Thanks in part to an aggressive new fellowship program, Cornell University's Graduate School enrollment shows a healthy increase this fall, boosted primarily by a big jump in doctoral students in the physical sciences and engineering.

While overall total Graduate School enrollment increased just 1.8 percent, from 3,938 in fall 1997 to 4,010 this fall, the entering class enrollment rose 14.7 percent, from 1,164 to 1,335. The increase overall this year reverses a trend of decreasing Graduate School enrollments that began in 1992, said Walter I. Cohen, vice provost and dean of the Graduate School.

Increases in this fall's entering class in the physical sciences were even more dramatic. There were 262 doctoral students in the entering class in the physical sciences, compared with 162 in fall 1997, for a 61.7 percent increase. The percentage of all entering physical sciences graduate students increased by 23.9 percent this fall, with 529 entering this year compared with 427 last fall.

"Graduate students play a crucial role in the intellectual life of undergraduates and faculty alike." Cohen said. "I'm, therefore, especially pleased that we have been able to reverse the decline in graduate enrollment that has marked the 1990s and to strengthen what already were very strong programs. The credit for this turnaround belongs to the faculty. And I think it likely that graduate enrollment will continue to rise over the next few years."

An expanded doctoral fellowship program for science and engineering also contributed to the enrollment increase. Cohen said he had hoped to increase the fellowships from 20 to 100, but in the final tally 72 fellowship offers were accepted, for a net increase of 52.

"Next year we'll be even more aggressive with our offers," Cohen said.

He noted that funding for the expanded fellowship program came primarily from two sources: general purpose monies from the central administration and endowment funds held by the Graduate School. Some support also came from statutory college deans, he added.

Cornell President Hunter Rawlings applauded the efforts of Cohen and of individual faculty members to increase graduate enrollment. "This is a very encouraging sign that we are doing exactly what needs to be done to remain competitive with our peers in a very competitive environment," Rawlings said.

Progress toward increased diversity in graduate enrollment was somewhat mixed, Cohen said. With 253 underrepresented minority students enrolled in fall 1998, and 522 students in the "all minority" category, underrepresented minorities constituted 6 percent of the total enrollment, and all minorities constituted 13 percent.

In the fall 1998 entering class, 6 percent are underrepresented minorities, and 35 percent are Caucasian.

Cohen also noted that 47.5 percent of the fall 1998 entering class are international students -- the highest ever at Cornell.

"We reached five-year highs in the number and percentage of underrepresented minority graduate students overall," Cohen noted. "These also happen to be all-time highs. On the other hand, the growth rate is very low, and we need to continue to work to ensure a diverse graduate enrollment."

In terms of gender diversity, the picture also was mixed, Cohen said. Since 1994, with the decline in applications here and nationwide, the decline is much steeper among men than among women, he said. Therefore women are making up a greater percentage of the applicant pool. In fall 1998, women comprised 38.7 percent of all applicants, compared with 36 percent in 1994 and 37.2 percent last year.

Acceptances are higher for women, too. This fall 37.2 percent of all acceptances were women, compared with 36.4 percent in 1994 and 35.6 percent last year. However, the yield has declined, with the matriculation rate for women at 37.1 percent of the total this fall, compared with 38.5 percent in 1994 and 39.3 percent last fall.

Cohen attributes that decline from last fall to the fact that the big growth in the entering class this fall occurred in the physical sciences and engineering, fields which traditionally attract relatively few women.

"There is excellent progress here, but there is still much work to be done to continue to attract top-quality graduate students to our campus," said Provost Don M. Randel. "Only by securing the highest-caliber of student and by ensuring diversity in graduate enrollment will we able to meet the needs of all of our students, undergraduate and graduate, and continue to rank as one of the world's truly excellent institutions of higher education."