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Table 18. Doctorate recipients, by citizenship status and major field of study: 2006–16

Citizenship status and major field of study 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 % change 2006–16
All doctorate recipientsa 45,620 48,132 48,777 49,552 48,029 48,911 50,945 52,704 53,994 54,909 54,904 20.4
Life sciences 9,703 10,702 11,086 11,403 11,319 11,535 11,964 12,208 12,484 12,503 12,568 29.5
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 1,146 1,321 1,198 1,283 1,100 1,206 1,255 1,324 1,338 1,434 1,385 20.9
Biological and biomedical sciences 6,652 7,238 7,797 8,025 8,046 8,152 8,322 8,355 8,868 8,792 8,884 33.6
Health sciences 1,905 2,143 2,091 2,095 2,173 2,177 2,387 2,529 2,278 2,277 2,299 20.7
Physical sciences and earth sciences 4,686 4,956 4,946 5,160 4,995 5,271 5,419 5,584 5,911 5,918 6,252 33.4
Chemistry 2,364 2,318 2,246 2,391 2,304 2,432 2,416 2,484 2,673 2,668 2,704 14.4
Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 757 875 865 877 862 852 941 989 1,099 1,057 1,227 62.1
Physics and astronomy 1,565 1,763 1,835 1,892 1,829 1,987 2,062 2,111 2,139 2,193 2,321 48.3
Mathematics and computer sciences 2,778 3,042 3,187 3,163 3,223 3,273 3,496 3,660 3,863 3,818 3,957 42.4
Computer and information sciences 1,453 1,654 1,787 1,610 1,633 1,667 1,793 1,843 1,989 2,003 2,085 43.5
Mathematics and statistics 1,325 1,388 1,400 1,553 1,590 1,606 1,703 1,817 1,874 1,815 1,872 41.3
Psychology and social sciences 7,231 7,309 7,635 7,945 7,883 8,221 8,498 8,580 8,752 9,080 9,078 25.5
Psychology 3,260 3,276 3,357 3,472 3,421 3,576 3,599 3,592 3,724 3,779 3,946 21.0
Anthropology 472 512 483 503 507 553 547 550 524 492 460 -2.5
Economics 1,029 1,004 1,091 1,118 1,073 1,121 1,243 1,183 1,196 1,255 1,238 20.3
Political science and government 616 588 628 682 728 685 724 803 777 859 745 20.9
Sociology 579 576 601 662 639 657 633 636 679 742 615 6.2
Other social sciences 1,275 1,353 1,475 1,508 1,515 1,629 1,752 1,816 1,852 1,953 2,074 62.7
Engineering 7,186 7,749 7,864 7,642 7,578 8,032 8,469 9,000 9,628 9,878 9,469 31.8
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 238 267 266 297 252 262 307 348 386 361 369 55.0
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 525 637 762 834 824 898 943 1,039 1,046 1,127 1,089 107.4
Chemical engineering 799 817 873 807 822 823 840 824 973 1,002 923 15.5
Civil engineering 655 703 713 707 643 634 495 542 617 632 565 -13.7
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 1,786 1,967 1,888 1,693 1,778 1,886 1,938 1,897 1,953 1,998 1,827 2.3
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 234 279 280 251 215 258 226 241 298 243 256 9.4
Materials science engineering 583 646 636 625 670 662 743 815 833 871 985 69.0
Mechanical engineering 1,045 1,071 1,082 1,095 983 1,084 1,220 1,277 1,331 1,466 1,299 24.3
Other engineering 1,321 1,362 1,364 1,333 1,391 1,525 1,757 2,017 2,191 2,178 2,156 63.2
Education 6,122 6,448 6,561 6,528 5,287 4,670 4,803 4,934 4,789 5,098 5,153 -15.8
Education administration 2,051 2,161 2,238 2,146 1,439 924 1,057 965 893 920 829 -59.6
Education research 2,751 2,671 2,640 2,663 2,443 2,438 2,569 2,703 2,560 2,772 2,386 -13.3
Teacher education 250 297 274 332 245 204 156 109 152 156 181 -27.6
Teaching fields 707 873 912 906 799 805 757 892 915 953 1,167 65.1
Other education 363 446 497 481 361 299 264 265 269 297 590 62.5
Humanities and arts 5,332 5,085 4,736 4,904 5,015 5,226 5,562 5,715 5,524 5,594 5,484 2.9
Foreign languages and literature 614 607 627 598 601 644 684 701 674 656 599 -2.4
History 973 937 971 1,045 1,005 1,065 1,087 1,148 1,186 1,146 1,147 17.9
Letters 1,457 1,340 1,420 1,413 1,516 1,513 1,638 1,606 1,551 1,583 1,533 5.2
Other humanities and arts 2,288 2,201 1,718 1,848 1,893 2,004 2,153 2,260 2,113 2,209 2,205 -3.6
Otherb 2,582 2,841 2,762 2,807 2,729 2,683 2,734 3,023 3,043 3,020 2,943 14.0
Business management and administration 1,311 1,506 1,421 1,405 1,366 1,327 1,404 1,551 1,584 1,583 1,510 15.2
Communication 510 560 557 627 638 650 595 645 663 667 673 32.0
Non-S&E fields not elsewhere classified 757 772 784 775 725 706 735 827 796 770 760 0.4
Unknown field 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -100.0
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 29,028 29,501 30,844 32,327 31,602 31,726 32,982 33,965 34,006 35,086 35,719 23.1
Life sciences 6,506 7,009 7,279 7,803 7,812 7,892 8,184 8,353 8,390 8,477 8,697 33.7
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 631 686 647 712 618 697 675 737 754 774 773 22.5
Biological and biomedical sciences 4,504 4,833 5,141 5,528 5,585 5,614 5,790 5,769 5,993 6,035 6,225 38.2
Health sciences 1,371 1,490 1,491 1,563 1,609 1,581 1,719 1,847 1,643 1,668 1,699 23.9
Physical sciences and earth sciences 2,479 2,567 2,674 2,914 2,860 3,048 3,148 3,247 3,300 3,481 3,666 47.9
Chemistry 1,276 1,190 1,231 1,391 1,323 1,407 1,385 1,443 1,447 1,572 1,579 23.7
Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 473 551 536 559 573 555 623 654 722 704 802 69.6
Physics and astronomy 730 826 907 964 964 1,086 1,140 1,150 1,131 1,205 1,285 76.0
Mathematics and computer sciences 1,207 1,241 1,370 1,506 1,599 1,603 1,627 1,631 1,738 1,663 1,730 43.3
Computer and information sciences 588 639 697 734 761 790 785 758 807 774 783 33.2
Mathematics and statistics 619 602 673 772 838 813 842 873 931 889 947 53.0
Psychology and social sciences 5,381 5,272 5,588 5,714 5,803 6,070 6,319 6,464 6,392 6,691 6,830 26.9
Psychology 2,825 2,780 2,892 2,908 2,874 3,062 3,046 3,067 3,042 3,106 3,371 19.3
Anthropology 404 410 400 403 384 455 445 457 406 397 360 -10.9
Economics 356 327 405 418 459 428 517 505 470 552 521 46.3
Political science and government 459 425 441 483 522 488 536 593 574 621 579 26.1
Sociology 472 440 463 506 519 511 512 516 545 596 508 7.6
Other social sciences 865 890 987 996 1,045 1,126 1,263 1,326 1,355 1,419 1,491 72.4
Engineering 2,500 2,546 2,958 3,166 3,332 3,350 3,579 3,767 4,066 4,221 4,181 67.2
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 90 118 122 160 141 145 181 194 246 216 233 158.9
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 306 342 469 513 516 564 602 637 674 725 746 143.8
Chemical engineering 359 310 396 411 433 393 377 365 445 488 470 30.9
Civil engineering 195 221 207 262 231 216 159 182 229 231 219 12.3
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 478 492 558 578 627 617 614 603 575 632 547 14.4
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 69 73 90 70 62 100 75 77 91 65 82 18.8
Materials science engineering 216 251 266 254 313 278 350 349 363 381 456 111.1
Mechanical engineering 353 332 371 421 403 440 505 547 558 620 585 65.7
Other engineering 434 407 479 497 606 597 716 813 885 863 843 94.2
Education 5,171 5,358 5,584 5,584 4,476 3,878 4,040 4,118 3,934 4,196 4,303 -16.8
Education administration 1,861 1,927 2,025 1,979 1,296 833 936 844 763 797 730 -60.8
Education research 2,314 2,178 2,207 2,230 2,059 1,989 2,143 2,216 2,104 2,273 1,981 -14.4
Teacher education 198 238 236 260 203 156 134 90 132 134 159 -19.7
Teaching fields 531 675 721 743 646 679 613 741 732 762 949 78.7
Other education 267 340 395 372 272 221 214 227 203 230 484 81.3
Humanities and arts 4,240 3,894 3,744 3,893 4,029 4,192 4,435 4,535 4,361 4,478 4,447 4.9
Foreign languages and literature 413 402 389 385 389 426 472 467 469 463 399 -3.4
History 845 791 802 880 843 893 890 947 968 944 949 12.3
Letters 1,234 1,086 1,199 1,169 1,287 1,289 1,383 1,354 1,304 1,353 1,314 6.5
Other humanities and arts 1,748 1,615 1,354 1,459 1,510 1,584 1,690 1,767 1,620 1,718 1,785 2.1
Otherb 1,544 1,614 1,647 1,747 1,691 1,693 1,650 1,850 1,825 1,879 1,865 20.8
Business management and administration 673 743 703 780 746 755 736 831 849 892 845 25.6
Communication 360 382 402 443 468 473 426 471 473 479 472 31.1
Non-S&E fields not elsewhere classified 511 489 542 524 477 465 488 548 503 508 548 7.2
Unknown field 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Temporary visa holder 14,198 15,123 15,261 14,736 13,636 14,235 14,784 15,674 15,841 16,132 16,498 16.2
Life sciences 2,723 3,039 3,252 3,097 2,926 3,029 3,197 3,177 3,169 3,265 3,362 23.5
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 463 538 492 509 412 472 529 516 504 555 564 21.8
Biological and biomedical sciences 1,857 2,030 2,302 2,190 2,084 2,124 2,166 2,154 2,229 2,267 2,311 24.4
Health sciences 403 471 458 398 430 433 502 507 436 443 487 20.8
Physical sciences and earth sciences 1,976 2,059 2,027 2,028 1,884 1,955 1,959 2,032 2,196 2,100 2,313 17.1
Chemistry 956 951 879 889 847 907 880 888 1,000 930 1,000 4.6
Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 244 283 293 295 251 246 281 290 326 307 390 59.8
Physics and astronomy 776 825 855 844 786 802 798 854 870 863 923 18.9
Mathematics and computer sciences 1,462 1,591 1,656 1,504 1,446 1,449 1,617 1,833 1,851 1,917 2,054 40.5
Computer and information sciences 797 897 1,005 791 760 759 870 990 1,030 1,094 1,204 51.1
Mathematics and statistics 665 694 651 713 686 690 747 843 821 823 850 27.8
Psychology and social sciences 1,485 1,482 1,618 1,720 1,553 1,588 1,601 1,634 1,549 1,622 1,756 18.2
Psychology 247 233 249 258 270 238 254 282 249 260 306 23.9
Anthropology 43 68 63 81 88 73 74 76 86 68 76 76.7
Economics 612 600 621 656 556 623 656 615 627 606 658 7.5
Political science and government 135 127 160 178 162 150 150 163 145 178 128 -5.2
Sociology 96 95 119 139 95 113 85 92 90 101 89 -7.3
Other social sciences 352 359 406 408 382 391 382 406 352 409 499 41.8
Engineering 4,295 4,591 4,492 4,221 3,866 4,164 4,355 4,759 4,962 5,109 4,848 12.9
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 117 118 127 126 99 100 107 138 124 132 119 1.7
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 200 257 265 280 290 291 292 352 318 348 300 50.0
Chemical engineering 400 449 439 383 359 379 414 409 482 461 403 0.8
Civil engineering 416 437 468 419 378 373 303 333 339 359 308 -26.0
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 1,222 1,298 1,219 1,050 1,040 1,109 1,181 1,160 1,217 1,238 1,164 -4.7
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 144 171 175 175 142 152 140 156 185 161 164 13.9
Materials science engineering 335 361 339 352 326 350 334 435 420 448 496 48.1
Mechanical engineering 649 671 651 646 519 568 631 664 686 783 652 0.5
Other engineering 812 829 809 790 713 842 953 1,112 1,191 1,179 1,242 53.0
Education 611 601 567 567 478 497 460 515 478 539 563 -7.9
Education administration 74 63 61 47 35 41 46 44 39 35 32 -56.8
Education research 335 321 303 315 277 294 278 319 265 327 280 -16.4
Teacher education 32 27 27 32 19 26 13 17 14 13 13 -59.4
Teaching fields 123 151 136 119 112 96 101 116 134 145 181 47.2
Other education 47 39 40 54 35 40 22 19 26 19 57 21.3
Humanities and arts 796 797 723 729 667 767 761 779 731 713 712 -10.6
Foreign languages and literature 175 170 190 183 179 180 160 179 142 151 164 -6.3
History 97 101 122 131 113 131 136 134 147 131 142 46.4
Letters 160 153 145 158 134 157 141 150 140 122 126 -21.3
Other humanities and arts 364 373 266 257 241 299 324 316 302 309 280 -23.1
Otherb 850 963 926 870 816 786 834 945 905 867 890 4.7
Business management and administration 537 634 619 530 499 477 542 600 589 546 553 3.0
Communication 125 135 116 145 131 132 107 133 137 137 160 28.0
Non-S&E fields not elsewhere classified 188 194 191 195 186 177 185 212 179 184 177 -5.9
Unknown field 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
- = no value possible; percent change could not be calculated because there were no doctorate recipients with unknown field in 2006.
S&E = science and engineering.
a Includes respondents who did not report citizenship status.
b Non-science and engineering fields.
NOTE: 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.