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Table 39. Graduate education-related debt of doctorate recipients, by broad field of study: 2005–15

Debt level and broad field of study 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
All doctorate recipients 38,780 41,000 42,944 44,070 45,130 43,775 44,772 46,490 46,452 46,828 48,809
No debt 26,018 27,888 27,856 28,227 28,442 28,105 28,663 29,297 28,885 29,336 30,915
$10,000 or less 2,933 3,120 3,582 3,929 3,915 3,510 3,697 4,030 3,931 3,844 4,188
$10,001–$30,000 3,582 3,462 4,261 4,461 4,582 4,238 4,314 4,566 4,609 4,437 4,471
$30,001 or more 6,247 6,530 7,245 7,453 8,191 7,922 8,098 8,597 9,027 9,211 9,235
Life sciencesa 8,448 8,813 9,748 10,163 10,505 10,443 10,669 11,115 10,870 10,919 11,314
No debt 6,077 6,406 6,771 7,016 7,158 7,268 7,451 7,658 7,320 7,427 7,814
$10,000 or less 631 650 816 891 930 849 853 943 904 860 940
$10,001–$30,000 762 709 928 962 1,019 944 909 1,001 1,016 998 948
$30,001 or more 978 1,048 1,233 1,294 1,398 1,382 1,456 1,513 1,630 1,634 1,612
Physical sciences and earth sciences 3,986 4,267 4,462 4,476 4,749 4,623 4,900 5,008 5,005 5,204 5,333
No debt 3,088 3,315 3,361 3,372 3,591 3,575 3,734 3,833 3,831 4,024 4,169
$10,000 or less 302 346 426 415 434 384 401 426 421 404 460
$10,001–$30,000 299 286 325 352 348 333 353 377 380 365 324
$30,001 or more 297 320 350 337 376 331 412 372 373 411 380
Mathematics and computer sciences 2,096 2,545 2,738 2,909 2,911 2,955 2,999 3,149 3,273 3,416 3,408
No debt 1,712 2,088 2,206 2,335 2,335 2,358 2,381 2,505 2,633 2,686 2,747
$10,000 or less 137 161 176 209 193 174 217 202 204 238 222
$10,001–$30,000 107 124 170 155 164 171 178 187 182 189 175
$30,001 or more 140 172 186 210 219 252 223 255 254 303 264
Psychology and social sciences 6,362 6,446 6,438 6,797 7,103 7,047 7,361 7,598 7,442 7,437 7,862
No debt 3,429 3,518 3,203 3,352 3,444 3,415 3,523 3,560 3,446 3,432 3,642
$10,000 or less 459 452 520 586 603 556 630 657 615 609 669
$10,001–$30,000 696 691 762 886 865 866 882 984 880 860 946
$30,001 or more 1,778 1,785 1,953 1,973 2,191 2,210 2,326 2,397 2,501 2,536 2,605
Engineering 5,749 6,455 6,918 7,130 7,034 6,985 7,362 7,747 7,964 8,447 8,841
No debt 4,484 5,096 5,349 5,416 5,340 5,347 5,654 5,907 5,981 6,426 6,797
$10,000 or less 433 532 540 643 609 581 635 692 706 748 775
$10,001–$30,000 358 381 491 526 550 528 504 549 615 617 615
$30,001 or more 474 446 538 545 535 529 569 599 662 656 654
Education 5,463 5,488 5,712 5,867 5,896 4,749 4,252 4,397 4,300 4,079 4,502
No debt 3,397 3,398 3,222 3,163 2,967 2,445 2,152 2,115 1,898 1,725 1,943
$10,000 or less 406 412 468 520 488 365 312 373 361 347 397
$10,001–$30,000 536 506 650 711 727 556 542 534 574 502 557
$30,001 or more 1,124 1,172 1,372 1,473 1,714 1,383 1,246 1,375 1,467 1,505 1,605
Humanities and arts 4,605 4,756 4,512 4,269 4,449 4,567 4,809 5,060 4,974 4,772 4,939
No debt 2,538 2,698 2,355 2,218 2,264 2,383 2,459 2,451 2,431 2,325 2,437
$10,000 or less 429 380 450 483 472 434 477 539 525 450 542
$10,001–$30,000 609 576 645 577 612 569 657 671 667 630 632
$30,001 or more 1,029 1,102 1,062 991 1,101 1,181 1,216 1,399 1,351 1,367 1,328
Otherb 2,071 2,230 2,416 2,459 2,483 2,406 2,420 2,416 2,624 2,554 2,610
No debt 1,293 1,369 1,389 1,355 1,343 1,314 1,309 1,268 1,345 1,291 1,366
$10,000 or less 136 187 186 182 186 167 172 198 195 188 183
$10,001–$30,000 215 189 290 292 297 271 289 263 295 276 274
$30,001 or more 427 485 551 630 657 654 650 687 789 799 787
a Includes agricultural sciences and natural resources; biological and biomedical sciences; and health sciences.
b Non-science and engineering fields not shown separately.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates.