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Digest of Education Statistics: 2006
Digest of Education Statistics: 2006

NCES 2007-017
July 2007


Table 301. Statistical profile of persons receiving doctor's degrees, by field of study and selected characteristics: 2003–04
Selected characteristic All fields Field of study
Education Engineering Humanities Life sciences Physical sciences1  Business and management Social sciences and psychology Other professional fields
Total Mathematics
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Doctor's degrees conferred, total 42,155 6,635 5,776 5,467 8,819 6,049 1,075 1,264 6,795 1,347
Sex (percent)                    
Male 54.6 34.2 82.4 48.1 50.5 73.5 71.6 63.9 44.8 44.8
Female 45.4 65.8 17.6 51.9 49.5 26.5 28.4 36.1 55.2 55.2
                     
Racial/ethnic group (percent)2                     
White 79.7 76.1 74.0 84.4 79.9 83.3 81.6 74.1 80.6 74.7
Black 7.3 14.9 4.5 4.4 4.8 3.0 2.0 11.3 7.3 14.0
Hispanic 4.8 5.1 4.2 5.5 4.4 3.6 5.3 4.8 5.7 4.1
Asian3  7.7 2.9 17.0 5.4 10.6 9.7 11.1 9.0 6.0 6.8
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.5 0.9 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.8 0.4 0.5
                     
Citizenship (percent)                    
United States 62.7 80.0 33.6 74.8 64.8 49.7 42.3 47.6 71.8 65.8
Non-U.S., permanent visa 3.6 1.7 4.2 5.0 3.9 4.0 5.1 4.0 3.1 3.8
Non-U.S., temporary visa 27.5 9.4 57.2 15.4 26.1 42.2 48.9 37.3 17.5 22.4
Unknown 6.2 8.9 5.1 4.8 5.2 4.1 3.6 11.0 7.6 8.0
                     
Median age at doctorate (years) 33.3 43.1 31.4 35.0 31.7 30.6 30.4 35.8 33.1 38.0
                     
Percent with bachelor's degree in same field as doctorate 52.5 31.2 75.6 53.4 48.4 65.9 70.7 33.0 54.6 30.4
                     
Median time lapse (years) to doctorate                    
Since bachelor's degree completion 10.0 17.7 8.4 11.7 8.7 7.8 7.8 12.1 9.8 13.9
Since starting graduate school 8.0 12.7 7.2 9.7 7.0 6.7 6.7 9.7 7.9 10.4
                     
Definite postdoctoral plans (percent)                    
Definite postdoctoral study4  35.3 6.0 36.3 11.6 67.0 56.2 47.1 3.3 30.7 7.3
Fellowship 18.7 2.2 12.4 8.2 37.9 26.6 27.5 1.4 21.4 2.6
Research associateship 13.0 2.1 21.8 1.6 20.5 27.6 17.5 1.3 5.6 3.2
Traineeship 0.7 0.4 0.8 0.3 1.1 0.5 1.0 0.8
Intern, clinical residency 1.1 0.3 0.2 0.2 3.1 0.4 1.7
Other 1.8 1.1 1.1 1.3 4.4 1.1 1.2 1.4
Definite postdoctoral employment5  64.7 94.0 63.7 88.4 33.0 43.8 52.9 96.7 69.3 92.7
Educational institution6  43.4 81.2 17.0 77.3 18.3 20.7 39.6 79.1 44.5 67.5
Industry, business 11.7 3.6 35.8 3.5 7.0 17.5 9.9 11.3 8.8 6.4
Government 5.1 4.0 7.4 2.1 4.9 3.5 2.5 4.6 8.4 6.9
Nonprofit organization 3.6 3.8 2.6 4.7 2.2 1.6 6.1 9.6
Other and unknown 0.9 1.4 0.9 0.8 0.5 0.4 1.5 2.2
                     
Primary work activity after doctorate (percent)7                     
Research and development 31.2 7.7 70.3 10.5 41.5 58.1 42.6 41.2 32.2 18.2
Teaching 41.4 41.2 14.2 76.2 33.2 29.6 50.3 43.6 36.6 53.5
Administration 15.7 41.0 5.8 6.2 10.3 4.5 2.1 10.5 9.4 15.5
Professional services 9.8 8.8 8.7 4.0 12.7 5.6 3.9 3.7 19.8 10.4
Other 1.9 1.3 1.0 3.1 2.2 2.2 1.1 1.1 2.1 2.3
                     
Region of employment after doctorate (percent)                    
New England 5.9 4.4 6.0 6.9 6.3 7.0 4.7 6.9 6.2 3.7
Middle Atlantic 13.4 11.3 10.5 16.0 11.7 17.6 19.7 11.0 14.6 14.0
East North Central 12.8 13.6 11.3 14.3 12.7 10.0 14.5 13.0 12.8 13.7
West North Central 6.3 8.6 2.6 6.9 6.4 4.2 5.2 5.0 6.0 8.9
South Atlantic 18.0 22.3 13.0 16.3 17.3 16.5 18.1 16.5 19.2 18.9
East South Central 4.8 6.7 2.9 4.8 5.0 3.9 4.1 4.7 3.7 5.9
West South Central 8.5 9.7 8.6 8.4 8.8 7.1 5.7 10.8 6.6 9.1
Mountain 5.7 7.0 6.3 4.9 5.3 5.9 4.4 3.7 5.3 3.9
Pacific and insular 13.5 10.8 21.3 12.7 11.8 17.2 13.2 11.3 12.8 9.2
Foreign 11.1 5.5 17.4 8.6 14.7 10.4 10.4 17.0 12.7 12.7
Region unknown 0.1 0.1 0.2 # 0.1 0.1 # 0.1 0.1 #
# Rounds to zero.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
1 Includes mathematics, computer science, physics and astronomy, chemistry, and earth, atmospheric, and marine sciences.
2 Distribution by race/ethnicity based on U.S. citizens and those with permanent visas only.
3 Does not include Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders.
4 Percentages are based on only those doctorate recipients who indicated definite postdoctoral plans for study and who indicated the type of study.
5 Percentages are based on only those doctorate recipients who indicated definite postdoctoral plans for employment and who indicated the sector of employment.
6 Includes 2-year, 4-year, and foreign colleges and universities, medical schools, and elementary/secondary schools.
7 Percentages are based on only those doctorate recipients who indicated definite postdoctoral plans for employment and who indicated their primary work activity.
NOTE: The above classification of degrees by field differs somewhat from that in most publications of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The major differences are that history is included under humanities rather than social sciences and that psychology is included under social sciences. Includes Ph.D., Ed.D., and comparable degrees at the doctoral level. Excludes first-professional degrees, such as M.D., D.D.S., and D.V.M. The number of degrees also differs slightly from that reported in the NCES Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The above tabulation excludes some nonresearch doctoral degrees such as doctor's degrees in theology. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic origin. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: Doctorate Recipients From United States Universities, 2004, 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 April 2006.)