Table 324.80.

Statistical profile of persons receiving doctor's degrees, by field of study and selected characteristics: 2018-19 and 2019-20

Selected characteristic	All fields, 2018-19	Field of study, 2019-20
		All fields	Education	Engineering	Humanities	Life sciences1	Physical sciences and earth sciences	Mathemat- ics and computer sciences	Social sciences and psychology	Other fields
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Number of doctor's degrees conferred	55,703	55,283	4,716	10,476	4,939	12,561	6,247	4,392	8,946	3,006
Sex (percent)2
Male	54.1	54.1	30.9	75.2	50.9	44.2	66.9	75.1	40.1	47.1
Female	45.9	45.9	69.1	24.8	49.1	55.8	33.1	24.9	59.9	52.9
Race/ethnicity (percent)3
White	68.7	69.4	63.5	67.5	75.2	68.8	77.3	68.9	68.9	63.1
Black	7.1	7.1	16.1	4.3	4.4	6.4	2.1	3.2	8.1	14.4
Hispanic	8.1	8.3	9.5	6.9	9.0	8.2	6.6	5.8	9.9	7.4
Asian	9.7	9.3	5.2	16.0	5.3	11.0	8.4	15.2	6.7	9.3
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.1	0.4	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.6
Two or more races	3.2	3.3	2.5	3.1	2.7	3.6	3.7	4.4	3.6	2.2
Other and unknown4	2.8	2.3	2.7	2.1	3.0	1.8	1.8	2.4	2.4	3.0
Citizenship (percent)
U.S. citizen/permanent resident	63.3	62.4	82.6	39.7	79.3	69.3	59.9	39.5	73.8	57.8
Temporary visa holder	32.9	33.4	14.0	56.8	15.0	27.3	37.0	56.4	20.5	35.8
Unknown	3.7	4.2	3.4	3.5	5.7	3.4	3.1	4.1	5.7	6.4
Median age at doctorate (years)	31.5	31.5	38.5	30.2	34.2	31.1	29.6	30.4	32.3	34.8
Percent with bachelor's degree in same    field as doctorate	55.8	56.7	24.7	78.8	52.2	51.9	69.9	61.5	51.9	36.2
Median time lapse to doctorate (years)
Since bachelor's degree completion	8.7	8.7	15.0	7.5	11.1	8.3	7.0	7.9	9.3	11.3
Since starting graduate school	7.5	7.5	12.0	6.8	9.6	6.9	6.3	7.0	7.9	9.3
Postdoctoral plans (percent)5
Definite postdoctoral study6	26.5	26.8	7.1	24.1	12.2	37.9	40.9	22.4	30.6	8.2
Fellowship or research associateship	24.9	25.3	6.6	23.1	11.5	35.3	40.0	21.5	27.6	7.8
Other7	1.6	1.6	0.5	1.0	0.6	2.6	0.9	1.0	3.1	0.4
Definite postdoctoral employment8	42.5	43.1	65.4	44.3	47.3	28.7	28.8	54.0	44.9	68.9
Academe9	18.5	18.1	36.6	6.2	33.3	11.2	5.2	15.9	23.9	50.5
Government	3.2	3.4	2.7	3.9	1.5	3.1	2.9	2.3	5.7	4.5
Industry, business	15.5	16.3	4.8	32.1	3.5	11.3	19.3	33.4	9.1	9.4
Nonprofit organization	2.6	2.5	4.2	1.4	5.1	2.3	0.9	1.0	4.1	2.6
Other and unknown10	2.7	2.7	17.1	0.7	4.0	0.9	0.5	1.3	2.2	1.9
Seeking employment or study	27.7	27.1	24.5	29.8	36.8	28.3	28.3	21.9	22.1	20.4
Other and unknown11	3.3	3.0	3.0	1.8	3.8	5.1	1.9	1.7	2.4	2.4
Primary work activity after    doctorate (percent)12
Research and development	44.9	46.5	12.8	74.3	9.7	46.2	70.8	69.5	38.1	41.0
Teaching	30.3	28.8	40.2	7.8	67.5	25.2	12.7	20.2	33.7	38.9
Management or administration	10.4	10.1	33.0	3.6	10.6	9.1	3.7	2.0	8.5	10.9
Professional services	13.6	14.0	13.5	13.7	11.7	18.9	11.9	7.9	19.1	8.8
Other	0.8	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.9	0.5	0.6	0.5
Location after doctorate (percent)13
New England	8.8	8.6	4.5	8.0	8.1	10.9	9.9	6.9	9.1	6.9
Middle Atlantic	12.2	12.2	10.8	9.1	16.4	12.4	11.3	13.6	14.1	13.1
East North Central	11.3	10.9	14.1	10.8	11.7	10.6	9.7	9.4	10.5	11.9
West North Central	4.8	4.7	6.4	3.4	5.9	5.7	3.0	2.7	5.2	5.3
South Atlantic	15.8	15.8	19.3	12.6	14.6	17.8	14.3	12.1	17.9	17.6
East South Central	3.7	4.0	8.4	3.2	5.6	4.1	2.6	1.8	3.2	5.1
West South Central	7.3	7.5	11.3	7.9	9.2	6.6	6.1	5.3	6.9	10.0
Mountain	5.8	6.2	7.6	7.6	4.8	5.1	8.5	4.3	5.8	5.0
Pacific and insular	19.3	19.7	10.8	27.5	11.9	17.9	24.3	31.0	15.9	9.9
Foreign	10.1	9.7	6.5	9.4	10.9	8.2	9.9	11.8	10.6	14.0
Region unknown	0.1	#	#	0.1	#	#	#	0.1	#	#

#Rounds to zero.

1Includes agricultural sciences and natural resources; biological and biomedical sciences; and health sciences.

2Distribution based on respondents reporting sex data.

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

4Includes Pacific Islanders and persons whose race was not reported.

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

6Excludes doctorate recipients who indicated plans for another full-time degree program. Percentages are based on doctorate recipients reporting other definite postgraduation plans for study.

7Includes respondents who indicated definite postgraduation study plans for traineeship, internship/clinical residency, or other study.

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

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

10"Other" is mainly composed of elementary and secondary schools.

11Includes doctorate recipients who indicated that they did not plan to work or study, those who indicated some other type of postgraduation plans, and those who indicated definite plans for another full-time degree program.

12Percentages are based on only those doctorate recipients who indicated definite postgraduation plans for employment and who indicated their primary work activity.

13Percentages are based on only those doctorate recipients who indicated definite postgraduation plans and type of plans.

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: 2019 and 2020, 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 June 2022.)