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Table 16. Graduate students in science, engineering, and health in doctorate-granting institutions, by detailed field: 2009–14

Field 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014olda 2014newa
All surveyed fields 573,883 575,785 570,534 571,578 574,004 588,600 588,952
Science and engineering 497,223 508,114 511,759 513,206 518,888 532,926 534,429
Science 360,501 366,312 371,833 370,873 372,113 378,436 378,071
Agricultural sciences 14,110 14,561 15,078 15,226 15,400 15,975 16,067
Biological sciences 68,580 69,522 69,686 70,996 71,187 70,702 71,463
Anatomy 833 849 762 700 527 535 535
Biochemistry 5,158 5,190 5,030 5,107 4,802 4,873 4,873
Biology 14,005 14,103 13,840 13,476 13,187 13,422 13,659
Biometry and epidemiology 5,682 6,346 6,736 7,703 8,336 8,065 8,072
Biophysics 1,042 1,072 1,016 976 952 877 877
Botany and plant biology 1,830 1,863 1,915 1,852 1,878 1,877 1,877
Cell and molecular biology 6,970 6,835 6,746 6,633 6,364 5,980 6,036
Ecology 1,634 1,713 1,589 1,575 1,353 1,320 1,320
Entomology and parasitology 1,079 1,116 1,119 1,187 1,278 1,304 1,304
Genetics 2,242 2,333 2,403 2,342 2,315 2,375 2,402
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 4,931 4,859 4,980 4,897 4,893 4,600 4,600
Nutrition 4,754 4,867 4,605 4,644 4,722 4,968 5,022
Pathology 1,450 1,314 1,209 1,139 1,038 973 973
Pharmacology and toxicology 3,163 3,101 3,053 3,088 2,979 2,916 2,916
Physiology 2,776 2,847 2,932 2,983 3,153 3,233 3,293
Zoology 873 894 1,058 1,079 1,186 1,045 1,045
Biosciences nec 10,158 10,220 10,693 11,615 12,224 12,339 12,659
Communication 7,951 8,219 9,002 8,931 9,222 9,692 9,828
Computer sciences 45,593 45,860 46,120 46,547 49,725 58,478 60,929
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 13,942 14,756 14,887 15,169 14,906 14,511 14,635
Atmospheric sciences 1,348 1,443 1,496 1,530 1,519 1,441 1,441
Geosciences 7,141 7,800 7,909 8,198 8,282 8,307 8,307
Ocean sciences 2,527 2,455 2,579 2,520 2,568 2,403 2,434
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 2,926 3,058 2,903 2,921 2,537 2,360 2,453
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 3,084 3,491 3,790 3,588 3,644 3,761 3,761
Mathematics and statistics 20,527 21,330 21,967 22,579 22,788 23,465 23,642
Mathematics and applied mathematics 15,679 16,029 16,541 16,813 16,534 16,814 16,911
Statistics 4,848 5,301 5,426 5,766 6,254 6,651 6,731
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 5,511 6,742 5,785 5,550 5,392 5,799 6,081
Neurobiology and neuroscience 2,316 2,798 4,088 4,547 4,760 4,851 4,851
Physical sciences 37,098 37,871 38,656 38,837 38,944 39,224 39,315
Astronomy and astrophysics 1,409 1,331 1,345 1,278 1,250 1,237 1,237
Chemistry 21,374 21,673 22,048 22,340 22,193 22,211 22,245
Physics 13,834 14,294 14,607 14,691 14,987 15,276 15,315
Physical sciences nec 481 573 656 528 514 500 518
Psychologyb 46,564 45,246 45,608 44,452 43,279 41,078 37,713
Clinical psychology 12,239 11,250 9,662 8,432 8,341 7,740 7,137
Psychology, general 11,841 11,248 14,748 14,378 13,613 13,473 10,299
Psychology nec 22,484 22,748 21,198 21,642 21,325 19,865 20,277
Social sciences 95,225 95,916 97,166 94,451 92,866 90,900 89,786
Agricultural economics 2,215 2,171 2,090 2,030 1,901 1,928 1,928
Anthropology 7,872 8,013 7,891 7,745 7,673 7,449 7,449
Economics (except agricultural) 13,200 13,450 13,940 13,990 13,883 13,679 13,699
Geography 4,196 4,401 4,542 4,379 4,306 4,243 4,243
History and philosophy of science 851 552 469 461 391 365 371
Linguistics 2,882 2,863 2,997 3,020 3,225 3,173 3,173
Political science and government 37,744 38,578 41,429 40,842 39,780 39,607 38,181
Sociology 8,528 8,695 8,578 8,240 8,284 7,961 7,961
Sociology and anthropology 553 305 268 255 213 187 187
Social sciences nec 17,184 16,888 14,962 13,489 13,210 12,308 12,594
Engineering 136,722 141,802 139,926 142,333 146,775 154,490 156,358
Aerospace engineering 5,096 5,474 5,605 4,986 5,101 5,025 5,025
Agricultural engineering 1,303 1,457 1,655 1,544 1,642 1,717 1,740
Architecture 6,661 6,647 3,085 2,340 2,150 1,786 1,789
Biomedical engineering 7,879 8,439 9,074 9,085 9,058 9,374 9,374
Chemical engineering 8,077 8,573 8,741 9,142 9,619 9,763 9,780
Civil engineering 17,708 18,499 18,528 18,810 18,987 19,417 19,431
Electrical engineering 38,070 38,609 39,400 40,390 43,218 46,534 48,246
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 2,004 2,020 2,054 2,173 2,080 2,123 2,123
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 14,626 13,936 13,420 13,575 13,597 13,959 13,959
Mechanical engineering 20,201 21,519 20,988 22,228 23,201 24,454 24,508
Metallurgical and materials engineering 5,822 6,216 6,579 6,917 7,077 7,414 7,459
Mining engineering 302 408 498 355 355 396 396
Nuclear engineering 1,243 1,459 1,499 1,513 1,459 1,467 1,467
Petroleum engineering 1,184 1,289 1,292 1,520 1,605 2,056 2,056
Engineering nec 6,546 7,257 7,508 7,755 7,626 9,005 9,005
Healthb 76,660 67,671 58,775 58,372 55,116 55,674 54,523
Clinical medicine 22,670 24,068 25,358 25,335 24,621 24,951 23,595
Anesthesiology 163 66 8 3 7 17 17
Cardiovascular science 45 48 57 43 32 28 28
Endocrinology 50 53 56 52 42 45 45
Gastroenterology 15 7 7 2 0 0 0
Hematology 11 6 1 5 1 0 0
Neurology 1,323 1,056 219 171 0 0 0
Obstetrics and gynecology 89 79 100 91 68 18 18
Oncology and cancer research 272 232 255 248 103 51 51
Ophthalmology 1 5 2 2 0 36 36
Otorhinolaryngology 4 4 2 2 1 0 0
Pediatrics 186 211 132 125 0 0 0
Preventive medicine and community health 17,586 19,076 21,729 22,238 22,203 22,323 20,965
Psychiatry 233 260 88 100 0 0 0
Pulmonary disease 13 12 14 12 11 0 0
Radiology 385 396 339 335 201 117 117
Surgery 40 59 30 35 8 5 5
Clinical medicine nec 2,254 2,498 2,319 1,871 1,944 2,311 2,313
Other healthb 53,990 43,603 33,417 33,037 30,495 30,723 30,928
Communication disorders sciences 11,377 11,305 10,588 10,182 10,458 10,391 10,483
Dental sciences 1,770 1,661 1,764 1,707 1,914 1,877 1,877
Nursing science 18,706 10,415 6,578 6,950 4,501 4,458 4,477
Pharmaceutical sciences 4,435 4,280 4,048 4,211 4,130 4,287 4,320
Veterinary sciences 2,170 2,211 1,894 1,794 1,919 1,979 1,979
Other health nec 15,532 13,731 8,545 8,193 7,573 7,731 7,792
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.