Louisiana
Source: IPEDS Completions, 3-yr avg AY 2022–25 (NCES; 2024–25 provisional), bachelor’s degrees, CIP 14 + 11; China 33.2%: PRC Ministry of Education, 2022 bachelor’s graduates by discipline (NSF NCSES S&E Indicators Fig. HED-30: 32.8%, 2020); Population: Census NST-EST2025.
Louisiana at China’s rate would graduate 7,707 engineers a year. It graduates 1,941.
Louisiana produces 1,941 engineering and computer science bachelor's degrees a year out of 23,213 total, among the weakest engineering producers in the country, from 20 institutions. At China's rate it would produce 7,707. Output is shrinking (-1.1% over three years). Gap Score: 25% of the China benchmark. Its own economy is projected to open 3,640 engineering, computing and technician jobs a year through 2034; in-state degrees, associate and bachelor's together, cover 62% of them.
The gap against China’s benchmark
Three-year trend: eng+CS share of degrees
Louisiana is missing 5,766 engineers a year at China's rate, roughly 8x the annual output of Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College.
Where Louisiana’s engineers are made.
20 institutions produce engineering or computer science bachelor’s degrees in Louisiana. The top 8 account for 90% of output.
Every producing institution. Circle area = eng+CS bachelor’s degrees per year
Top producers
| # | Institution | Eng+CS / yr | % of its degrees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 691 | 13.0% |
| 2 | Louisiana Tech University | 291 | 19.4% |
| 3 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 285 | 12.6% |
| 4 | University of New Orleans | 175 | 20.7% |
| 5 | McNeese State University | 99 | 10.0% |
| 6 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 73 | 3.4% |
| 7 | Southern University and A & M College | 68 | 9.3% |
| 8 | Southeastern Louisiana University | 57 | 3.3% |
Jobs vs. degrees
Louisiana's own labor-market projection, 2024–2034, for engineers, computer occupations and engineering technicians, against the degrees the state produces at every level.
Openings against output
Where the openings are
| Occupation | Openings / yr |
|---|---|
| Engineers, All Other | 510 |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | 360 |
| Software Developers | 280 |
| Computer User Support Specialists | 250 |
| Civil Engineers | 220 |
| Engineering Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other | 180 |
Coverage: degrees ÷ openings
Openings are the state labor agency’s own 10-year projection: new jobs plus replacing workers who retire or leave the field (BLS method). Not every opening goes to a new graduate, so this is a coverage measure; it does not count vacant positions. Occupations: engineers (SOC 17-2), computer occupations (SOC 15-12) and engineering technicians (SOC 17-3, the associate-degree tier), the jobs CIP 14 + 11 degrees feed; degrees here include associate degrees to match. Source: Louisiana labor-market projections via Projections Central (U.S. Dept. of Labor).
Louisiana's megaprojects outpace its engineering output
Since 2024 Louisiana has landed the largest AI data center, the largest steel investment and the largest foreign investment in its history, all engineering and construction heavy. Its own campuses produce fewer than 2,000 engineering and CS bachelor's degrees a year, and that output is falling.
The drain.
Louisiana finally stopped shrinking in 2024, but the gain came from fewer people leaving rather than more arriving, and Texas still pulls hardest. The state's own agencies now name brain drain as the problem to solve.
Sources: LSU Career Center; U.S. Census migration analysis via Bossier Press-Tribune; Louisiana Board of Regents
Who’s covering it.
Reporters already cover this, but no one has combined it into a single number the way the Index does.
The fix, in Louisiana.
Tie megaproject grants to graduates
Meta got an Act 730 equipment tax rebate and Hyundai a $100 million infrastructure grant, while workforce money was just $250,000 to Delta Community College. Louisiana should condition a slice of every LED incentive package on funding Digital ROTC seats, service-for-tuition scholarships that graduates repay with years of technical work inside the state.
Use FastStart for degrees
LED FastStart already recruits and trains at company scale and is written into the Hyundai deal alongside a River Parishes Community College training center. Extend the same program to two years of engineering technology and CS study, with tuition covered in exchange for a service commitment at Louisiana employers rather than a single employer.
Pay for the internship year
The Board of Regents found 73% of graduates with a paid internship land degree level work versus 44% without, and LSU already keeps about 74% of its in-state students. Digital ROTC should fund paid, in-state engineering placements at LSU, Louisiana Tech and UL Lafayette as the service half of the bargain, making the state's most effective retention tool standard policy.
What Digital ROTC would fund
Digital ROTC: federal student loans that cover two years of engineering, computer science, or cybersecurity school at a community college, whether those years end in an associate degree or transfer into a bachelor’s program. The loans are forgiven in full after 24 to 36 months of service in government technology roles. In Louisiana, 14% of engineering-track credentials are associate degrees today. Digital ROTC is built to expand that community-college route.