Table 366.

Statistical profile of persons receiving doctor's degrees, by field of study and selected characteristics: 2008-09 and 2009-10

Selected characteristic	All fields, 2008-09	Field of study, 2009-10
		All fields	Educa- tion	Engi- neering	Human- ities	Life sciences	Physical sciences, mathematics, and computer science1		Social sciences and psychology	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	49,562	48,069	5,294	7,552	4,979	11,266	8,319	1,589	7,771	4,254	1,366
Sex (percent)2
Male	53.1	53.1	31.4	76.9	48.3	45.0	70.4	70.6	42.6	49.7	59.5
Female	46.8	46.8	68.6	23.1	51.6	55.0	29.5	29.4	57.4	50.1	40.3
Race/ethnicity (percent)3
White	74.6	74.5	71.0	68.5	79.0	74.0	77.6	78.1	75.7	73.9	69.8
Black	6.9	6.3	14.4	4.2	4.5	5.1	3.0	2.6	6.2	8.3	9.4
Hispanic	5.8	5.9	6.2	5.8	6.9	5.8	4.2	4.4	6.5	5.1	4.3
Asian	8.3	9.0	4.5	16.9	4.7	11.1	10.5	11.1	6.6	9.2	12.9
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.2	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.6	0.3	0.4
Two or more races	2.0	2.1	1.8	2.0	2.2	2.0	2.1	1.8	2.6	1.7	1.7
Other and unknown4	1.9	1.9	1.6	2.4	2.3	1.6	2.3	1.7	1.7	1.4	1.5
Citizenship (percent)
U.S. citizen and permanent resident	65.0	65.7	84.5	43.7	80.8	68.9	54.4	52.8	73.1	62.3	54.5
Temporary visa holder	29.7	28.3	9.1	51.0	13.0	25.8	40.3	43.0	19.9	29.1	36.4
Unknown	5.3	6.0	6.4	5.3	6.2	5.2	5.3	4.2	6.9	8.6	9.1
Median age at doctorate (years)	32.2	32.2	40.5	30.5	34.6	31.3	30.2	29.7	32.4	35.4	34.7
Percent with bachelor's degree in
same field as doctorate	53.5	53.5	27.9	76.6	52.8	48.6	64.3	67.8	52.2	32.5	33.0
Median time lapse to doctorate (years)
Since bachelor's degree completion	9.3	9.3	16.2	7.8	11.4	8.6	7.6	7.2	9.5	12.3	11.5
Since starting graduate school	7.7	7.7	12.5	6.9	9.3	6.8	6.7	6.3	7.7	9.5	8.9
Postdoctoral plans (percent)5
Definite postdoctoral study6	26.4	29.1	4.9	29.4	9.4	46.0	43.8	36.8	24.7	5.6	3.7
Fellowship	14.1	15.2	2.4	9.4	7.8	27.3	18.0	19.6	17.2	3.4	1.7
Research associateship	11.2	12.9	1.7	19.4	1.2	17.2	24.9	16.2	5.8	2.0	1.9
Other7	1.1	1.0	0.7	0.6	0.4	1.5	0.9	1.0	1.8	0.2	0.2
Definite postdoctoral employment8	42.3	38.1	64.7	35.2	49.1	19.3	27.5	34.3	46.0	66.3	74.7
Postsecondary educational institution9	22.6	20.4	35.1	7.2	40.2	9.6	10.2	20.2	28.2	49.7	58.8
Government	3.1	3.5	2.5	4.5	1.1	2.8	2.7	2.1	6.8	3.6	2.6
Industry, business	10.6	8.6	2.9	21.6	2.3	4.6	13.0	9.4	5.7	6.4	8.7
Nonprofit organization	2.0	2.0	2.9	1.2	2.6	1.7	0.7	1.0	3.0	3.8	1.9
Other10 and unknown	3.8	3.5	21.2	0.9	2.9	0.7	0.9	1.6	2.3	2.9	2.8
Seeking employment or study	27.3	28.9	26.9	32.3	38.4	27.9	26.2	25.9	26.7	25.3	18.9
Other/unknown	4.0	3.8	3.5	3.0	3.2	6.9	2.5	2.9	2.6	2.9	2.6
Primary work activity after doctorate (percent)11
Research and development	37.7	36.8	9.9	71.6	12.4	43.5	60.8	45.3	35.1	31.3	41.9
Teaching	36.5	38.5	42.9	9.9	75.3	30.0	25.2	47.5	40.0	48.3	42.0
Management or administration	14.5	13.6	37.7	7.0	6.4	11.5	4.5	1.1	8.7	13.3	11.8
Professional services	9.9	9.8	8.7	9.6	4.5	13.9	7.8	5.1	15.0	6.2	3.7
Other	1.4	1.3	0.9	1.8	1.3	1.1	1.6	1.1	1.3	1.0	0.5
Employment location after doctorate (percent)12
New England	8.1	8.2	4.4	7.7	9.0	9.9	8.6	7.4	8.8	5.6	5.4
Middle Atlantic	13.4	13.0	11.2	11.0	16.5	12.6	13.2	16.3	13.6	14.5	13.5
East North Central	11.7	12.3	14.7	12.0	13.9	11.1	11.3	13.6	12.3	14.2	13.4
West North Central	5.7	5.3	7.7	3.2	6.2	6.1	4.2	5.7	5.1	6.0	5.7
South Atlantic	16.7	16.9	19.7	14.8	14.5	18.9	13.8	14.5	18.9	16.7	17.6
East South Central	3.7	3.7	7.6	2.6	4.5	3.6	2.3	2.1	2.8	4.5	3.9
West South Central	7.9	7.5	10.2	7.8	8.3	6.7	6.5	6.3	6.4	9.1	9.9
Mountain	5.6	5.1	7.1	6.3	4.0	4.4	5.5	4.3	4.4	4.0	3.7
Pacific and insular	16.7	16.0	10.6	20.2	12.7	17.4	20.3	13.2	13.2	9.2	8.5
Foreign	9.7	10.9	5.3	13.4	9.4	7.8	13.3	15.9	13.8	14.4	17.2
Region unknown	0.1	0.1	‡	0.1	0.1	0.1	‡	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.0

‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).

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 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, and medical schools.

10 Other is mainly composed of elementary and secondary schools.

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

12 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 by 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 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: 2010, 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 2012.)