Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—often called STEM—is a group of important school subjects that work together. These areas include studying nature and the world around us, creating new tools and machines, designing useful structures, and using numbers to solve problems. They are all connected because they need careful thinking, finding answers to tough questions, and looking at information in a smart way.

Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (left) and mathematician John von Neumann in front of an early electronic computer built at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, United States (1951)

Teachers and leaders often talk about STEM when they plan what children should learn in school. Knowing about these subjects helps people invent new things and improve technology. It is also important for finding jobs and keeping countries strong and safe.

Not everyone agrees on exactly which subjects belong in STEM. Some people think it should only include natural sciences like biology and physics. Others believe it also includes social sciences such as psychology, sociology, economics, and political science. Different countries have different ideas about this. For example, in the United States, groups like the National Science Foundation usually include social sciences in STEM. But in the United Kingdom, social sciences are often grouped with humanities and arts instead, using names like HASS or SHAPE.

Terminology

History

In the early 1990s, many teachers started using the term STEM to group together science, technology, engineering, and math. One teacher, Beverly P. Schwartz, began a special program in New York State in 1991. Another teacher, Jane Silverstein, created a special curriculum at John F. Kennedy High School in New Jersey in the mid-1990s. Charles E. Vela started a summer program in Washington, D.C., for students who were good at these subjects. The National Science Foundation began using the term STEM around 2001.

Other variations

There are many ways people change the STEM idea a little bit:

eSTEM (environmental STEM)
GEMS (girls in engineering, math, and science); used for programs to encourage women to enter these fields.
MINT (mathematics, informatics, natural sciences, and technology)
SHTEAM (science, humanities, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics)
SMET (science, mathematics, engineering, and technology); previous name
STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics)
- STEAM (science, technology, engineering, agriculture, and mathematics); add agriculture
- STEAM (science, technology, engineering, and applied mathematics); has more focus on applied mathematics
STEEM (science, technology, engineering, economics, and mathematics); adds economics as a field
STEMIE (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, invention, and entrepreneurship); adds inventing and entrepreneurship as a means to apply STEM to real-world problem-solving and markets.
STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine)
STM (scientific, technical, and mathematics or science, technology, and medicine)
STREAM (science, technology, robotics, engineering, arts, and mathematics); adds robotics and arts as fields
- STREAM (science, technology, reading, engineering, arts, and mathematics); adds reading and arts
- STREAM (science, technology, recreation, engineering, arts, and mathematics); adds recreation and arts

Geographic distribution

By around the middle of the 2000s, China awarded more doctorates than the United States and is expected to award about 77,000 doctorates by 2025, compared to around 40,000 in the United States.

STEM graduates by country (2020)
Rank	Country	Number of STEM grads	Percent of total grads
1	China	3,570,000	41%
2	India	2,550,000	30%
3	United States	820,000	20%
4	Russia	520,000	37%
5	Indonesia	300,000	20%
6	Brazil	238,000	17%
7	Mexico	221,000	26%
8	France	220,000	26%
9	Germany	216,000	36%
10	Iran	211,000	33%
11	Japan	192,000	19%

By country

Australia

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority reported in 2015 that focusing on STEM in schools is important to prepare young Australians with the skills they need for success. The goals were to:

Ensure all students finish school with strong knowledge in STEM and related skills
Inspire students to take on more challenging STEM subjects

Events and programs to help develop STEM in Australian schools include the Victorian Model Solar Vehicle Challenge, the Maths Challenge, Go Girl Go Global, and the Australian Informatics Olympiad.

Canada

Canada ranks 12th out of 16 similar countries in the percentage of graduates who studied STEM programs, with 21.2%. Programs like SHAD focus on academic learning in STEM fields for high school students. Scouts Canada also started a STEM program in 2015. The Schulich Leader Scholarships, established in 2011, provide funding for students starting university in STEM programs across Canada.

China

To promote STEM, China issued a guideline in 2016 aiming to become a technology innovation power by 2050. In 2018, China launched the 2029 Action Plan for STEM Education to benefit more students. However, China needs more qualified STEM teachers and training systems.

Europe

Several European projects have promoted STEM education. For example, Scientix connects STEM teachers, and the Erasmus programme project AutoSTEM introduces STEM to young children using automata.

Finland

The LUMA Center promotes STEM education across all levels in Finland. The Finnish National Board of Education launched the LUMA program to improve science education and student interest.

Middle school chemistry on a blackboard in Beijing, China, 2011

France

In France, STEM is called industrial engineering sciences. The organization UPSTI supports STEM in the country.

Hong Kong

STEM education has only recently been promoted in Hong Kong schools. In 2015, the Education Bureau released a document proposing strategies to promote STEM education.

India

India has many STEM graduates, with women making up 43% of STEM graduates. However, they hold only 14% of STEM jobs. Organizations like OMOTEC provide innovative STEM curricula and develop products to solve new problems.

Nigeria

In Nigeria, programs like the Association of Professional Women Engineers Of Nigeria involve girls in science-based courses to encourage them to pursue STEM in higher education. The National Science Foundation supports girls through invention programs.

Pakistan

STEM subjects are taught in Pakistan in grades 9-12. The government has approved a STEM education project to establish STEM labs in public schools. Google has collaborated with Pakistan to launch a coding skills program for children aged 9-14.

Philippines

In the Philippines, STEM is a two-year program for Senior High School. It gives students advanced knowledge and application in STEM fields.

Qatar

Medalists from Team India at the 2019 International Physics Olympiad

AL-Bairaq is an outreach program in Qatar for high-school students focusing on STEM, run by Qatar University. It uses project-based learning and team work.

Singapore

Singapore’s Ministry of Education promotes STEM through the Applied Learning Programme in schools. The Singapore Science Centre also established a STEM unit to ignite students' passion for STEM.

Thailand

Thailand approved the establishment of a STEM Education Centre to promote STEM education across the country. The Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology also started a STEM Education Network.

Turkey

The Turkish STEM Education Task Force works to improve the quality of STEM education rather than just increasing the number of graduates.

United States

In the United States, STEM became important in education and immigration discussions to address the need for skilled workers. Programs like Project Lead The Way and NASA’s STEM initiatives aim to improve STEM education. The National Science Foundation supports STEM fields including chemistry, computer science, engineering, and more.

National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation supports all fields of fundamental science and engineering except medical sciences. It offers scholarships, grants, and fellowships in various STEM areas.

Immigration policy

The United States Department of Homeland Security has a list of STEM-designated degree programs that allow international students to stay in the country for extra training after graduation.

A high school student explains her engineering project to a judge in Sacramento, California, in 2015.

Education

Efforts to improve STEM education in the U.S. include renaming the Mathematics and Science Partnership and creating new programs. States like California and Florida have also invested in STEM education.

Racial gap in STEM fields

In the U.S., black and Hispanic students score lower in science than white, Asian, and Pacific Islander students. Efforts are being made to make STEM more diverse and inclusive.

Gender gaps in STEM

Women make up 47% of the U.S. workforce but hold only 24% of STEM jobs. Programs aim to encourage girls to pursue STEM careers.

Intersectionality in STEM

STEM fields often face challenges with underrepresentation and exclusion. Efforts are needed to address these issues and create more inclusive environments.

American Competitiveness Initiative

In 2006, President George W. Bush announced the American Competitiveness Initiative to increase support for STEM education and research.

STEM Education Coalition

The STEM Education Coalition supports STEM programs for teachers and students. STEM.org provides a credentialing system for STEM education quality.

Scouting

Most AP exams in STEM saw an increase in the number of takers between 2018 and 2024.

The Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA have incorporated STEM into their programs with awards and merit badges.

Department of Defense programs

Programs like eCybermission, STARBASE, and SeaPerch aim to engage students in STEM through competitions and hands-on learning.

NASA

NASAStem is a program to increase diversity within NASA, including age, disability, gender, and race/ethnicity.

Legislation

The America COMPETES Act, passed in 2007, aims to increase investment in science and engineering research and STEM education.

Jobs

STEM jobs pay well and are growing. In 2015, there were about 9 million STEM jobs in the U.S., representing 6.1% of employment.

Recent progress

In 2017, tech firms pledged $300 million for computer science education. In 2018, the Smithsonian Science Education Center released a strategic plan for STEM education.

Events and programs to help develop STEM in US schools

Vietnam

Vietnam has many STEM education initiatives. In 2015, the Ministry of Education included STEM in the national school program. In 2017, the Prime Minister signed a directive to promote STEM education.

Zimbawwe

In Zimbabwe, there is a significant gender gap in STEM fields, with only about 29% of STEM degrees held by women.

Women

Main articles: Female education in STEM and Women in STEM fields

Image of participants of NASA Goddard's STEM Girls Night in 2018

Women make up a big part of the workforce, but they are not always equally represented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, jobs. In the United States, women hold about 24% of jobs related to STEM. In the United Kingdom, the number is even lower, at around 13%.

The number of women in different STEM areas can vary a lot. For example, in the European Union, women made up more than half of students in social sciences and health but fewer in engineering and construction.

Having good role models and support from other women who work in STEM can help more women succeed in these fields. This includes having good resources for learning and connecting with others.

LGBTQ+

People who identify as LGBTQ+ have often faced unfair treatment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Some famous figures in STEM, like Alan Turing, a key figure in computer science, and Sara Josephine Baker, a leading American doctor, were part of this community.

Even though attitudes are improving, many LGBTQ+ people still face challenges in STEM careers. Some studies show that LGBTQ+ students are less likely to finish certain STEM degrees, and those who stay often deal with unfair treatment and fewer opportunities.

Organizations like the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP) in the U.S. work to support LGBTQ+ people in STEM. Other groups, such as 500 Queer Scientists and Pride in STEM, aim to increase visibility and acceptance for LGBTQ+ individuals around the world.

Criticism

Some people have questioned the idea that we need more people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) jobs. In 2014, a writer in The Atlantic said there is no proof that there is a big shortage of workers in these fields. He pointed out that many people with STEM degrees do not end up working in STEM jobs, and some jobs in these fields do not pay very well.

Other reports have also said that not all STEM jobs pay a lot, and that many people with STEM degrees work in jobs that are not related to their studies. Some believe that talking about a "STEM crisis" happens often, but real studies show there is no big problem with not enough workers in these fields.