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Table 11. Full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health in all institutions, by detailed field: 2009–14

Field 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014olda 2014newa
All surveyed fields 456,115 461,185 457,292 459,498 468,953 484,880 492,170
Science and engineering 398,498 409,107 411,168 414,384 424,508 440,523 447,096
Science 293,561 299,315 303,015 304,795 309,756 317,881 322,714
Agricultural sciences 10,823 11,087 11,448 11,375 11,634 12,038 12,319
Biological sciences 61,466 62,770 62,773 63,921 63,615 63,043 64,638
Anatomy 806 800 726 650 503 500 519
Biochemistry 4,886 4,909 4,771 4,781 4,559 4,592 4,592
Biology 12,811 13,084 12,832 12,352 11,988 11,901 12,255
Biometry and epidemiology 4,176 4,868 4,933 5,837 6,343 6,432 6,474
Biophysics 1,001 1,033 972 932 898 849 849
Botany and plant biology 1,664 1,679 1,729 1,710 1,712 1,669 1,669
Cell and molecular biology 6,660 6,621 6,517 6,440 6,167 5,759 5,819
Ecology 1,417 1,471 1,372 1,324 1,063 1,032 1,032
Entomology and parasitology 892 933 910 990 1,067 1,106 1,106
Genetics 2,175 2,254 2,318 2,276 2,253 2,310 2,343
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 4,660 4,569 4,643 4,612 4,617 4,340 4,345
Nutrition 3,631 3,776 3,625 3,630 3,609 3,574 3,780
Pathology 1,308 1,272 1,218 1,151 1,058 1,013 1,013
Pharmacology and toxicology 2,884 2,756 2,714 2,743 2,656 2,594 2,594
Physiology 2,597 2,678 2,681 2,777 2,954 3,065 3,158
Zoology 661 589 686 666 649 690 708
Biosciences nec 9,237 9,478 10,126 11,050 11,519 11,617 12,382
Communication 6,091 6,274 6,913 6,978 7,117 7,205 7,544
Computer sciences 32,198 32,782 32,861 34,108 39,268 49,161 52,069
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 11,589 12,318 12,404 12,617 12,339 12,342 12,462
Atmospheric sciences 1,132 1,193 1,197 1,277 1,263 1,251 1,262
Geosciences 5,825 6,352 6,450 6,686 6,734 6,900 6,911
Ocean sciences 2,197 2,130 2,199 2,158 2,147 2,092 2,169
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 2,435 2,643 2,558 2,496 2,195 2,099 2,120
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 2,168 2,377 2,616 2,410 2,535 2,551 2,577
Mathematics and statistics 16,885 17,606 18,303 18,990 19,510 20,320 20,445
Mathematics and applied mathematics 12,950 13,427 14,014 14,264 14,320 14,692 14,785
Statistics 3,935 4,179 4,289 4,726 5,190 5,628 5,660
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 3,957 5,063 4,103 3,987 3,873 4,284 4,862
Neurobiology and neuroscience 2,261 2,682 3,911 4,333 4,576 4,703 4,703
Physical sciences 34,181 34,856 35,643 35,868 35,979 36,168 36,266
Astronomy and astrophysics 1,348 1,292 1,325 1,245 1,226 1,219 1,219
Chemistry 19,682 20,011 20,403 20,672 20,553 20,523 20,565
Physics 12,771 13,085 13,413 13,522 13,767 13,992 14,047
Physical sciences nec 380 468 502 429 433 434 435
Psychologyb 40,373 38,571 38,548 38,325 38,204 36,489 34,683
Clinical psychology 10,144 9,378 8,094 7,630 7,891 7,375 7,057
Psychology, general 11,443 10,716 12,872 12,897 12,105 11,766 9,902
Psychology nec 18,786 18,477 17,582 17,798 18,208 17,348 17,724
Social sciences 71,569 72,929 73,492 71,883 71,106 69,577 70,146
Agricultural economics 1,896 1,825 1,767 1,692 1,591 1,598 1,598
Anthropology 6,462 6,596 6,471 6,454 6,414 6,210 6,248
Economics (except agricultural) 11,433 11,879 12,391 12,476 12,429 12,369 12,426
Geography 3,331 3,373 3,383 3,319 3,325 3,343 3,354
History and philosophy of science 653 476 425 420 358 329 332
Linguistics 2,386 2,419 2,589 2,629 2,707 2,668 2,668
Political science and government 25,970 26,850 28,554 28,439 27,772 27,550 27,478
Sociology 7,006 7,222 7,148 6,761 6,787 6,553 6,590
Sociology and anthropology 301 171 173 139 141 120 120
Social sciences nec 12,131 12,118 10,591 9,554 9,582 8,837 9,332
Engineering 104,937 109,792 108,153 109,589 114,752 122,642 124,382
Aerospace engineering 3,974 4,211 4,251 3,813 3,897 3,907 3,907
Agricultural engineering 1,084 1,198 1,372 1,254 1,256 1,389 1,412
Architecture 6,112 6,079 2,772 2,045 1,933 1,583 1,588
Biomedical engineering 6,859 7,418 7,931 7,978 8,092 8,336 8,336
Chemical engineering 7,110 7,516 7,639 8,059 8,522 8,622 8,629
Civil engineering 13,503 14,191 14,363 14,580 14,728 15,169 15,219
Electrical engineering 29,282 29,977 30,735 31,526 34,660 38,453 39,868
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 1,490 1,502 1,574 1,705 1,575 1,568 1,575
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 8,362 8,371 8,251 8,115 8,336 9,002 9,106
Mechanical engineering 15,609 16,625 16,084 17,000 17,940 18,956 19,015
Metallurgical and materials engineering 5,181 5,551 5,877 6,126 6,252 6,584 6,625
Mining engineering 212 361 414 241 267 307 307
Nuclear engineering 968 1,123 1,165 1,162 1,169 1,201 1,201
Petroleum engineering 993 1,063 1,064 1,289 1,318 1,662 1,662
Engineering nec 4,198 4,606 4,661 4,696 4,807 5,903 5,932
Healthb 57,617 52,078 46,124 45,114 44,445 44,357 45,074
Clinical medicine 16,725 17,704 17,853 17,195 17,408 17,430 17,440
Anesthesiology 400 321 5 3 7 17 17
Cardiovascular science 38 48 54 41 27 28 28
Endocrinology 47 48 48 46 39 42 42
Gastroenterology 15 7 7 2 0 0 0
Hematology 9 4 1 5 1 0 0
Neurology 1,284 1,039 211 169 0 0 0
Obstetrics and gynecology 69 55 75 73 50 5 5
Oncology and cancer research 258 229 248 240 102 51 51
Ophthalmology 1 5 2 2 0 36 36
Otorhinolaryngology 2 3 1 1 0 0 0
Pediatrics 162 183 117 113 0 0 0
Preventive medicine and community health 12,219 13,312 14,913 14,913 15,718 15,501 15,461
Psychiatry 114 122 88 100 0 0 0
Pulmonary disease 12 12 14 12 11 0 0
Radiology 271 284 261 262 181 109 141
Surgery 26 49 20 25 1 0 0
Clinical medicine nec 1,798 1,983 1,788 1,188 1,271 1,641 1,659
Other healthb 40,892 34,374 28,271 27,919 27,037 26,927 27,634
Communication disorders sciences 12,466 12,554 12,116 11,867 12,071 12,440 12,875
Dental sciences 1,564 1,494 1,553 1,528 1,701 1,630 1,630
Nursing science 9,544 4,980 3,294 3,403 2,160 2,191 2,176
Pharmaceutical sciences 3,182 3,032 2,836 2,987 3,110 3,191 3,305
Veterinary sciences 1,637 1,651 1,271 1,250 1,359 1,248 1,248
Other health nec 12,499 10,663 7,201 6,884 6,636 6,227 6,400
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.
b Beginning in 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, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, 2014.