Among minority U.S. citizens and permanent residents, doctorate recipients of different racial or ethnic backgrounds are more heavily represented in some fields of study than in others. In 2015, Asians earned more doctorates than other racial and ethnic minority groups in life sciences, physical and earth sciences, mathematics and computer sciences, and engineering. Blacks or African Americans were the largest U.S. minority population in psychology and social sciences and in education. Hispanics or Latinos earned more doctorates in humanities and arts than did any other minority group. In 2015, Asians and blacks or African Americans earned relatively similar numbers of doctorates in other non-S&E fields (figure D).
Doctorates awarded to minority U.S. citizens and permanent residents, by ethnicity, race, and broad field of study: 2015
Field | Hispanic or Latino | Not Hispanic or Latino | Ethnicity not reported | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Indian or Alaska Native | Asian | Black or African American | White | More than one race | Other race or race not reported | |||
All fields | 7.0 | 0.4 | 8.7 | 6.5 | 72.3 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.8 |
Life sciences | 7.4 | 0.3 | 10.9 | 5.3 | 71.3 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.4 |
Physical sciences and earth sciences | 5.2 | 0.3 | 7.8 | 2.9 | 79.1 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 1.7 |
Mathematics and computer sciences | 4.5 | 0.1 | 12.3 | 3.2 | 73.1 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 3.6 |
Psychology and social sciences | 7.4 | 0.5 | 6.6 | 8.0 | 71.9 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.8 |
Engineering | 7.0 | 0.2 | 15.4 | 3.9 | 67.9 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 2.4 |
Education | 7.5 | 0.7 | 4.6 | 15.1 | 67.9 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
Humanities and arts | 8.1 | 0.6 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 78.9 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 1.6 |
Other non-S&E fields | 4.9 | 0.4 | 10.3 | 10.6 | 69.8 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.3 |
S&E = science and engineering.
NOTE: Percentages are based on the total number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents within each field.
- SOURCE: Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities 2015. Related detailed data: tables 23, 24.