Rhode Island
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.
Rhode Island at China’s rate would graduate 3,708 engineers a year. It graduates 1,087.
Rhode Island produces 1,087 engineering and computer science bachelor's degrees a year out of 11,169 total, a mid-pack engineering producer, from 9 institutions. At China's rate it would produce 3,708. Output is growing (+1.7% over three years). Gap Score: 29% of the China benchmark. Its own economy is projected to open 1,490 engineering, computing and technician jobs a year through 2034; in-state degrees, associate and bachelor's together, cover 79% of them.
The gap against China’s benchmark
Three-year trend: eng+CS share of degrees
Rhode Island is missing 2,621 engineers a year at China's rate, roughly 6x the annual output of University of Rhode Island.
Where Rhode Island’s engineers are made.
9 institutions produce engineering or computer science bachelor’s degrees in Rhode Island. The top 8 account for 99% 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 Rhode Island | 414 | 11.7% |
| 2 | Brown University | 366 | 19.8% |
| 3 | Roger Williams University | 83 | 9.3% |
| 4 | Rhode Island School of Design | 58 | 11.3% |
| 5 | Johnson & Wales University-Providence | 54 | 6.6% |
| 6 | New England Institute of Technology | 43 | 25.0% |
| 7 | Rhode Island College | 37 | 3.5% |
| 8 | Providence College | 24 | 2.5% |
Jobs vs. degrees
Rhode Island'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 | 380 |
| Computer User Support Specialists | 110 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 100 |
| Civil Engineers | 80 |
| Mechanical Engineers | 80 |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | 60 |
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: Rhode Island labor-market projections via Projections Central (U.S. Dept. of Labor).
Submarine hiring grows while Rhode Island ranks 50th
Rhode Island's major projects are a submarine buildout at Quonset Point, an offshore wind project, and startup manufacturing backed by Commerce RI incentives. The state produces 1,087 engineering and CS bachelor's degrees a year, with the second-largest gap per resident in the country, and its century-old anchor employer just left for Boston.
The drain.
Rhode Island graduates more students per capita than almost any state its size, then loses them to Boston. The state pays graduates to stay, and its own revenue analysts question whether it works.
Sources: Boston Globe; Rhode Island Commerce; RI Office of Revenue Analysis via Rhode Island Current
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 Rhode Island.
Feed the submarine pipeline
Electric Boat needs 3,500 more workers at Quonset Point and SENEDIA has $98.3 million to train 8,600 candidates through 2029. A Digital ROTC service-for-tuition track at CCRI would let students earn a free associate degree in exchange for committed years in the submarine industrial base, giving Electric Boat a steady supply of locally trained workers.
Turn Wavemaker into a contract
Wavemaker refunds up to $6,000 a year after graduates already have debt, and the state's own revenue office says it only breaks even if 53% of fellows' jobs are attributable to it. Paying tuition upfront at CCRI and URI in exchange for a binding in-state service commitment would secure retention before graduation rather than reward it afterward.
Tie incentives to graduates
REGENT's $4 million package and every Qualified Jobs and Rebuild RI award should carry a pipeline clause: recipients fund co-op seats and sponsor Digital ROTC scholars at URI engineering, which sends 96% of its graduates into jobs. RI already covers 79% of its openings; targeted service-for-tuition can close the last 317.
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 Rhode Island, 8% of engineering-track credentials are associate degrees today. Digital ROTC is built to expand that community-college route.