Student Representation in Undergraduate Economics: The Impact of STEM Designation

Anthony Underwood, Emily C. Marshall and Eren Bilen

AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2026, vol. 116, 679-685

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of optional practical training reforms on student representation in US undergraduate economics programs. As of 2023, economics degrees, designated as STEM by the US Department of Homeland Security, comprise around 48% of all US undergraduate economics degrees conferred annually, up from 2% in 2016. Using IPEDS completions data from 1997 to 2023 and a staggered difference-in-differences approach, this paper finds that STEM designation significantly increases the number and percentage of undergraduate economics degrees awarded to women and nonresident students but has mixed effects on the number and percentage of degrees conferred to underrepresented minority students.

JEL-codes: A22 I23 J15 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20261056

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