Table 335.

Statistical profile of persons receiving doctor's degrees, by field of study and selected characteristics: 2007-08 and 2008-09

Selected characteristic	All fields, 2007-08	Field of study, 2008-09
		All fields	Educa-tion	Engi-neering	Human-ities	Life sciences	Physical sciences1		Social sciences and psychol-ogy	Other fields
							Total	Mathe-matics		Total	Business and manage-ment
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Number of doctor's degrees conferred	48,802	49,562	6,531	7,634	4,899	11,402	8,331	1,554	7,836	2,929	1,403
Sex (percent)2
Male	53.9	53.1	33.1	78.7	48.1	45.4	70.4	68.7	41.6	51.5	62.1
Female	46.1	46.8	66.9	21.3	51.8	54.5	29.4	31.1	58.4	48.5	37.9
Race/ethnicity (percent)3
White	75.4	74.6	70.8	69.8	79.2	75.2	78.7	76.8	74.6	72.5	70.5
Black	6.6	6.9	14.5	4.3	4.3	5.4	3.1	3.2	6.8	9.6	9.4
Hispanic	5.7	5.8	6.9	5.0	6.6	5.0	4.2	4.7	7.1	5.1	5.2
Asian	8.3	8.3	3.9	16.3	5.2	10.3	9.9	10.9	6.3	8.9	11.0
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.4	0.5	0.8	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.4	0.5	0.3	0.4
Two or more races	1.7	2.0	1.6	1.9	2.2	2.0	1.8	1.9	2.7	1.7	2.1
Other and unknown4	2.0	1.9	1.4	2.4	2.1	1.7	2.2	2.1	2.0	1.9	1.5
Citizenship (percent)
U.S. citizen and permanent resident	63.1	65.0	85.2	41.2	79.2	68.3	53.0	49.7	71.5	62.6	55.3
Temporary visa holder	31.2	29.7	8.7	55.2	14.8	27.2	42.4	45.9	21.8	30.1	37.6
Unknown	5.7	5.3	6.0	3.6	6.0	4.6	4.6	4.4	6.7	7.2	7.1
Median age at doctorate (years)	32.4	32.2	40.5	30.5	34.5	31.3	30.2	29.9	32.4	36.1	35.1
Percent with bachelor's degree in
same field as doctorate	52.9	53.5	29.8	77.1	53.6	49.4	64.6	65.6	51.8	33.3	33.9
Median time lapse (years) to doctorate
Since bachelor's degree completion	9.4	9.3	16.2	7.9	11.3	8.5	7.5	7.3	9.4	12.4	11.9
Since starting graduate school	7.7	7.7	12.3	6.7	9.5	7.0	6.7	6.7	7.7	9.7	9.1
Postdoctoral plans (percent)5
Definite postdoctoral study6	24.7	26.4	4.0	24.2	8.4	44.5	39.7	33.4	23.9	4.6	2.0
Fellowship	13.2	14.1	1.5	8.0	7.0	26.3	16.9	19.6	16.5	2.8	1.3
Research associateship	10.4	11.2	1.4	15.4	0.9	16.2	22.2	13.0	5.4	1.4	‡
Traineeship	0.3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Intern, clinical residency	0.5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Other7	0.2	1.1	0.6	0.3	‡	0.2	0.1	‡	0.4	‡	0.0
Definite postdoctoral employment8	43.5	42.3	66.5	41.7	53.7	21.6	31.9	37.6	48.4	69.5	76.7
Educational institution9	22.6	22.6	34.5	7.4	46.1	11.2	11.7	22.5	31.0	55.8	63.1
Government	2.9	3.1	2.7	3.9	1.1	2.8	2.3	2.2	5.5	2.7	‡
Industry, business	11.4	10.6	2.7	29.3	1.9	5.3	16.7	10.4	6.8	7.0	8.7
Nonprofit organization	2.0	2.0	3.1	0.9	2.7	1.8	0.8	1.2	3.3	2.8	‡
Other and unknown	4.6	3.8	23.5	0.2	1.9	0.5	0.4	1.4	1.8	1.3	1.6
Seeking employment or study	27.9	27.3	26.3	30.5	34.3	26.7	25.7	26.6	24.9	23.2	18.7
Other/unknown	3.9	4.0	3.2	3.6	3.7	7.2	2.7	2.4	2.8	2.6	2.7
Primary work activity after doctorate (percent)10
Research and development	39.2	37.7	9.1	72.9	15.0	42.8	61.4	44.1	36.7	33.7	45.2
Teaching	35.7	36.5	38.9	8.5	72.2	31.5	25.8	47.4	38.3	48.4	41.6
Management or administration	14.2	14.5	41.9	5.7	7.1	11.2	4.4	2.3	7.7	10.4	8.3
Professional services	9.5	9.9	9.6	11.4	3.8	11.9	6.9	5.4	15.8	6.5	4.6
Other	1.3	1.4	0.6	1.4	1.9	2.6	1.5	0.8	1.5	1.0	0.3
Employment location after doctorate (percent)11
New England	6.2	8.1	3.8	7.4	7.9	10.2	9.2	8.0	8.9	6.5	6.5
Middle Atlantic	13.6	13.4	12.3	12.8	16.2	12.0	13.8	18.4	14.5	14.3	14.3
East North Central	12.7	11.7	12.9	11.2	14.3	9.9	10.9	14.1	11.9	14.9	14.9
West North Central	6.3	5.7	9.8	3.3	6.3	6.3	3.3	4.0	5.4	5.5	5.5
South Atlantic	17.4	16.7	20.3	13.6	15.3	19.1	13.8	15.4	17.1	18.3	18.3
East South Central	4.8	3.7	6.7	2.5	4.9	3.4	2.6	2.9	3.1	4.2	4.2
West South Central	8.8	7.9	10.0	7.8	8.6	7.8	6.6	6.6	7.1	10.1	10.1
Mountain	5.4	5.6	8.2	6.4	5.0	5.0	5.3	4.0	4.5	3.4	3.4
Pacific and insular	15.6	16.7	11.7	23.1	11.6	16.9	21.6	12.0	14.2	9.5	9.5
Foreign	8.8	9.7	3.5	11.3	9.3	8.1	12.2	14.1	12.6	12.8	12.8
Region unknown	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0

—Not available.

‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases).

1 Includes mathematics, computer science, physics and astronomy, chemistry, and earth, atmospheric, and marine sciences.

2 Distribution based on respondents reporting sex data.

3 Distribution based on U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

4 Includes Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.

5 Percentages are based on only those doctorate recipients who responded to questions about postdoctoral plans.

6 Percentages are based on only those doctorate recipients who indicated definite postdoctoral plans for study and who indicated the type of study.

7 Other for 2008-09 includes respondents who indicated definite postgraduation study plans for traineeship, internship/clinical residency, or other study.

8 Percentages are based on only those doctorate recipients who indicated definite postdoctoral plans for employment and who indicated the sector of employment.

9 Includes 2-year, 4-year, and foreign colleges and universities, medical schools, and elementary/secondary schools.

10 Percentages are based on only those doctorate recipients who indicated definite postdoctoral plans for employment and who indicated their primary work activity.

11 Percentages are based on only those doctorate recipients who indicated definite postdoctoral plans for employment.

NOTE: The above classification of degrees by field differs somewhat from that in most publications of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). One major difference is that history is included under humanities rather than social sciences. Includes Ph.D., Ed.D., and comparable degrees at the doctoral level. Includes only graduates of research programs, which typically require the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating substantial artistic or scholarly achievement. Excludes nonresearch professional practice doctor's degrees (e.g., M.D., D.D.S., and J.D.) that are conferred upon completion of a program providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credential, or license required for professional practice in such fields as health and theology. The number of doctor’s degrees in this table differs from that reported in the NCES Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), which includes both the research and nonresearch degrees. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: Doctorate Recipients From U.S. Universities: Summary Report 2008–09, Survey of Earned Doctorates, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Education, National Endowment for the Humanities, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (This table was prepared July 2011.)