Maryland
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.
Maryland at China’s rate would graduate 8,824 engineers a year. It graduates 5,568.
Maryland produces 5,568 engineering and computer science bachelor's degrees a year out of 26,579 total, one of America's strongest engineering producers, from 24 institutions. At China's rate it would produce 8,824. Output is growing (+13.0% over three years). Gap Score: 63% of the China benchmark. Its own economy is projected to open 12,660 engineering, computing and technician jobs a year through 2034; in-state degrees, associate and bachelor's together, cover 56% of them.
The gap against China’s benchmark
Three-year trend: eng+CS share of degrees
Even America's #1 engineering state reaches only 63% of the China benchmark. In Maryland, federal demand for engineers drives degree production, which is the approach Digital ROTC takes.
Where Maryland’s engineers are made.
24 institutions produce engineering or computer science bachelor’s degrees in Maryland. The top 8 account for 92% of output.
Every producing institution. Circle area = eng+CS bachelor’s degrees per year
Top producers
| # | Institution | Eng+CS / yr | % of its degrees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Maryland-College Park | 2,692 | 32.7% |
| 2 | University of Maryland-Baltimore County | 812 | 34.6% |
| 3 | United States Naval Academy | 444 | 42.3% |
| 4 | Towson University | 425 | 10.9% |
| 5 | Johns Hopkins University | 414 | 29.8% |
| 6 | Morgan State University | 172 | 17.0% |
| 7 | Bowie State University | 94 | 11.9% |
| 8 | Loyola University Maryland | 84 | 10.1% |
Jobs vs. degrees
Maryland'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 |
|---|---|
| Software Developers | 2,330 |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | 1,300 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 1,140 |
| Information Security Analysts | 850 |
| Computer User Support Specialists | 780 |
| Computer Network Support Specialists | 610 |
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: Maryland labor-market projections via Projections Central (U.S. Dept. of Labor).
Federal demand built the pipeline; now it is shrinking
Maryland's engineering and cyber degree share is the nation's highest because Fort Meade, NSA and $46B a year in federal contracts pull it there. The state is now counting on data centers and quantum to replace federal demand, but the openings still outrun what its campuses produce.
The drain.
Maryland imports talent to its universities but loses its own graduates, and the federal downsizing that anchored engineers here has now cut the state's federal payroll by nearly a fifth.
Sources: Maryland Chamber of Commerce; Maryland Longitudinal Data System Center; Brookings
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 Maryland.
Convert cyber ranges into service pathways
The state put $1.8M into community-college cyber ranges and TEDCO counts 6,500 unfilled cyber jobs with only a third of demand met. A Digital ROTC service-for-tuition track at those same colleges would turn range hours into associate degrees in engineering technology and cyber, with a Maryland service commitment attached.
Tie data-center incentives to graduates
Maryland exempts data-center equipment from sales tax and is fielding $30B in Frederick and $5B in Landover. Condition those exemptions on funded co-op seats and hires from Maryland engineering programs, so the 500 permanent jobs per campus go to in-state grads rather than imported staff.
Keep the grads Fort Meade can't hire
With NSA down 2,000 staff and 29,200 federal jobs gone, the federal pull that once retained Maryland engineers has weakened and the state already loses 8,881 recent grads on net. A state-backed loan-for-service program aimed at Maryland employers could pull back the 43% of Marylanders educated out of state who never return to work here.
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 Maryland, 21% of engineering-track credentials are associate degrees today. Digital ROTC is built to expand that community-college route.