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Table 18. Doctorate recipients, by citizenship status and major field of study: 2005–15

Citizenship status and major field of study 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 % change 2005–15
All doctorate recipientsa 43,385 45,621 48,132 48,777 49,553 48,031 48,914 50,951 52,707 54,003 55,006 26.8
Life sciences 9,310 9,703 10,702 11,086 11,403 11,319 11,536 11,965 12,209 12,484 12,520 34.5
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 1,160 1,146 1,321 1,198 1,283 1,100 1,206 1,255 1,324 1,338 1,439 24.1
Biological and biomedical sciences 6,367 6,652 7,238 7,797 8,025 8,046 8,153 8,323 8,356 8,867 8,801 38.2
Health sciences 1,783 1,905 2,143 2,091 2,095 2,173 2,177 2,387 2,529 2,279 2,280 27.9
Physical sciences and earth sciences 4,359 4,686 4,956 4,946 5,161 4,995 5,271 5,420 5,584 5,912 5,924 35.9
Chemistry 2,126 2,364 2,318 2,246 2,392 2,304 2,432 2,416 2,484 2,673 2,675 25.8
Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 714 757 875 865 877 862 852 941 989 1,099 1,057 48.0
Physics and astronomy 1,519 1,565 1,763 1,835 1,892 1,829 1,987 2,063 2,111 2,140 2,192 44.3
Mathematics and computer sciences 2,334 2,778 3,042 3,187 3,163 3,223 3,273 3,496 3,660 3,863 3,825 63.9
Computer and information sciences 1,129 1,453 1,654 1,787 1,610 1,633 1,667 1,793 1,843 1,989 2,005 77.6
Mathematics and statistics 1,205 1,325 1,388 1,400 1,553 1,590 1,606 1,703 1,817 1,874 1,820 51.0
Psychology and social sciences 7,149 7,231 7,309 7,635 7,945 7,883 8,222 8,501 8,580 8,752 9,095 27.2
Psychology 3,322 3,260 3,276 3,357 3,472 3,421 3,577 3,601 3,592 3,724 3,782 13.8
Anthropology 456 472 512 483 503 507 553 547 550 524 493 8.1
Economics 1,061 1,029 1,004 1,091 1,118 1,073 1,121 1,243 1,183 1,196 1,256 18.4
Political science and government 618 616 588 628 682 728 685 724 803 777 859 39.0
Sociology 536 579 576 601 662 639 657 633 636 679 745 39.0
Other social sciences 1,156 1,275 1,353 1,475 1,508 1,515 1,629 1,753 1,816 1,852 1,960 69.6
Engineering 6,426 7,186 7,749 7,864 7,642 7,578 8,032 8,470 9,001 9,633 9,897 54.0
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 219 238 267 266 297 252 262 307 348 386 361 64.8
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 417 525 637 762 834 824 898 943 1,039 1,046 1,129 170.7
Chemical engineering 774 799 817 873 807 822 823 840 824 973 1,002 29.5
Civil engineering 622 655 703 713 707 643 634 495 542 622 633 1.8
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 1,547 1,786 1,967 1,888 1,693 1,778 1,886 1,939 1,897 1,953 2,004 29.5
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 221 234 279 280 251 215 258 226 241 298 244 10.4
Materials science engineering 493 583 646 636 625 670 662 743 815 833 874 77.3
Mechanical engineering 892 1,045 1,071 1,082 1,095 983 1,084 1,220 1,277 1,331 1,467 64.5
Other engineering 1,241 1,321 1,362 1,364 1,333 1,391 1,525 1,757 2,018 2,191 2,183 75.9
Education 6,227 6,122 6,448 6,561 6,528 5,288 4,670 4,803 4,935 4,791 5,117 -17.8
Education administration 2,167 2,051 2,161 2,238 2,146 1,439 924 1,057 966 893 922 -57.5
Education research 2,674 2,751 2,671 2,640 2,663 2,443 2,438 2,569 2,703 2,560 2,783 4.1
Teacher education 263 250 297 274 332 245 204 156 109 152 155 -41.1
Teaching fields 663 707 873 912 906 800 805 757 892 917 957 44.3
Other education 460 363 446 497 481 361 299 264 265 269 300 -34.8
Humanities and arts 5,187 5,333 5,085 4,736 4,904 5,016 5,227 5,562 5,715 5,526 5,600 8.0
Foreign languages and literature 607 615 607 627 598 601 644 684 701 674 656 8.1
History 924 973 937 971 1,045 1,005 1,065 1,087 1,148 1,186 1,145 23.9
Letters 1,389 1,457 1,340 1,420 1,413 1,516 1,513 1,638 1,606 1,552 1,590 14.5
Other humanities and arts 2,267 2,288 2,201 1,718 1,848 1,894 2,005 2,153 2,260 2,114 2,209 -2.6
Otherb 2,393 2,582 2,841 2,762 2,807 2,729 2,683 2,734 3,023 3,042 3,028 26.5
Business management and administration 1,171 1,311 1,506 1,421 1,405 1,366 1,327 1,404 1,551 1,583 1,588 35.6
Communication 488 510 560 557 627 638 650 595 645 663 668 36.9
Non-S&E fields not elsewhere classified 733 757 772 784 775 725 706 735 827 796 772 5.3
Unknown field 1 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -100.0
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 27,945 29,028 29,501 30,844 32,327 31,604 31,727 32,983 33,966 34,010 35,117 25.7
Life sciences 6,282 6,506 7,009 7,279 7,803 7,812 7,892 8,184 8,354 8,392 8,484 35.1
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 599 631 686 647 712 618 697 675 737 754 774 29.2
Biological and biomedical sciences 4,392 4,504 4,833 5,141 5,528 5,585 5,614 5,790 5,770 5,995 6,043 37.6
Health sciences 1,291 1,371 1,490 1,491 1,563 1,609 1,581 1,719 1,847 1,643 1,667 29.1
Physical sciences and earth sciences 2,344 2,479 2,567 2,674 2,914 2,860 3,048 3,148 3,247 3,301 3,481 48.5
Chemistry 1,212 1,276 1,190 1,231 1,391 1,323 1,407 1,385 1,443 1,447 1,574 29.9
Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 444 473 551 536 559 573 555 623 654 722 704 58.6
Physics and astronomy 688 730 826 907 964 964 1,086 1,140 1,150 1,132 1,203 74.9
Mathematics and computer sciences 1,011 1,207 1,241 1,370 1,506 1,599 1,603 1,627 1,631 1,738 1,661 64.3
Computer and information sciences 468 588 639 697 734 761 790 785 758 807 773 65.2
Mathematics and statistics 543 619 602 673 772 838 813 842 873 931 888 63.5
Psychology and social sciences 5,252 5,381 5,272 5,588 5,714 5,803 6,071 6,320 6,464 6,392 6,698 27.5
Psychology 2,894 2,825 2,780 2,892 2,908 2,874 3,063 3,047 3,067 3,042 3,107 7.4
Anthropology 358 404 410 400 403 384 455 445 457 406 397 10.9
Economics 344 356 327 405 418 459 428 517 505 470 552 60.5
Political science and government 459 459 425 441 483 522 488 536 593 574 621 35.3
Sociology 417 472 440 463 506 519 511 512 516 545 598 43.4
Other social sciences 780 865 890 987 996 1,045 1,126 1,263 1,326 1,355 1,423 82.4
Engineering 2,288 2,500 2,546 2,958 3,166 3,332 3,350 3,579 3,767 4,066 4,223 84.6
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 98 90 118 122 160 141 145 181 194 246 216 120.4
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 229 306 342 469 513 516 564 602 637 674 725 216.6
Chemical engineering 306 359 310 396 411 433 393 377 365 445 488 59.5
Civil engineering 192 195 221 207 262 231 216 159 182 229 230 19.8
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 480 478 492 558 578 627 617 614 603 575 632 31.7
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 75 69 73 90 70 62 100 75 77 91 65 -13.3
Materials science engineering 177 216 251 266 254 313 278 350 349 363 382 115.8
Mechanical engineering 301 353 332 371 421 403 440 505 547 558 620 106.0
Other engineering 430 434 407 479 497 606 597 716 813 885 865 101.2
Education 5,255 5,171 5,358 5,584 5,584 4,477 3,878 4,040 4,118 3,934 4,209 -19.9
Education administration 1,950 1,861 1,927 2,025 1,979 1,296 833 936 844 763 798 -59.1
Education research 2,263 2,314 2,178 2,207 2,230 2,059 1,989 2,143 2,216 2,103 2,282 0.8
Teacher education 211 198 238 236 260 203 156 134 90 132 132 -37.4
Teaching fields 516 531 675 721 743 647 679 613 741 733 765 48.3
Other education 315 267 340 395 372 272 221 214 227 203 232 -26.3
Humanities and arts 4,036 4,240 3,894 3,744 3,893 4,030 4,192 4,435 4,535 4,362 4,480 11.0
Foreign languages and literature 400 413 402 389 385 389 426 472 467 469 463 15.8
History 779 845 791 802 880 843 893 890 947 968 942 20.9
Letters 1,180 1,234 1,086 1,199 1,169 1,287 1,289 1,383 1,354 1,305 1,360 15.3
Other humanities and arts 1,677 1,748 1,615 1,354 1,459 1,511 1,584 1,690 1,767 1,620 1,715 2.3
Otherb 1,477 1,544 1,614 1,647 1,747 1,691 1,693 1,650 1,850 1,825 1,881 27.4
Business management and administration 631 673 743 703 780 746 755 736 831 849 893 41.5
Communication 334 360 382 402 443 468 473 426 471 473 480 43.7
Non-S&E fields not elsewhere classified 512 511 489 542 524 477 465 488 548 503 508 -0.8
Unknown field 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Temporary visa holder 12,832 14,198 15,123 15,261 14,737 13,636 14,235 14,784 15,674 15,842 16,155 25.9
Life sciences 2,553 2,723 3,039 3,252 3,097 2,926 3,029 3,197 3,177 3,169 3,262 27.8
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 484 463 538 492 509 412 472 529 516 504 558 15.3
Biological and biomedical sciences 1,681 1,857 2,030 2,302 2,190 2,084 2,124 2,166 2,154 2,229 2,261 34.5
Health sciences 388 403 471 458 398 430 433 502 507 436 443 14.2
Physical sciences and earth sciences 1,788 1,976 2,059 2,027 2,029 1,884 1,955 1,959 2,032 2,196 2,104 17.7
Chemistry 801 956 951 879 890 847 907 880 888 1,000 933 16.5
Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 234 244 283 293 295 251 246 281 290 326 307 31.2
Physics and astronomy 753 776 825 855 844 786 802 798 854 870 864 14.7
Mathematics and computer sciences 1,200 1,462 1,591 1,656 1,504 1,446 1,449 1,617 1,833 1,851 1,924 60.3
Computer and information sciences 598 797 897 1,005 791 760 759 870 990 1,030 1,096 83.3
Mathematics and statistics 602 665 694 651 713 686 690 747 843 821 828 37.5
Psychology and social sciences 1,464 1,485 1,482 1,618 1,720 1,553 1,588 1,601 1,634 1,549 1,625 11.0
Psychology 209 247 233 249 258 270 238 254 282 249 260 24.4
Anthropology 67 43 68 63 81 88 73 74 76 86 69 3.0
Economics 668 612 600 621 656 556 623 656 615 627 607 -9.1
Political science and government 130 135 127 160 178 162 150 150 163 145 178 36.9
Sociology 84 96 95 119 139 95 113 85 92 90 101 20.2
Other social sciences 306 352 359 406 408 382 391 382 406 352 410 34.0
Engineering 3,756 4,295 4,591 4,492 4,221 3,866 4,164 4,355 4,759 4,963 5,122 36.4
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 115 117 118 127 126 99 100 107 138 124 132 14.8
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 167 200 257 265 280 290 291 292 352 318 349 109.0
Chemical engineering 408 400 449 439 383 359 379 414 409 482 461 13.0
Civil engineering 402 416 437 468 419 378 373 303 333 340 360 -10.4
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 983 1,222 1,298 1,219 1,050 1,040 1,109 1,181 1,160 1,217 1,243 26.4
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 128 144 171 175 175 142 152 140 156 185 161 25.8
Materials science engineering 289 335 361 339 352 326 350 334 435 420 450 55.7
Mechanical engineering 543 649 671 651 646 519 568 631 664 686 784 44.4
Other engineering 721 812 829 809 790 713 842 953 1,112 1,191 1,182 63.9
Education 536 611 601 567 567 478 497 460 515 478 539 0.6
Education administration 78 74 63 61 47 35 41 46 44 39 35 -55.1
Education research 283 335 321 303 315 277 294 278 319 265 327 15.5
Teacher education 29 32 27 27 32 19 26 13 17 14 13 -55.2
Teaching fields 109 123 151 136 119 112 96 101 116 134 145 33.0
Other education 37 47 39 40 54 35 40 22 19 26 19 -48.6
Humanities and arts 806 796 797 723 729 667 767 761 779 731 713 -11.5
Foreign languages and literature 173 175 170 190 183 179 180 160 179 142 151 -12.7
History 102 97 101 122 131 113 131 136 134 147 131 28.4
Letters 151 160 153 145 158 134 157 141 150 140 122 -19.2
Other humanities and arts 380 364 373 266 257 241 299 324 316 302 309 -18.7
Otherb 729 850 963 926 870 816 786 834 945 905 866 18.8
Business management and administration 449 537 634 619 530 499 477 542 600 589 545 21.4
Communication 128 125 135 116 145 131 132 107 133 137 137 7.0
Non-S&E fields not elsewhere classified 152 188 194 191 195 186 177 185 212 179 184 21.1
Unknown field 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
- = no value possible; percent change could not be calculated because there were no doctorate recipients with unknown field in 2005.
S&E = science and engineering.
a Includes respondents who did not report citizenship status.
b Non-science and engineering fields.
NOTE: See table A-6 in the technical notes for a listing of major fields and their constituent subfields.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates.