Bookmark and Share

Table 60. Statistical profile of doctorate recipients in mathematics and computer sciences fields, by sex and field of study: 2016

Characteristic All mathematics and computer sciences fields Computer and information sciences Mathematics and statistics
All doctorate recipients (number)a 3,957 2,085 1,872
Sex (%)
Male 75.8 79.9 71.2
Female 24.2 20.1 28.8
Unknown 0.0 0.0 0.0
Citizenship (%)
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 43.7 37.6 50.6
Temporary visa holder 51.9 57.7 45.4
Unknown 4.4 4.7 4.0
Marital status (%)
Never married 37.4 32.7 42.5
Married 42.8 48.2 36.8
Marriage-like relationship 6.2 4.7 7.8
Separated, divorced, widowed 2.1 2.2 1.9
Unknown 11.5 12.1 11.0
Bachelor's in same field as doctorate (%)b 60.2 49.9 71.6
Master's earned (%) 72.8 75.3 70.0
Age at doctorate (median years) 30.3 31.3 29.3
Time to doctorate (median years)
From bachelor's 7.9 8.8 7.0
From graduate school start 6.9 7.6 6.1
From doctoral program startc 5.7 5.7 5.3
Male doctorate recipients (number) 2,998 1,666 1,332
Citizenship (%)
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 43.8 37.2 52.2
Temporary visa holder 52.0 58.3 44.1
Unknown 4.2 4.5 3.8
Marital status (%)
Never married 38.4 33.9 44.1
Married 42.9 48.6 35.9
Marriage-like relationship 5.8 4.6 7.4
Separated, divorced, widowed 1.5 1.3 1.8
Unknown 11.3 11.7 10.9
Bachelor's in same field as doctorate (%)b 59.7 50.5 71.1
Master's earned (%) 71.5 74.7 67.6
Age at doctorate (median years) 30.4 31.3 29.3
Time to doctorate (median years)
From bachelor's 7.8 8.6 6.9
From graduate school start 6.9 7.3 6.0
From doctoral program startc 5.7 5.7 5.3
Female doctorate recipients (number) 959 419 540
Citizenship (%)
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 43.4 39.1 46.7
Temporary visa holder 51.6 55.4 48.7
Unknown 5.0 5.5 4.6
Marital status (%)
Never married 34.0 27.9 38.7
Married 42.5 47.0 39.1
Marriage-like relationship 7.4 5.5 8.9
Separated, divorced, widowed 3.9 6.0 2.2
Unknown 12.2 13.6 11.1
Bachelor's in same field as doctorate (%)b 61.8 47.5 73.0
Master's earned (%) 76.6 77.3 76.1
Age at doctorate (median years) 30.2 31.6 29.3
Time to doctorate (median years)
From bachelor's 7.9 9.0 7.1
From graduate school start 7.0 7.9 6.3
From doctoral program startc 5.7 5.7 5.3
a Includes respondents who did not report sex.
b A bachelor's degree is counted as "in same field as doctorate" if the fields of study for the doctorate recipient's bachelor's degree and doctorate degree are both in the same major field category of the National Science Foundation's field of study taxonomy, except for engineering and education fields where broad field categories need be the same. See table A-6 in the technical notes for a listing of major fields and their constituent subfields.
c Time to doctorate from doctoral program start is based on master's degree entry if the master's degree was at the doctoral institution in the same fine field of study or was a prerequisite to the doctorate; otherwise, it is based on doctoral program entry.
NOTE: Due to rounding, percentages may not sum to 100.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2016.