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NCSES GSS 2012 DST 12 SAS Output Newer information icon. Newer information is available.
Table 12. First-time, full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health in all institutions, by detailed field: 2006–12

Field 2006 2007olda 2007newa 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
All surveyed fields 116,482 120,236 122,449 130,635 134,756 136,487 136,610 137,767
   Science and engineering 94,413 98,205 100,990 108,819 115,755 118,492 120,135 121,856
      Science 68,537 70,387 72,725 78,227 83,252 84,689 86,810 87,523
         Agricultural sciences 2,206 2,313 2,356 2,597 2,994 3,121 3,053 3,040
         Biological sciences 13,055 13,485 13,749 14,528 15,443 16,038 16,599 17,080
            Anatomy 213 252 194 146 181 154 153 175
            Biochemistry 992 945 945 966 949 880 900 972
            Biology 2,994 3,083 3,005 3,221 3,421 3,494 3,491 3,346
            Biometry and epidemiology 974 1,126 1,171 1,147 1,198 1,510 1,584 1,908
            Biophysics 186 197 183 199 161 190 173 151
            Botany 318 333 331 304 340 339 334 368
            Cell biology 1,294 1,249 1,254 1,372 1,461 1,500 1,451 1,352
            Ecology 294 361 337 355 285 335 288 303
            Entomology and parasitology 169 161 161 167 193 193 190 195
            Genetics 348 330 319 370 405 402 417 364
            Microbiology, immunology, and virology 853 741 724 772 799 789 845 838
            Nutrition 905 1,121 1,035 1,110 1,121 1,275 1,156 1,156
            Pathology 269 257 266 321 266 230 227 231
            Pharmacology 469 437 437 487 577 549 518 519
            Physiology 597 603 669 690 751 727 772 901
            Zoology 179 165 215 145 133 119 128 139
            Biological sciences nec 2,001 2,124 2,503 2,756 3,202 3,352 3,972 4,162
         Communicationa ne ne 1,531 1,912 2,119 2,089 2,367 2,366
         Computer sciences 8,983 9,352 9,256 10,434 10,557 10,583 10,995 11,688
         Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 2,795 2,861 2,749 2,904 3,153 3,445 3,408 3,451
            Atmospheric sciences 207 233 243 263 250 279 266 300
            Geosciences 1,348 1,410 1,405 1,429 1,682 1,887 1,839 1,868
            Oceanography 457 412 402 466 517 502 520 481
            Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 783 806 699 746 704 777 783 802
         Family and consumer sciences and human sciencesa ne ne 492 579 633 741 832 809
         Mathematical sciences 4,342 4,595 4,432 4,591 4,888 5,193 5,594 5,738
            Mathematics and applied mathematics 3,398 3,518 3,352 3,409 3,611 3,801 4,108 4,064
            Statistics 944 1,077 1,080 1,182 1,277 1,392 1,486 1,674
         Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studiesa ne ne 771 1,140 1,412 1,759 1,384 1,374
         Neurosciencea na na 273 304 395 505 728 839
         Physical sciences 6,626 6,787 6,711 6,892 7,276 7,577 7,762 7,615
            Astronomy 204 207 207 225 250 234 267 235
            Chemistry 3,900 3,972 3,938 4,161 4,331 4,557 4,585 4,487
            Physics 2,409 2,534 2,523 2,406 2,571 2,663 2,766 2,783
            Physical sciences nec 113 74 43 100 124 123 144 110
         Psychologyb 10,224 10,624 10,476 11,082 10,980 10,231 10,218 10,455
            Clinical psychology 2,201 2,232 2,227 2,064 2,136 2,025 1,897 1,841
            Psychology, general 3,374 3,536 3,438 3,635 3,300 3,024 3,115 3,240
            Psychology nec 4,649 4,856 4,811 5,383 5,544 5,182 5,206 5,374
         Social sciences 20,306 20,370 19,929 21,264 23,402 23,407 23,870 23,068
            Agricultural economics 543 516 491 573 610 510 528 498
            Anthropology (cultural and social) 1,314 1,305 1,310 1,444 1,452 1,454 1,407 1,459
            Economics (except agricultural) 2,907 3,108 3,179 3,263 3,855 3,926 4,045 4,022
            Geography 845 897 897 1,013 1,017 1,042 1,043 999
            History and philosophy of science 121 163 151 205 119 94 85 78
            Linguistics 577 580 535 557 632 645 680 709
            Political science 8,319 7,749 7,627 8,152 9,736 9,637 10,618 10,277
            Sociology 1,353 1,647 1,610 1,795 1,671 1,685 1,742 1,548
            Sociology and anthropology 151 136 120 93 90 44 41 49
            Social sciences nec 4,176 4,269 4,009 4,169 4,220 4,370 3,681 3,429
      Engineering 25,876 27,818 28,265 30,592 32,503 33,803 33,325 34,333
         Aerospace engineering 943 962 962 1,116 1,176 1,196 1,239 991
         Agricultural engineering 222 224 224 256 296 346 353 321
         Architecturea na na 1,533 1,979 2,273 2,263 970 630
         Biomedical engineering 1,472 1,559 1,565 1,648 1,833 2,011 2,141 2,261
         Chemical engineering 1,429 1,532 1,566 1,713 1,910 2,047 2,039 2,216
         Civil engineeringa 4,198 4,926 3,662 4,073 4,878 5,079 5,003 5,119
         Electrical engineering 8,668 8,887 8,920 9,042 8,831 9,237 9,790 10,439
         Engineering science 321 331 339 398 309 356 363 416
         Industrial engineering 2,148 2,445 2,626 3,015 2,908 2,783 2,837 2,767
         Mechanical engineering 3,734 3,941 3,937 4,297 4,814 5,055 4,832 5,344
         Metallurgical and materials engineering 1,043 1,089 1,086 1,170 1,302 1,431 1,561 1,609
         Mining engineering 50 58 33 48 45 54 94 65
         Nuclear engineering 206 239 237 259 265 330 280 267
         Petroleum engineering 174 220 220 261 306 265 323 371
         Engineering nec 1,268 1,405 1,355 1,317 1,357 1,350 1,500 1,517
   Healthb 22,069 22,031 21,459 21,816 19,001 17,995 16,475 15,911
      Clinical medicine 5,280 5,701 5,225 6,213 6,141 6,545 6,581 6,423
         Anesthesiology 358 189 189 209 124 106 0 0
         Cardiology 3 22 22 2 9 10 14 9
         Endocrinology 7 7 7 20 8 7 9 9
         Gastroenterology 0 0 0 3 1 2 1 0
         Hematology 1 3 3 5 1 0 1 2
         Neurologya 454 567 283 216 244 157 28 33
         Obstetrics and gynecology 9 30 30 28 29 27 30 30
         Oncology and cancer research 45 42 34 34 47 39 40 30
         Ophthalmology 92 83 80 0 0 1 0 0
         Otorhinolaryngology 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 0
         Pediatrics 110 88 88 62 49 54 34 21
         Preventive medicine and community health 3,355 3,784 3,839 4,771 4,898 5,311 5,638 5,867
         Psychiatry 32 12 12 30 38 44 38 40
         Pulmonary disease 0 1 1 3 0 0 1 4
         Radiology 60 70 74 74 87 99 79 93
         Surgery 11 5 4 4 6 21 11 6
         Clinical medicine nec 743 796 557 752 600 665 657 279
      Other healthb 16,789 16,330 16,234 15,603 12,860 11,450 9,894 9,488
         Dental sciences 402 364 389 410 475 421 487 496
         Nursing 3,944 3,953 3,950 3,584 2,315 1,386 902 814
         Pharmaceutical sciences 1,036 712 732 691 756 662 674 608
         Speech pathology and audiology 4,491 4,626 4,620 4,691 4,683 4,729 4,681 4,569
         Veterinary sciences 378 478 524 439 342 334 272 273
         Other health nec 6,538 6,197 6,019 5,788 4,289 3,918 2,878 2,728

na = not applicable; data were not collected at this level of detail. ne = not eligible; data were not collected for this field prior to 2007.
nec = not elsewhere classified.
a In 2007, eligible fields were reclassified, newly eligible fields were added, and the survey was redesigned to improve coverage and coding of eligible units. “2007new” presents data as collected in 2007; “2007old” shows data as they would have been collected in prior years. The science fields Communication and Family and consumer sciences and human sciences were newly eligible in 2007; data for these two fields begin in 2007new. The science field Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies was also added to the code list in 2007; some data reported in this field were reported under other fields before 2007 and are included in those fields in 2007old. Neuroscience is reported as a separate field of science in 2007new; data were reported under health field Neurology in 2007old and previous years. Architecture is reported as a separate field of engineering in 2007new; data were reported under Civil engineering in 2007old and previous years. See appendix A in http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf10307/ for more detail.
b Beginning with 2008, more rigorous follow-up was done with institutions regarding the exclusion of practitioner-oriented graduate degree programs in Psychology and in Other health (a subfield of health). This change may affect interpretation of trends in these fields.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, NSF-NIH Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.
Data from survey cycle Fall 2012, as of December 2013.