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Table 63. Statistical profile of postgraduation plans of doctorate recipients in psychology and social sciences fields, by sex and field of study: 2015

Characteristic All psychology and social sciences fields Psychology Anthropology Economics Political science and government Sociology Other social sciences
All doctorate recipients (number)a 9,095 3,782 493 1,256 859 745 1,960
Postgraduation status (number)b
Definite postgraduation study 1,854 1,214 79 113 120 119 209
Definite employment 3,095 885 113 716 334 301 746
Seeking employment or study 2,239 772 213 191 235 204 624
Otherc 252 93 14 29 25 20 71
Definite postgraduation study (%)d
Postdoc fellowship 73.7 79.1 68.4 56.6 77.5 65.5 56.0
Postdoc research associateship 22.1 15.7 30.4 41.6 20.0 32.8 40.7
Other or unknowne 4.2 5.2 1.3 1.8 2.5 1.7 3.3
Definite employment (%)f
Academe 61.0 46.4 72.6 58.1 76.3 78.1 65.4
Government 12.2 10.8 8.8 15.6 12.0 7.0 13.3
Industry or businessg 15.1 25.2 6.2 17.9 5.1 6.0 9.8
Nonprofit organization 8.5 12.0 9.7 5.6 5.4 7.3 9.0
Other or unknownh 3.2 5.5 2.7 2.8 1.2 1.7 2.5
Primary activityi
R&D 37.8 25.5 22.2 63.5 33.7 36.3 31.9
Teaching 37.8 30.8 58.3 24.6 52.6 49.7 43.9
Management or administration 9.0 7.8 11.1 2.0 10.2 9.6 16.0
Professional services 13.7 34.0 6.5 7.6 2.5 3.8 6.4
Other 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.2 0.9 0.7 1.8
Secondary activityj
R&D 33.7 28.8 42.6 26.5 44.9 40.1 37.5
Teaching 22.0 14.2 15.7 33.9 24.5 20.5 20.1
Management or administration 12.6 16.1 13.9 11.2 6.8 12.0 12.7
Professional services 6.5 10.5 D 4.8 D 4.5 6.4
Other 1.8 1.8 D 1.9 D 3.1 1.1
No secondary activity 23.2 28.6 20.4 21.8 18.9 19.9 22.3
Activity unknown 4.2 6.2 4.4 3.1 3.3 3.0 3.8
Postgraduation location (%)k
United Statesl 87.9 96.2 81.8 71.4 83.5 89.3 86.7
New England 9.6 10.9 8.9 7.6 9.9 7.6 9.2
Middle Atlantic 13.2 14.9 15.6 10.6 11.5 14.5 11.5
East North Central 11.6 11.9 12.5 11.6 10.6 14.8 9.9
West North Central 5.3 5.3 4.7 2.9 5.5 6.2 6.7
South Atlantic 18.7 17.7 10.4 21.1 18.7 16.9 21.3
East South Central 3.4 3.7 D D 5.3 3.6 4.1
West South Central 7.0 8.9 4.2 3.3 5.9 6.4 7.1
Mountain 4.7 5.0 D D 4.6 6.2 5.9
Pacific and insular 14.3 17.6 17.2 11.6 11.5 13.1 10.9
Not in United States 12.0 3.7 18.2 28.5 16.5 10.5 13.0
Location unknown 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.3
Male doctorate recipients (number) 3,762 1,060 186 820 527 284 885
Postgraduation status (number)b
Definite postgraduation study 644 322 32 74 64 43 109
Definite employment 1,483 275 50 479 216 112 351
Seeking employment or study 917 229 72 121 143 86 266
Otherc 95 22 6 18 14 6 29
Definite postgraduation study (%)d
Postdoc fellowship 67.9 72.7 68.8 54.1 82.8 67.4 54.1
Postdoc research associateship 28.7 23.3 28.1 43.2 12.5 32.6 43.1
Other or unknowne 3.4 4.0 3.1 2.7 4.7 0.0 2.8
Definite employment (%)f
Academe 62.2 47.6 70.0 57.8 74.5 81.3 65.0
Government 13.8 10.5 10.0 17.5 13.4 5.4 14.8
Industry or businessg 14.6 27.3 D 16.3 D 5.4 11.1
Nonprofit organization 6.7 11.3 D 5.2 D 7.1 6.6
Other or unknownh 2.6 3.3 4.0 3.1 1.4 0.9 2.6
Primary activityi
R&D 42.1 27.5 20.8 66.1 33.8 29.9 32.2
Teaching 37.2 34.1 54.2 22.0 51.0 57.9 42.6
Management or administration 9.0 9.0 D 1.9 D 7.5 17.8
Professional services 10.2 29.0 D 7.8 D 4.7 5.6
Other 1.5 0.4 4.2 2.2 1.4 0.0 1.8
Secondary activityj
R&D 34.1 32.2 45.8 24.8 43.8 46.7 36.7
Teaching 26.7 15.7 22.9 37.4 27.1 22.4 21.9
Management or administration 11.7 16.1 14.6 12.3 7.6 8.4 10.7
Professional services 5.8 9.4 D 4.5 D 5.6 7.1
Other 1.3 0.8 D 2.2 D 0.9 0.6
No secondary activity 20.5 25.9 10.4 18.8 18.1 15.9 23.1
Activity unknown 4.2 7.3 4.0 3.3 2.8 4.5 3.7
Postgraduation location (%)k
United Statesl 83.3 95.0 74.4 71.8 82.5 84.5 83.7
New England 8.6 10.9 D 6.9 10.0 D 7.8
Middle Atlantic 12.4 14.4 15.9 10.7 10.7 17.4 10.4
East North Central 11.8 13.9 9.8 12.5 8.2 12.3 10.7
West North Central 4.4 4.5 D 2.9 4.6 D 5.7
South Atlantic 18.2 15.7 11.0 21.0 17.5 15.5 20.7
East South Central 3.3 3.5 D 1.1 6.8 D 4.3
West South Central 6.5 9.4 D 3.1 7.5 D 7.2
Mountain 4.8 5.7 7.3 1.8 5.4 6.5 6.1
Pacific and insular 13.2 16.8 15.9 11.9 11.8 11.6 10.9
Not in United States 16.5 5.0 25.6 28.0 17.5 15.5 15.9
Location unknown 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.4
Female doctorate recipients (number) 5,332 2,722 307 436 332 461 1,074
Postgraduation status (number)b
Definite postgraduation study 1,210 892 47 39 56 76 100
Definite employment 1,612 610 63 237 118 189 395
Seeking employment or study 1,322 543 141 70 92 118 358
Otherc 157 71 8 11 11 14 42
Definite postgraduation study (%)d
Postdoc fellowship 76.8 81.4 68.1 61.5 71.4 64.5 58.0
Postdoc research associateship 18.6 13.0 31.9 38.5 28.6 32.9 38.0
Other or unknowne 4.6 5.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.6 4.0
Definite employment (%)f
Academe 59.8 45.9 74.6 58.6 79.7 76.2 65.8
Government 10.7 11.0 7.9 11.8 9.3 7.9 11.9
Industry or businessg 15.5 24.3 D 21.1 D 6.3 8.6
Nonprofit organization 10.2 12.3 D 6.3 D 7.4 11.1
Other or unknownh 3.8 6.6 1.6 2.1 0.8 2.1 2.5
Primary activityi
R&D 33.9 24.7 23.3 58.4 33.6 40.0 31.6
Teaching 38.3 29.4 61.7 29.9 55.8 44.9 45.0
Management or administration 9.0 7.3 D 2.2 D 10.8 14.5
Professional services 17.0 36.2 D 7.4 D 3.2 7.1
Other 1.8 2.4 0.0 2.2 0.0 1.1 1.8
Secondary activityj
R&D 33.4 27.3 40.0 29.9 46.9 36.2 38.2
Teaching 17.7 13.6 10.0 26.8 19.5 19.5 18.4
Management or administration 13.5 16.2 13.3 9.1 5.3 14.1 14.5
Professional services 7.3 11.0 D 5.2 D 3.8 5.8
Other 2.3 2.3 D 1.3 D 4.3 1.6
No secondary activity 25.8 29.7 28.3 27.7 20.4 22.2 21.6
Activity unknown 4.2 5.7 4.8 2.5 4.2 2.1 3.8
Postgraduation location (%)k
United Statesl 91.4 96.7 87.3 70.7 85.1 92.1 89.5
New England 10.3 10.9 D 9.1 9.8 D 10.5
Middle Atlantic 13.9 15.1 15.5 10.5 12.6 12.8 12.5
East North Central 11.5 11.1 14.5 9.8 14.4 16.2 9.3
West North Central 5.9 5.7 D 2.9 6.9 D 7.7
South Atlantic 19.1 18.5 10.0 21.4 20.7 17.7 21.8
East South Central 3.4 3.8 D D 2.9 D 3.8
West South Central 7.3 8.7 D 3.6 3.4 D 7.1
Mountain 4.7 4.7 D D 3.4 6.0 5.7
Pacific and insular 15.2 18.0 18.2 10.9 10.9 14.0 10.9
Not in United States 8.5 3.2 12.7 29.3 14.9 7.5 10.3
Location unknown 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.2
D = suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information.
a Includes respondents who did not report sex.
b Includes only respondents who reported postgraduation status.
c Includes respondents who indicated that they did not plan to work or study, respondents who indicated some other type of postgraduation plans, and respondents who indicated definite plans for other full-time degree program.
d Excludes respondents who indicated plans for other full-time degree program. Percentages based on number of doctorate recipients reporting definite postgraduation plans for study.
e "Other" includes respondents who indicated definite postgraduation study plans for traineeship, internship or clinical residency, or other study.
f Percentages based on number of doctorate recipients reporting definite postgraduation plans for employment.
g Includes doctorate recipients who indicated self-employment.
h "Other" is mainly composed of elementary and secondary schools.
i Percentages based on number of doctorate recipients reporting definite postgraduation plans for employment and primary work activity.
j Percentages based on number of doctorate recipients reporting definite postgraduation plans for employment and secondary work activity.
k Percentages based on number of doctorate recipients reporting definite postgraduation plans and type of plans.
l Includes cases with an unknown U.S. region of employment after doctorate; see technical notes for states or territories included in regions.
NOTES: Due to rounding, percentages may not sum to 100. 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, 2015.