32 33 19 14 17 21 26 30 32 34 34 University of Newcastle 6 7 7 5 4 3 4 8 12 10 14 University of New England 4 5 8 8 7 8 9 8 7 8 9 Univesity of New South Wales 69 67 80 73 82 67 68 71 58 49 55 University of Sydney 26 26 31 29 35 35 21 22 37 48 58 University of Technology, Sydney 7 6 5 4 6 6 5 6 6 11 14 University of Wollongong 8 8 9 5 3 2 2 5 7 11 14

Total NEW SOUTH WALES 152 152 159 138 154 142 135 150 159 171 198

Australian National University 8 6 6 5 5 5 6 7 9 10 12 Australian National University (RSPS) 50 51 66 62 67 55 54 52 51 53 59 Royal Military College /ADF Academy 7 7 6 3 2 4 9 9 6 6 5 University of Canberra . . . . 0 . 0 . . 2 1

Total AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY 65 64 78 70 74 64 69 68 66 71 77

Chisholm Institute of Technology 4 7 5 4 5 5 11 10 12 13 13 Deakin University 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 . LaTrobe University 21 22 18 17 18 22 16 21 28 29 28 Monash University 31 28 31 32 30 34 34 32 29 36 35 RAAF Academy 9 10 10 10 10 8 • . . . . Swinburn Institute of Technology 1 2 3 3 2 3 7 7 4 6 10 University of Melbourne 44 50 49 49 57 67 74 74 78 82 77 Victorian University of Technology 15 13 16 16 12 15 16 18 17 25 27

Total VICTORIAN 126 133 132 131 134 154 158 163 169 192 190

University ofT ASMANIA 30 24 22 26 24 18 14 11 17 15 14

Flinders University 13 14 15 19 20 20 22 19 18 23 24 University of Adelaide 23 20 29 30 29 31 22 28 31 31 39 University of South Australia 5 5 6 5 8 6 5 5 8 10 9

Total SOUTH AUSTRALIA 41 39 50 54 57 57 49 52 57 64 72

Curtin University of Technology 22 21 26 24 22 16 22 29 24 23 23 Murdoch University 3 4 8 7 8 5 4 6 11 12 14 University of Western Australia 23 24 22 26 24 27 29 32 19 17 13 Total WESTERN AUSTRALIA 48 49 56 57 54 48 55 . 67 54 52 50 - Total AUSTRALIA 500 497 535 523 556 538 543 580 591 637 708

• Physics major not available _!:>

1 84 Australian & New Zealand Physicist Volume 28, Number 5, May 199 Figure 3: Numbers ofPostgraduate Physics Students

700 ...... , Total

(/) c -Q) "'0 :::;) 600 (/)- 0 -(/) .... .B 500 E :::;) z

400

o;---.------.------.------.------.------.------~ 80 82 84 86 88 90 Year

Postgraduate Enrolments overseas. If this shortfall is to be met from local sources the Commonwealth Government will need to put additional funding The data on postgraduate enrolments is presented in Table 3 into physics research via the ARC and other research funding and Figure 3. It includes both Ph.D. and Masters students. agencies. Over the past three years there has been a dramatic increase in postgraduate enrolments. For the decade 1981-1990 Conclusions postgraduate enrolments have risen by more than 40%. This is At the end of the decade physics enrolments in third year, fourth a much greaterrate of growth than for honours and pass degrees year and postgraduate studies are growing. There has also been in physics. some restructuring of institutions and offerings which has improved the enrolment situation since 1987. Although the trend is similar in the USA the rate of growth in postgraduate enrolments in physics in Australia has been much There are some uncertainties ahead, particularly the impact of greater. It appears to have been caused by increasing retention Federal Government funding policies on research and student rates into honours and an influx of overseas students, especially fees. Restructuring of the secondary education system in several in the last five years. States may also have an impact in the nineties. The growth is uneven with most of it occurring at the older Employment prospects for physics graduates have remained Universities (Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland) and attractive, particularly for higher degree graduates. The shortage the Queensland University of Technology. The last can be of Australian Ph.D.s for local positions may become critical in attributed to a highly successful Masters by coursework degree the mid-nineties as substantial numbers of academic staff in physics. Growth at the older Universities may be associated members begin to retire. This has severe implications for with increasing numbers of postgraduate students from Asian academic standards and the national research effort It is a countries coming to Australia on IDP programmes. problem which needs to be addressed urgently by the profession and the Government It seems unlikely that this rapid rate ofgrowth in enrolments can continue as resources at many institutions are stretched at Acknowledgements present and funding for research in the physical sciences is not The authors are indebted to our colleagues in the various growing at a commensurate rate. tertiary institutions who have kindly supplied us with the data Tables 4 and 5 contain the actual numbers of Masters and Ph.D. and checked the Tables for us. graduates in Physics respectively. R ,_. . . . . th Q d Two msututions (Curun University and e ueens1 an e.erences. . . University of Technology) which have Masters by coursework Austral~ Vtce Chancellor~ Com~1ttee (1990), Report of the pro · 1 50m f th Ma Academtc Standards Panel m Physics. gramm~s. produce approximate y 7o o e sters Ell' S D & M PJ ( ) AlP Pub R-15126 graduates m Australia IS, • • u1 vey' . 1989 ' . . · DeLaeter, J.R. (1974), Aust. Phys. 11:200 The number of Ph.D. graduates has grown by approximately DeLaeter, J.R. & Jennings, P J. (1984), Aust.Phys. 19:37 4 0% over the past decade, similar to the trend in postgraduate DeLaeter, J .R. & Jennings, P J. (1987),Aust.Phys.24:279 enr?l_ments. According to Prescott (1990) there were 250 DeLaeter,J.R.&Watson-Munro,C.N.(l975),AustPhys.12:137 positions advertised in 1989 for which a Ph.D. in physics or a DeLaeterJ.R.& Watosn-Munro, CN. (1970), Aust.Phys. 16:22 r~at~ddisciplinewasspecified. The employment prospects for Jennings, p J. & DeLaeter, J.R. (1984), Aust.Phys. 21:257 !>- P ys1cs Ph.D.s are therefore very attractive and it is likely that Prescott, J.R. (1990), Aust. Phys. 27:183 ... many of the successful applicants are being recruited from Watson-Munro, C.N. (1974), Aust Phys. 11:33 t> 11 Australian & New Zealand Physicist Volume 28, Number 5, May 1991 85