by Hoyt Smith
National University grants more master’s degrees to women than any other college or university in California, according to U.S. Department of Education data published in The Hispanic Outlook of Higher Education. National also ranks among the top 10 nationally in terms of master’s degrees conferred to females.
A total of 1,898 master’s degrees were awarded to women by National University in 2003, based upon the most recent figures available from the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The University of Southern California ranked second in California, awarding 1,303 master’s degrees to women. New York University leads the nation, conferring 3,157 master’s degrees to women. The information was published in Hispanic Outlook’s February 23 edition, which lists the top schools for Hispanic women.
Graduate students comprise 73 percent of National University’s student body. Women account for 59 percent of graduate and undergraduate enrollment. National leads the state in conferring master’s degrees in all disciplines combined to Hispanics and African Americans. Of the 402 master’s degrees it conferred to Hispanics, and of the 219 master’s degrees it conferred to African Americans in the 2001-2002 school year, 67 percent were female in both categories.
Even in such traditionally male-dominated disciplines as engineering and computer and information science, minority women earning master’s degrees at National University outnumber minority men earning master’s degrees by ratios exceeding three-to-one. Overall, National University ranks second in the United States in granting master’s degrees to Hispanic women, with a total of 271.
