Back to Data Tables
Excel icon Download to excel

Table 12. First-time, full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health in all institutions, by detailed field: 2010–15

Field 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014olda 2014newa 2015
All surveyed fields 136,487 136,610 137,767 143,326 150,653 154,219 161,640
Science and engineering 118,492 120,135 121,856 127,725 134,896 137,783 144,011
Science 84,689 86,810 87,523 90,286 93,710 96,113 102,056
Agricultural sciences 3,121 3,053 3,040 3,128 3,233 3,364 3,637
Biological sciences 16,038 16,599 17,080 16,554 16,543 17,203 18,600
Anatomy 154 153 175 114 123 131 167
Biochemistry 880 900 972 913 910 910 831
Biology 3,494 3,491 3,346 3,154 3,111 3,231 3,297
Biometry and epidemiology 1,510 1,584 1,908 2,022 2,093 2,111 2,350
Biophysics 190 173 151 160 140 140 130
Botany and plant biology 339 334 368 364 324 324 336
Cell and molecular biology 1,500 1,451 1,352 1,281 1,061 1,077 1,305
Ecology 335 288 303 253 239 239 236
Entomology and parasitology 193 190 195 221 226 226 226
Genetics 402 417 364 367 430 447 418
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 789 845 838 813 836 837 824
Nutrition 1,275 1,156 1,156 1,123 1,185 1,267 1,383
Pathology 230 227 231 196 186 186 185
Pharmacology and toxicology 549 518 519 478 468 468 531
Physiology 727 772 901 947 1,013 1,047 1,147
Zoology 119 128 139 147 130 143 120
Biosciences nec 3,352 3,972 4,162 4,001 4,068 4,419 5,114
Communication 2,089 2,367 2,366 2,323 2,577 2,704 2,515
Computer sciences 10,583 10,995 11,688 15,397 19,606 20,658 22,911
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 3,445 3,408 3,451 3,382 3,377 3,441 3,321
Atmospheric sciences 279 266 300 291 296 302 281
Geosciences 1,887 1,839 1,868 1,940 1,973 1,983 1,937
Ocean sciences 502 520 481 476 466 499 540
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 777 783 802 675 642 657 563
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 741 832 809 819 734 740 776
Mathematics and statistics 5,193 5,594 5,738 6,011 6,347 6,386 6,708
Mathematics and applied mathematics 3,801 4,108 4,064 4,139 4,191 4,225 4,408
Statistics 1,392 1,486 1,674 1,872 2,156 2,161 2,300
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 1,759 1,384 1,374 1,240 1,442 1,691 2,035
Neurobiology and neuroscience 505 728 839 782 818 818 874
Physical sciences 7,577 7,762 7,615 7,542 7,314 7,347 7,809
Astronomy and astrophysics 234 267 235 210 206 206 238
Chemistry 4,557 4,585 4,487 4,429 4,245 4,261 4,480
Physics 2,663 2,766 2,783 2,761 2,718 2,734 2,938
Physical sciences nec 123 144 110 142 145 146 153
Psychology 10,231 10,218 10,455 10,467 9,995 9,839 10,669
Clinical psychology 2,025 1,897 1,841 1,795 1,598 1,560 1,867
Psychology, general 3,024 3,115 3,240 3,109 2,995 2,769 2,794
Psychology nec 5,182 5,206 5,374 5,563 5,402 5,510 6,008
Social sciences 23,407 23,870 23,068 22,641 21,724 21,922 22,201
Agricultural economics 510 528 498 484 490 490 492
Anthropology 1,454 1,407 1,459 1,436 1,380 1,401 1,279
Economics (except agricultural) 3,926 4,045 4,022 3,861 3,929 3,946 3,966
Geography 1,042 1,043 999 1,009 974 976 985
History and philosophy of science 94 85 78 53 64 64 66
Linguistics 645 680 709 707 691 691 665
Political science and government 9,637 10,618 10,277 10,152 9,546 9,553 9,810
Sociology 1,685 1,742 1,548 1,521 1,536 1,553 1,509
Sociology and anthropology 44 41 49 46 43 43 44
Social sciences nec 4,370 3,681 3,429 3,372 3,071 3,205 3,385
Engineering 33,803 33,325 34,333 37,439 41,186 41,670 41,955
Aerospace engineering 1,196 1,239 991 1,138 1,238 1,238 1,261
Agricultural engineering 346 353 321 357 405 409 356
Architecture 2,263 970 630 634 510 514 481
Biomedical engineering 2,011 2,141 2,261 2,182 2,318 2,318 2,446
Chemical engineering 2,047 2,039 2,216 2,433 2,408 2,408 2,527
Civil engineering 5,079 5,003 5,119 5,127 5,392 5,411 5,162
Electrical engineering 9,237 9,790 10,439 12,387 13,707 14,097 13,593
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 356 363 416 366 414 417 339
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 2,783 2,837 2,767 3,047 3,679 3,710 4,269
Mechanical engineering 5,055 4,832 5,344 5,843 6,412 6,428 6,794
Metallurgical and materials engineering 1,431 1,561 1,609 1,571 1,620 1,630 1,761
Mining engineering 54 94 65 77 95 95 80
Nuclear engineering 330 280 267 282 304 304 267
Petroleum engineering 265 323 371 357 523 523 425
Engineering nec 1,350 1,500 1,517 1,638 2,161 2,168 2,194
Health 17,995 16,475 15,911 15,601 15,757 16,436 17,629
Clinical medicine 6,545 6,581 6,423 6,568 6,543 6,967 7,495
Anesthesiology 106 0 0 7 11 11 13
Cardiovascular science 10 14 9 6 3 3 4
Endocrinology 7 9 9 5 5 5 5
Gastroenterology 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
Hematology 0 1 2 0 0 0 0
Neurology 157 28 33 0 0 0 0
Obstetrics and gynecology 27 30 30 25 0 0 0
Oncology and cancer research 39 40 30 7 9 9 3
Ophthalmology 1 0 0 0 6 6 0
Otorhinolaryngology 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pediatrics 54 34 21 0 0 0 0
Preventive medicine and community health 5,311 5,638 5,867 6,107 6,029 6,418 6,766
Psychiatry 44 38 40 0 0 0 0
Pulmonary disease 0 1 4 6 0 0 0
Radiology 99 79 93 64 32 51 58
Surgery 21 11 6 0 0 0 0
Clinical medicine nec 665 657 279 341 448 464 646
Other health 11,450 9,894 9,488 9,033 9,214 9,469 10,134
Communication disorders sciences 4,729 4,681 4,569 4,687 4,848 5,028 5,465
Dental sciences 421 487 496 530 443 443 509
Nursing science 1,386 902 814 430 456 412 516
Pharmaceutical sciences 662 674 608 649 729 764 795
Veterinary sciences 334 272 273 275 241 241 280
Other health nec 3,918 2,878 2,728 2,462 2,497 2,581 2,569
nec = not elsewhere classified.
a In 2014, the survey frame was updated following a comprehensive frame evaluation study. The study identified potentially eligible but not previously surveyed academic institutions in the United States with master's- or doctorate-granting programs in science, engineering, or health. A total of 151 newly eligible institutions were added, and two private for-profit institutions offering mostly practitioner-based graduate degrees were determined to be ineligible.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.