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Table 56. Statistical profile of doctorate recipients in life sciences fields, by sex and field of study: 2015

Characteristic All life sciences fields Agricultural sciences and natural resources Biological and biomedical sciences Health sciences
All doctorate recipients (number)a 12,520 1,439 8,801 2,280
Sex (%)
Male 44.6 52.0 46.7 31.5
Female 55.4 48.0 53.3 68.5
Unknown * 0.0 * 0.0
Citizenship (%)
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 67.8 53.8 68.7 73.1
Temporary visa holder 26.1 38.8 25.7 19.4
Unknown 6.2 7.4 5.6 7.5
Marital status (%)
Never married 31.9 27.0 35.0 22.9
Married 45.3 51.8 42.4 52.4
Marriage-like relationship 9.4 6.8 10.8 5.4
Separated, divorced, widowed 3.1 3.1 2.3 6.1
Unknown 10.4 11.3 9.5 13.2
Bachelor's in same field as doctorate (%)b 49.4 42.2 52.6 41.4
Master's earned (%) 48.8 74.4 37.9 75.0
Age at doctorate (median years) 30.9 32.2 30.3 35.3
Time to doctorate (median years)
From bachelor's 8.2 9.1 7.7 11.7
From graduate school start 6.7 7.3 6.5 9.2
From doctoral program startc 5.7 5.2 5.7 5.3
Male doctorate recipients (number) 5,578 748 4,112 718
Citizenship (%)
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 64.6 51.7 67.5 61.6
Temporary visa holder 29.1 41.3 26.7 29.8
Unknown 6.3 7.0 5.8 8.6
Marital status (%)
Never married 32.1 25.0 34.8 23.7
Married 46.1 56.4 43.2 51.8
Marriage-like relationship 9.1 5.7 10.4 5.7
Separated, divorced, widowed 2.1 2.0 1.9 3.2
Unknown 10.6 10.8 9.7 15.6
Bachelor's in same field as doctorate (%)b 47.6 46.1 49.8 36.2
Master's earned (%) 47.1 75.7 38.5 66.6
Age at doctorate (median years) 31.0 32.5 30.6 33.2
Time to doctorate (median years)
From bachelor's 8.0 9.2 7.9 9.5
From graduate school start 6.7 7.3 6.7 7.7
From doctoral program startc 5.6 5.2 5.7 5.2
Female doctorate recipients (number) 6,941 691 4,688 1,562
Citizenship (%)
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 70.3 56.0 69.7 78.4
Temporary visa holder 23.6 36.0 24.8 14.7
Unknown 6.1 8.0 5.5 6.9
Marital status (%)
Never married 31.8 29.2 35.2 22.5
Married 44.6 46.9 41.6 52.6
Marriage-like relationship 9.5 8.0 11.2 5.2
Separated, divorced, widowed 3.8 4.2 2.6 7.4
Unknown 10.2 11.7 9.3 12.2
Bachelor's in same field as doctorate (%)b 50.8 37.9 55.1 43.8
Master's earned (%) 50.3 73.1 37.3 78.9
Age at doctorate (median years) 30.8 31.7 30.1 36.8
Time to doctorate (median years)
From bachelor's 8.3 9.0 7.6 13.0
From graduate school start 6.9 7.3 6.3 10.0
From doctoral program startc 5.7 5.2 5.7 5.6