Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 324.10. Doctor's degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by field of study: Selected years, 1970-71 through 2016-17
Field of study 1970-71 1975-76 1980-81 1985-86 1990-91 1995-96 2000-01 2005-06 2006-07 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Total 64,998 91,007 98,016 100,280 105,547 115,507 119,585 138,056 144,694 154,564 158,590 163,827 170,217 175,026 177,587 178,548 178,134 181,352
Agriculture and natural resources 1,086 928 1,067 1,158 1,185 1,259 1,127 1,194 1,272 1,328 1,149 1,246 1,333 1,411 1,407 1,561 1,526 1,561
Architecture and related services 36 82 93 73 135 141 153 201 178 212 210 205 255 247 247 272 245 291
Area, ethnic, cultural, gender, and group studies 143 186 161 156 159 183 216 226 233 239 253 278 302 291 336 312 323 349
Biological and biomedical sciences 3,603 3,347 3,640 3,405 4,152 5,250 5,225 6,162 6,764 7,499 7,672 7,693 7,935 7,939 8,302 8,053 7,939 8,087
Business 774 906 808 923 1,185 1,366 1,180 1,711 2,029 2,123 2,249 2,286 2,538 2,828 3,039 3,116 3,325 3,329
                                     
Communication, journalism, and related programs 145 196 171 212 259 338 368 461 479 533 570 577 563 612 611 644 629 615
Communications technologies 0 8 11 6 13 7 2 3 1 2 3 1 4 0 3 0 4 0
Computer and information sciences 128 244 252 344 676 869 768 1,416 1,595 1,580 1,599 1,588 1,698 1,834 1,982 1,998 1,989 1,982
Education 6,041 7,202 7,279 6,610 6,189 6,246 6,284 7,584 8,261 9,028 9,237 9,642 10,118 10,572 10,929 11,772 11,838 12,687
Engineering 3,687 2,872 2,598 3,444 5,316 6,304 5,485 7,243 7,867 7,744 7,706 8,369 8,722 9,356 10,010 10,239 10,265 10,371
                                     
Engineering technologies 1 2 10 12 14 50 62 75 61 59 67 56 134 111 107 123 133 152
English language and literature/letters 1,554 1,514 1,040 895 1,056 1,395 1,330 1,254 1,178 1,271 1,334 1,344 1,427 1,377 1,393 1,418 1,402 1,347
Family and consumer sciences/human sciences 123 178 247 307 229 375 354 340 337 333 296 320 325 351 335 335 374 317
Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics 1,084 1,245 931 768 889 1,020 1,078 1,074 1,059 1,111 1,091 1,158 1,231 1,304 1,230 1,243 1,278 1,168
Health professions and related programs 15,988 25,267 29,595 31,922 29,842 32,678 39,019 45,677 48,945 54,846 57,750 60,221 62,097 64,192 67,447 71,004 73,687 77,693
                                     
Homeland security, law enforcement, and
    firefighting
1 9 21 21 28 38 44 80 85 97 106 131 117 147 152 193 205 177
Legal professions and studies 17,441 32,369 36,391 35,898 38,035 39,919 38,190 43,569 43,628 44,304 44,627 44,853 46,836 47,246 44,169 40,329 37,034 35,123
Liberal arts and sciences, general studies,
    and humanities
32 162 121 90 70 75 102 84 77 67 96 95 93 98 90 96 105 95
Library science 39 71 71 62 56 53 58 44 52 35 64 50 60 50 52 44 54 42
Mathematics and statistics 1,199 856 728 742 978 1,158 997 1,293 1,351 1,535 1,596 1,586 1,669 1,823 1,863 1,801 1,855 1,925
                                     
Multi/interdisciplinary studies 101 156 236 352 306 549 512 600 683 731 631 660 727 730 769 840 849 854
Parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies 2 15 42 39 28 104 177 194 218 285 266 257 288 295 317 311 331 319
Philosophy and religious studies 555 556 411 480 464 550 600 578 637 686 667 804 778 794 698 762 750 741
Physical sciences and science technologies 4,324 3,388 3,105 3,521 4,248 4,589 3,968 4,642 5,041 5,237 5,065 5,295 5,370 5,514 5,806 5,823 6,057 6,027
Psychology 2,144 3,157 3,576 3,593 3,932 4,141 5,091 4,921 5,156 5,477 5,540 5,851 5,936 6,326 6,634 6,583 6,540 6,702
                                     
Public administration and social services 174 292 362 382 430 499 574 704 726 812 838 851 890 979 1,047 1,123 1,066 1,116
Social sciences and history 3,660 4,157 3,122 2,955 3,012 3,760 3,930 3,914 3,844 4,234 4,238 4,390 4,597 4,610 4,724 4,828 4,706 4,706
Theology and religious vocations 312 1,022 1,273 1,185 1,076 1,517 1,461 1,429 1,573 1,587 2,071 2,374 2,446 2,174 2,103 1,927 1,808 1,791
Transportation and materials moving 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 5 8 11
Visual and performing arts 621 620 654 722 838 1,067 1,167 1,383 1,364 1,569 1,599 1,646 1,728 1,814 1,778 1,793 1,809 1,774
Not classified by field of study 0 0 0 0 747 7 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NOTE: Data through 1990-91 are for institutions of higher education, while later data are for postsecondary institutions that participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Includes Ph.D., Ed.D., and comparable degrees at the doctoral level, as well as such degrees as M.D., D.D.S., and law degrees that were classified as first-professional degrees prior to 2010-11. The new Classification of Instructional Programs was initiated in 2009-10. The figures for earlier years have been reclassified when necessary to make them conform to the new taxonomy. To facilitate trend comparisons, certain aggregations have been made of the degree fields as reported in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS): "Agriculture and natural resources" includes Agriculture, agriculture operations, and related sciences and Natural resources and conservation; "Business" includes Business, management, marketing, and related support services and Personal and culinary services; and "Engineering technologies" includes Engineering technologies and engineering-related fields, Construction trades, and Mechanic and repair technologies/technicians. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), "Degrees and Other Formal Awards Conferred" surveys, 1970-71 through 1985-86; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Completions Survey" (IPEDS-C:91-99); and IPEDS Fall 2000 through Fall 2017, Completions component. (This table was prepared August 2018.)

2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest