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Table 34. Highest educational attainment of either parent of doctorate recipients: Selected years, 1985–2015
(Percent)

Year High school or less Some collegea Bachelor's degree Advanced degree
1985 37.9 14.7 22.6 24.8
1990 32.9 15.2 20.9 31.0
1995 28.7 15.1 21.6 34.7
2000 25.2 13.3 22.4 39.2
2005 22.2 13.5 24.7 39.2
2010 19.1 13.0 25.3 42.0
2015 18.0 12.3 26.5 42.7
a Includes those who attended college but did not earn a bachelor's.
NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding and because 175 doctorate recipients (0.5%) reported "not applicable/unknown" for both father's and mother's education in 2005, 245 doctorate recipients (0.6%) reported "not applicable/unknown" for both father's and mother's education in 2010, and 257 doctorate recipients (0.5%) reported "not applicable/unknown" for both father's and mother's education in 2015.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates.