In preparation for the 2024 Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS), a comprehensive eligibility review was conducted of institutions in the 2023 GSS with six or fewer organizational units. The eligibility review was focused on identifying whether institutions offered at least one research-based master’s or doctoral program in science, engineering, or health. This review resulted in 53 of 687 GSS institutions in the 2023 survey being declared ineligible for inclusion in the 2024 GSS data collection, or newly ineligible. When these newly ineligible institutions were excluded from the 2023 data, analysis showed that 0.8% fewer graduate students and 1.3% fewer master’s students would have been reported in the 2023 GSS. In 2023, these newly ineligible institutions reported 6,909 of the 818,095 graduate students in the GSS. However, the impact would not have been distributed evenly by institution type or field of study. The GSS is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the U.S. National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health.

Between 2022 and 2023, the enrollment of graduate students in science, engineering, and health (SEH) fields continued its multiyear increase. The combined total of full-time and part-time students in master’s and doctoral degree SEH programs increased by 2.4%, from 798,534 in 2022 to 818,095 in 2023. The numbers of overall postdoctoral appointees rose 4.9% between 2022 and 2023, from 62,750 to 65,850. These and other findings in this report are from the 2023 Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, conducted by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the U.S. National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health.

This report presents data from the 2023 Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the U.S. National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health. The tables show trends within science, engineering, and selected health fields on graduate student enrollment, postdoc appointments, and doctorate-holding nonfaculty researchers, as well as counts by selected characteristics, such as sex, ethnicity, race, citizenship, field of study, and source of financial support.

Latest visualizations from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics using data from the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering 2017–22 on full-time master’s student enrollment by sex, citizenship, and field of study.

Between 2021 and 2022, graduate student enrollment in science, engineering, and health (SEH) fields increased by 5.0% (up 38,378 students), mostly due to an increase of 42,816 temporary visa holders enrolled in full-time master’s programs. Full-time SEH master’s enrollment in 2022 was 319,618, whereas full-time doctoral enrollment was 259,683, the highest number recorded in the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS). These and other findings in this InfoBrief are from the 2022 GSS, which is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health.

This report presents data from the 2022 Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, sponsored by National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health. The tables show trends within science, engineering, and selected health fields on graduate student enrollment, postdoc appointments, and doctorate-holding nonfaculty researchers, as well as counts by selected characteristics, such as sex, ethnicity, race, citizenship, field of study, and source of financial support.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted graduate enrollment patterns in science, engineering, and health fields. Enrollment declines seen in 2020 among temporary visa holders and first-time, full-time master’s and doctoral students were reversed in 2021, driven by a 44.3% increase in first-time, full-time master’s students and by a 13.4% increase in first-time, full-time doctoral students between 2020 and 2021. Full-time master’s enrollment and doctoral enrollment in 2021 were the highest enrollments reported since separate data for master’s and doctoral students became available in 2017. Conversely, overall postdoctoral (postdoc) appointments continued to decline. These data are from the 2021 Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health.

This report presents data from the 2021 Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, sponsored by National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health. The tables show trends within science, engineering, and selected health fields on graduate student enrollment, postdoc appointments, and doctorate-holding nonfaculty researchers, as well as counts by selected characteristics, such as sex, ethnicity, race, citizenship, field of study, and source of financial support.

Public perceptions of science and technology in the United States affect many aspects of civic life. This report provides insights into public confidence in science, understanding of scientific research principles, and Americans� engagement with science through media, scientific activities, or children�s science activities. Confidence in science remains high among Americans: 89% of Americans believe scientists work to make life better for the average person. During the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. adults tended to think more often about the impact of science in their everyday life than they had before the pandemic.

According to the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS), there have been shifts in enrollment of both U.S. citizen and permanent resident and temporary visa–holding graduate students within science, engineering, and health fields. The GSS, sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation, found that from 2019 to 2020, master’s enrollment increased, while doctoral enrollment remained relatively stable. Meanwhile, the number of postdoctoral researchers and nonfaculty researchers declined between 2019 and 2020. Despite these changes, a record 697,813 graduate students were reported to GSS for 2020.