America might not lead the world in the number of citizens with college and university degrees, but its degree holders are increasingly becoming more educated. The number of degrees issued by graduate schools has been on the rise, a report from the US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics shows. The report, issued in 2010, provides information that spans a decade.

From the 1997-1998 academic year to 2007-2008, the report shows, the number of master’s degrees and doctoral degrees respectively increased by 45 and 38 percent, or to 625,000 and 63,700, the National Center for Education Statistics report shows. The majority of master’s degrees presented that academic year were in education and business combined. The majority of doctoral degrees were spread among four subject areas, including education, engineering and engineering technologies, health professions and related clinical sciences and biological and biomedical sciences.

Into 2010, colleges and universities also have been adding graduate degree programs. A Google news search shows that institutions in Fort Myers, Fla., and Boulder, Colo., added graduate degree offerings. A university in Hendersonville, NC, added a new pharmacy school offering graduate degree programs as well.

Some have suggested that students are continuing their college and university studies at a time when unemployment rates remain high. Forbes magazine earlier this year gathered information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and payscale.com to come up with a list of master’s degrees with the best potential in terms of salary and employment opportunities. Many of these graduate degrees were in what’s known as STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects, though business and medicine (physician assistant) also were represented.

At the doctoral degree level, the number of health profession degrees in 2007-08 was four times greater than it was in 1997-1998, the National Center for Education Statistics report shows. However, master’s degrees in physical sciences and science technologies represented the smallest increase in master’s degrees awarded over the course of that time. What’s more, while women earned most graduate degrees overall in 2007-2008, they earned fewer graduate degrees in engineering and engineering technologies and computer and information sciences and support services.

With a STEM degree at different levels, students might enter careers as geologists or hydrologists, where they work in the environment, or in biotechnology, where they might work to perfect certain products. There are many STEM careers – and many scholarship opportunities for students in STEM studies. Women and students from minority backgrounds who tend to be underrepresented in STEM fields might find scholarships available especially for them.

Information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that salary levels tend to increase with the level of college or university degree an individual holds. The Forbes article shows that students with master’s degrees who enter some of the highest paying in-demand fields for that type of graduate degree earn as much as $111,000 at their mid career stage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that the higher an individual’s education level, the less likely they are to be unemployed even during a slow economy.

Choosing to attend Graduate school can have many benefits for students. Those who are working full-time might even more easily pursue a graduate degree, thanks to online degree programs and online college and university courses that can be explored through Graduate School. In addition to providing a list of online graduate school courses, the site allows qualifying students to participate in a graduate course for free, earning academic credits that they might be able to apply to a graduate degree. As more students participate in college and university studies and test drive grad school online, they might help boost the country’s economy as well as its worldwide college and university degree holder ranking.