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Table 33. Female postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health in all institutions, by detailed field: 2010–15

Field 2010a 2011a 2012 2013 2014oldb 2014newb 2015
All surveyed fields 24,570 24,472 24,685 24,357 24,627 25,102 25,295
Science and engineering 15,789 15,807 15,665 15,537 15,556 16,005 16,325
Science 14,299 14,308 14,076 13,949 13,914 14,363 14,628
Agricultural sciences 449 475 513 542 593 595 645
Biological sciences 9,581 9,293 8,787 8,445 8,170 8,508 8,479
Anatomy 196 178 139 126 102 102 93
Biochemistry 1,001 892 857 789 720 720 708
Biology 1,084 1,024 995 931 943 1,007 924
Biometry and epidemiology 269 223 247 275 286 286 302
Biophysics 83 63 65 53 48 48 44
Botany and plant biology 224 214 239 237 233 233 258
Cell and molecular biology 1,193 1,165 1,127 1,053 950 1,005 1,050
Ecology 96 81 97 47 46 46 56
Entomology and parasitology 98 119 122 121 125 125 132
Genetics 605 625 592 596 598 598 614
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 1,153 1,211 1,144 1,026 986 1,013 1,041
Nutrition 143 147 148 147 161 161 167
Pathology 874 786 719 678 665 665 636
Pharmacology and toxicology 748 687 603 563 528 547 548
Physiology 641 691 615 634 584 615 606
Zoology 28 29 36 40 33 33 19
Biosciences nec 1,145 1,158 1,042 1,129 1,162 1,304 1,281
Communication 23 24 21 31 30 30 36
Computer sciences 130 142 155 140 152 152 166
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 593 652 744 765 784 785 816
Atmospheric sciences 54 56 71 61 70 70 59
Geosciences 180 196 226 265 265 265 263
Ocean sciences 160 188 203 193 195 196 205
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 199 212 244 246 254 254 289
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 23 43 44 62 73 84 70
Mathematics and statistics 186 190 193 187 195 195 207
Mathematics and applied mathematics 169 167 162 155 172 172 181
Statistics 17 23 31 32 23 23 26
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 280 240 263 328 374 374 381
Neurobiology and neuroscience 387 610 661 730 766 817 865
Physical sciences 1,682 1,626 1,661 1,655 1,611 1,652 1,678
Astronomy and astrophysics 141 153 148 115 113 113 119
Chemistry 1,016 932 966 974 935 976 962
Physics 479 486 488 503 504 504 524
Physical sciences nec 46 55 59 63 59 59 73
Psychology 623 627 642 601 618 622 663
Clinical psychology 98 67 72 74 58 58 63
Psychology, general 350 336 331 323 324 326 360
Psychology nec 175 224 239 204 236 238 240
Social sciences 342 386 392 463 548 549 622
Agricultural economics 16 16 23 29 29 29 32
Anthropology 49 45 53 71 76 76 96
Economics (except agricultural) 18 10 15 17 27 27 31
Geography 23 19 27 40 54 54 44
History and philosophy of science 7 6 6 4 3 3 5
Linguistics 10 12 17 18 19 19 28
Political science and government 43 101 75 111 121 121 149
Sociology 52 60 62 58 62 62 70
Sociology and anthropology 0 1 1 2 1 1 1
Social sciences nec 124 116 113 113 156 157 166
Engineering 1,490 1,499 1,589 1,588 1,642 1,642 1,697
Aerospace engineering 30 32 31 30 29 29 30
Agricultural engineering 38 38 43 40 38 38 54
Architecture 5 7 3 6 7 7 8
Biomedical engineering 325 344 388 352 387 387 395
Chemical engineering 236 271 268 306 314 314 327
Civil engineering 148 153 149 161 175 175 174
Electrical engineering 169 153 185 187 187 187 152
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 46 61 59 46 52 52 50
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 40 27 27 30 29 29 32
Mechanical engineering 148 126 150 166 176 176 200
Metallurgical and materials engineering 174 181 172 174 154 154 186
Mining engineering 0 0 1 1 4 4 3
Nuclear engineering 15 15 12 11 16 16 15
Petroleum engineering 12 6 14 11 15 15 11
Engineering nec 104 85 87 67 59 59 60
Health 8,781 8,665 9,020 8,820 9,071 9,097 8,970
Clinical medicine 7,590 7,594 7,760 7,533 7,740 7,759 7,644
Anesthesiology 206 171 181 169 163 163 177
Cardiovascular science 247 256 316 318 292 292 319
Endocrinology 227 226 258 224 220 220 210
Gastroenterology 118 147 153 150 155 155 144
Hematology 149 162 175 179 165 165 160
Neurology 625 485 451 438 561 561 514
Obstetrics and gynecology 201 204 199 183 178 178 157
Oncology and cancer research 865 835 869 822 829 829 819
Ophthalmology 207 216 241 235 256 256 252
Otorhinolaryngology 55 75 60 73 77 77 78
Pediatrics 718 758 878 924 902 902 777
Preventive medicine and community health 362 376 420 412 397 397 425
Psychiatry 604 614 684 654 705 705 690
Pulmonary disease 119 135 129 136 133 133 145
Radiology 361 336 328 312 343 343 376
Surgery 456 469 529 478 523 523 500
Clinical medicine nec 2,070 2,129 1,889 1,826 1,841 1,860 1,901
Other health 1,191 1,071 1,260 1,287 1,331 1,338 1,326
Communication disorders sciences 32 30 38 30 39 39 55
Dental sciences 169 155 155 138 146 147 141
Nursing science 49 68 66 67 73 73 62
Pharmaceutical sciences 388 360 360 372 381 386 386
Veterinary sciences 242 240 311 300 281 282 301
Other health nec 311 218 330 380 411 411 381
nec = not elsewhere classified.
a Postdoctoral appointee (postdoc) data from 2010 and 2011 were reimputed following the 2012 data collection; these data supersede those contained in previous reports.
b 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.
NOTE: "Field" refers to the field of the unit that reports postdocs to the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.