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Table 12. Doctorate recipients, by major field of study: Selected years, 1986–2016

Field of study 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
All fields 31,897 100.0 37,530 100.0 42,437 100.0 40,744 100.0 45,620 100.0 48,911 100.0 54,904 100.0
Life sciences 5,767 18.1 6,967 18.6 8,337 19.6 8,369 20.5 9,703 21.3 11,535 23.6 12,568 22.9
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 1,191 3.7 1,277 3.4 1,289 3.0 1,132 2.8 1,146 2.5 1,206 2.5 1,385 2.5
Biological and biomedical sciences 3,807 11.9 4,649 12.4 5,724 13.5 5,697 14.0 6,652 14.6 8,152 16.7 8,884 16.2
Health sciences 769 2.4 1,041 2.8 1,324 3.1 1,540 3.8 1,905 4.2 2,177 4.5 2,299 4.2
Physical sciences and earth sciences 3,644 11.4 4,406 11.7 4,550 10.7 4,024 9.9 4,686 10.3 5,271 10.8 6,252 11.4
Chemistry 1,903 6.0 2,194 5.8 2,149 5.1 1,981 4.9 2,364 5.2 2,432 5.0 2,704 4.9
Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 554 1.7 801 2.1 724 1.7 660 1.6 757 1.7 852 1.7 1,227 2.2
Physics and astronomy 1,187 3.7 1,411 3.8 1,677 4.0 1,383 3.4 1,565 3.4 1,987 4.1 2,321 4.2
Mathematics and computer sciences 1,128 3.5 1,838 4.9 2,042 4.8 1,840 4.5 2,778 6.1 3,273 6.7 3,957 7.2
Computer and information sciences 399 1.3 800 2.1 920 2.2 830 2.0 1,453 3.2 1,667 3.4 2,085 3.8
Mathematics and statistics 729 2.3 1,038 2.8 1,122 2.6 1,010 2.5 1,325 2.9 1,606 3.3 1,872 3.4
Psychology and social sciences 6,150 19.3 6,470 17.2 7,167 16.9 7,151 17.6 7,231 15.9 8,221 16.8 9,078 16.5
Psychology 3,126 9.8 3,250 8.7 3,494 8.2 3,400 8.3 3,260 7.1 3,576 7.3 3,946 7.2
Anthropology 381 1.2 341 0.9 397 0.9 411 1.0 472 1.0 553 1.1 460 0.8
Economics 859 2.7 885 2.4 1,008 2.4 927 2.3 1,029 2.3 1,121 2.3 1,238 2.3
Political science and government 414 1.3 434 1.2 622 1.5 658 1.6 616 1.4 685 1.4 745 1.4
Sociology 491 1.5 465 1.2 517 1.2 566 1.4 579 1.3 657 1.3 615 1.1
Other social sciences 879 2.8 1,095 2.9 1,129 2.7 1,189 2.9 1,275 2.8 1,629 3.3 2,074 3.8
Engineering 3,375 10.6 5,213 13.9 6,309 14.9 5,512 13.5 7,186 15.8 8,032 16.4 9,469 17.2
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 118 0.4 206 0.5 287 0.7 203 0.5 238 0.5 262 0.5 369 0.7
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 67 0.2 149 0.4 220 0.5 233 0.6 525 1.2 898 1.8 1,089 2.0
Chemical engineering 476 1.5 621 1.7 681 1.6 636 1.6 799 1.8 823 1.7 923 1.7
Civil engineering 387 1.2 509 1.4 600 1.4 501 1.2 655 1.4 634 1.3 565 1.0
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 705 2.2 1,206 3.2 1,501 3.5 1,346 3.3 1,786 3.9 1,886 3.9 1,827 3.3
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 101 0.3 165 0.4 259 0.6 206 0.5 234 0.5 258 0.5 256 0.5
Materials science engineering 187 0.6 361 1.0 472 1.1 448 1.1 583 1.3 662 1.4 985 1.8
Mechanical engineering 442 1.4 762 2.0 947 2.2 878 2.2 1,045 2.3 1,084 2.2 1,299 2.4
Other engineering 892 2.8 1,234 3.3 1,342 3.2 1,061 2.6 1,321 2.9 1,525 3.1 2,156 3.9
Education 6,649 20.8 6,454 17.2 6,785 16.0 6,356 15.6 6,122 13.4 4,670 9.5 5,153 9.4
Education administration 1,638 5.1 1,913 5.1 2,165 5.1 2,077 5.1 2,051 4.5 924 1.9 829 1.5
Education research 2,725 8.5 2,354 6.3 2,699 6.4 2,637 6.5 2,751 6.0 2,438 5.0 2,386 4.3
Teacher education 490 1.5 408 1.1 371 0.9 296 0.7 250 0.5 204 0.4 181 0.3
Teaching fields 1,142 3.6 973 2.6 864 2.0 723 1.8 707 1.5 805 1.6 1,167 2.1
Other education 654 2.1 806 2.1 686 1.6 623 1.5 363 0.8 299 0.6 590 1.1
Humanities and arts 3,443 10.8 4,053 10.8 4,982 11.7 5,430 13.3 5,332 11.7 5,226 10.7 5,484 10.0
Foreign languages and literature 445 1.4 498 1.3 605 1.4 620 1.5 614 1.3 644 1.3 599 1.1
History 563 1.8 663 1.8 857 2.0 1,031 2.5 973 2.1 1,065 2.2 1,147 2.1
Letters 957 3.0 1,204 3.2 1,493 3.5 1,493 3.7 1,457 3.2 1,513 3.1 1,533 2.8
Other humanities and arts 1,478 4.6 1,688 4.5 2,027 4.8 2,286 5.6 2,288 5.0 2,004 4.1 2,205 4.0
Othera 1,741 5.5 2,129 5.7 2,265 5.3 2,062 5.1 2,582 5.7 2,683 5.5 2,943 5.4
Business management and administration 902 2.8 1,163 3.1 1,279 3.0 1,064 2.6 1,311 2.9 1,327 2.7 1,510 2.8
Communication 258 0.8 332 0.9 389 0.9 390 1.0 510 1.1 650 1.3 673 1.2
Non-S&E fields not elsewhere classified 581 1.8 634 1.7 597 1.4 608 1.5 757 1.7 706 1.4 760 1.4
Unknown field 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 * 0 0.0 0 0.0
* = value < 0.05%.
S&E = science and engineering.
a Non-science and engineering fields.
NOTES: See table A-6 in the technical notes for a listing of major fields and their constituent subfields. Due to rounding, percentages may not sum to 100.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates.