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Table 58. Statistical profile of doctorate recipients in physical sciences and earth sciences fields, by sex and field of study: 2016

Characteristic All physical sciences and earth sciences fields Chemistry Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences Physics and astronomy
All doctorate recipients (number)a 6,252 2,704 1,227 2,321
Sex (%)
Male 68.6 63.4 58.4 80.0
Female 31.4 36.6 41.6 19.9
Unknown * 0.0 0.1 0.1
Citizenship (%)
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 58.6 58.4 65.4 55.4
Temporary visa holder 37.0 37.0 31.8 39.8
Unknown 4.4 4.6 2.9 4.9
Marital status (%)
Never married 40.7 41.2 34.8 43.3
Married 37.1 35.7 43.2 35.4
Marriage-like relationship 9.9 10.1 11.2 8.8
Separated, divorced, widowed 2.1 1.6 3.1 2.0
Unknown 10.3 11.4 7.7 10.4
Bachelor's in same field as doctorate (%)b 66.9 72.1 47.8 70.8
Master's earned (%) 51.4 34.3 68.1 62.4
Age at doctorate (median years) 29.5 28.9 30.7 29.6
Time to doctorate (median years)
From bachelor's 6.9 6.3 8.0 7.0
From graduate school start 6.1 5.7 6.9 6.4
From doctoral program startc 5.7 5.3 5.7 5.9
Male doctorate recipients (number) 4,286 1,713 716 1,857
Citizenship (%)
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 57.1 57.5 61.6 55.0
Temporary visa holder 38.4 37.7 35.3 40.3
Unknown 4.5 4.8 3.1 4.7
Marital status (%)
Never married 41.3 41.6 34.1 43.9
Married 37.5 36.5 46.6 35.0
Marriage-like relationship 9.1 9.0 9.2 9.3
Separated, divorced, widowed 1.7 1.3 2.5 1.7
Unknown 10.3 11.7 7.5 10.1
Bachelor's in same field as doctorate (%)b 66.9 70.2 48.9 70.8
Master's earned (%) 52.1 34.5 69.4 61.7
Age at doctorate (median years) 29.5 29.0 31.2 29.6
Time to doctorate (median years)
From bachelor's 7.0 6.3 8.0 7.0
From graduate school start 6.2 5.7 7.0 6.5
From doctoral program startc 5.7 5.3 5.7 5.9
Female doctorate recipients (number) 1,963 991 510 462
Citizenship (%)
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 62.0 59.9 70.8 56.9
Temporary visa holder 34.0 35.8 26.9 37.9
Unknown 4.0 4.2 2.4 5.2
Marital status (%)
Never married 39.5 40.6 35.9 41.3
Married 36.1 34.4 38.4 37.2
Marriage-like relationship 11.4 12.0 14.1 7.1
Separated, divorced, widowed 2.9 2.2 3.9 3.2
Unknown 10.0 10.8 7.6 11.0
Bachelor's in same field as doctorate (%)b 66.8 75.4 46.5 71.0
Master's earned (%) 49.9 33.9 66.5 65.8
Age at doctorate (median years) 29.3 28.7 30.4 29.5
Time to doctorate (median years)
From bachelor's 6.8 6.2 7.8 7.1
From graduate school start 6.0 5.7 6.7 6.3
From doctoral program startc 5.4 5.3 5.6 5.8