SCIENCE MAJOR TRENDS
2000-2009
AMHERST COLLEGE
Office of Development
Foundation & Corporate
Relations
Gender Trends in Science Majors at Amherst: 2000-2009
OVERALL TRENDS
 During the 10-year period, about half of all science majors at Amherst were women. This
percentage has held fairly steady over the 10 year period.
Gender make-up of Science Majors at Amherst
2000-2009
includes: biology, chemistry, computer science, geology,
mathematics, physics and psychology
180
Number of Majors
160
140
120
100
male
80
female
60
40
20
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Graduation Year
When psychology majors (the most popular major for women at Amherst) are factored out,
the overall percentage of women majors across the 10 year period drops below 45%.
However, in 2009, the number of women non-psychology science majors rose, accounting for
nearly half of the total.
Science Majors minus Psychology
2000-2009
120
100
Number of Majors

80
male
60
female
40
20
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Graduation Year
2007
2008
2009
SCIENCE MAJOR TRENDS
2000-2009
AMHERST COLLEGE
Office of Development
Foundation & Corporate
Relations
SCIENCE MAJORS WITH THE MOST FEMALE REPRESENTATION
 The majority of students choosing psychology, neuroscience, biology, and geology majors over the
past 10 years were women.
 Psychology is the most popular science major for women at Amherst—it is the science major with
both the largest number and percent of women. Over the 10 year period, nearly 68% of all Amherst
students who choose to major in psychology were women. The percentage of women majors has
dropped slightly in recent years, but, with the exception of the 2007-2008 academic year, has
remained above 60%.
Psychology Majors
60
number of majors
50
40
male
30
female
20
10
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Grad year
 Neuroscience is the second most likely science major to be chosen by Amherst women. An average
of 59% of students majoring in neuroscience over the 10 year period were women. The breakout
each year by gender for this major is highly variable. For example, in 2007-08, just 39% of
students graduating with the major were women, while in 2008-09, 85% of students (11 out 13)
majoring in neuroscience were women.
Neuroscience Majors
20
18
number of majors
16
14
12
male
10
female
8
6
4
2
0
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Grad year
 Biology majors account for the second largest number of science majors at Amherst. More women
than men at Amherst consistently choose to major in biology: over the ten year period, an average
of 57% of students who graduated with a major in biology were women. The percentage of
women majoring in biology has remained fairly consistent throughout the last 10 years.
SCIENCE MAJOR TRENDS
2000-2009
AMHERST COLLEGE
Office of Development
Foundation & Corporate
Relations
Biology Majors
35
number of majors
30
25
20
male
15
female
10
5
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
grad year
 Just over half of all students choosing geology as a major over the last 10 years were women. The
total number of geology majors each year is too small (<12) for changes over time to be
meaningful.
Geology Majors
12
number of majors
10
8
male
6
female
4
2
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Grad Year
 About half of all chemistry majors at Amherst for the 10 years have been women. In 2009, the
number of women at Amherst who graduated with a chemistry major (9) was almost double that of
men graduating with the major.
Chemistry Majors
18
16
number of majors
14
12
10
male
female
8
6
4
2
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Grad year
2006
2007
2008
2009
SCIENCE MAJOR TRENDS
2000-2009
AMHERST COLLEGE
Office of Development
Foundation & Corporate
Relations
SCIENCE MAJORS WITH THE LEAST FEMALE REPRESENTATION
Computer science, math and physics are the three science majors least likely to be chosen by women.
Women make up less than 30% of those graduating with these majors.
 Of all the sciences, women at Amherst are least likely to choose to major in computer science.
Since 2006, an average of 3 women, compared to an average of 10 or more men graduated each
year with a computer science major. The majority of those who graduate with a major in computer
science also have a second or third major (often math, economics or physics).
Computer Science
20
18
number of majors
16
14
12
male
10
female
8
6
4
2
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Grad year
 Male graduates with a major in mathematics greatly outnumbered female graduates with the major
over the last 10 years (29 women vs. 86 men). Recently, numbers of women choosing the major
have risen slightly: following a low of 1 female major in 2002, the number of female mathematics
majors rose to an average of 3-5 in until 2009, when 6 women graduated with a major in
mathematics.
Mathematics Majors
20
18
number of majors
16
14
12
male
10
female
8
6
4
2
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Grad year
SCIENCE MAJOR TRENDS
2000-2009
AMHERST COLLEGE
Office of Development
Foundation & Corporate
Relations
 During the 10 year period, Amherst graduated over three times as many men as women with a
major in physics (21 women, compared to 73 men) Numbers have not improved in recent years: in
academic years 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09, the number of women graduating from Amherst
with a physics major were 0, 3 and 1 respectively.
Physics majors
16
14
number of majors
12
10
male
8
female
6
4
2
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Grad year
2006
2007
2008