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Table 42. Postgraduation commitment of doctorate recipients, by broad field of study: Selected years, 1995–2015

Commitment status All fields Life sciencesa Physical sciences and earth sciences Mathematics and computer sciences Psychology and social sciences Engineering Education Humanities and arts Otherb
All doctorate recipients (number)
1995 41,747 7,998 4,540 2,187 6,930 6,008 6,648 5,040 2,396
2000 41,369 8,622 4,071 1,910 7,452 5,323 6,442 5,462 2,087
2005 43,385 9,310 4,359 2,334 7,149 6,426 6,227 5,187 2,393
2010 48,031 11,319 4,995 3,223 7,883 7,578 5,288 5,016 2,729
2015 55,006 12,520 5,924 3,825 9,095 9,897 5,117 5,600 3,028
All responses to postgraduation commitment
1995 37,977 7,314 4,148 2,007 6,303 5,385 5,998 4,649 2,173
2000 37,743 8,008 3,717 1,759 6,718 4,830 5,795 5,035 1,881
2005 38,913 8,500 3,992 2,099 6,372 5,774 5,477 4,617 2,082
2010 43,833 10,479 4,602 2,940 7,115 6,963 4,745 4,573 2,416
2015 49,046 11,392 5,354 3,405 7,899 8,885 4,533 4,970 2,608
Definite commitment for employment or postdoctoral study (%)c
1995 65.8 70.3 64.8 63.5 65.0 57.0 72.9 59.1 73.1
2000 71.2 72.4 73.6 76.0 69.8 69.9 75.2 61.7 78.1
2005 70.5 70.6 71.7 74.6 73.0 64.6 73.9 64.5 75.9
2010 68.1 65.9 72.0 71.5 71.4 65.4 70.7 60.1 73.8
2015 62.0 58.6 61.1 69.8 68.5 58.2 64.4 54.8 70.9
No definite commitment for employment or postdoctoral study (%)c,d
1995 34.2 29.7 35.2 36.5 35.0 43.0 27.1 40.9 26.9
2000 28.8 27.6 26.4 24.0 30.2 30.1 24.8 38.3 21.9
2005 29.5 29.4 28.3 25.4 27.0 35.4 26.1 35.5 24.1
2010 31.9 34.1 28.0 28.5 28.6 34.6 29.3 39.9 26.2
2015 38.0 41.4 38.9 30.2 31.5 41.8 35.6 45.2 29.1
a Includes agricultural sciences and natural resources; biological and biomedical sciences; and health sciences.
b Non-science and engineering fields not shown separately.
c Percentages based on number responding to the survey item on postgraduation commitment.
d Includes respondents who indicated "other" in all years, respondents who indicated "do not plan to work or study" in 2004 and later years, and respondents who indicated definite plans for "other full-time degree program" in 2007 and later years.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates.