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Table 33. Female postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health in all institutions, by detailed field: 2009–14

Field 2009 2010a,b 2011b 2012 2013 2014oldc 2014newc
All surveyed fields 21,818 24,570 24,472 24,685 24,357 24,627 25,102
Science and engineering 14,157 15,789 15,807 15,665 15,537 15,556 16,005
Science 12,772 14,299 14,308 14,076 13,949 13,914 14,363
Agricultural sciences 398 449 475 513 542 593 595
Biological sciences 8,640 9,581 9,293 8,787 8,445 8,170 8,508
Anatomy 169 196 178 139 126 102 102
Biochemistry 923 1,001 892 857 789 720 720
Biology 1,018 1,084 1,024 995 931 943 1,007
Biometry and epidemiology 193 269 223 247 275 286 286
Biophysics 51 83 63 65 53 48 48
Botany and plant biology 261 224 214 239 237 233 233
Cell and molecular biology 1,142 1,193 1,165 1,127 1,053 950 1,005
Ecology 96 96 81 97 47 46 46
Entomology and parasitology 90 98 119 122 121 125 125
Genetics 430 605 625 592 596 598 598
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 993 1,153 1,211 1,144 1,026 986 1,013
Nutrition 128 143 147 148 147 161 161
Pathology 838 874 786 719 678 665 665
Pharmacology and toxicology 659 748 687 603 563 528 547
Physiology 588 641 691 615 634 584 615
Zoology 32 28 29 36 40 33 33
Biosciences nec 1,029 1,145 1,158 1,042 1,129 1,162 1,304
Communication 15 23 24 21 31 30 30
Computer sciences 100 130 142 155 140 152 152
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 487 593 652 744 765 784 785
Atmospheric sciences 34 54 56 71 61 70 70
Geosciences 165 180 196 226 265 265 265
Ocean sciences 161 160 188 203 193 195 196
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 127 199 212 244 246 254 254
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 14 23 43 44 62 73 84
Mathematics and statistics 170 186 190 193 187 195 195
Mathematics and applied mathematics 152 169 167 162 155 172 172
Statistics 18 17 23 31 32 23 23
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 166 280 240 263 328 374 374
Neurobiology and neuroscience 250 387 610 661 730 766 817
Physical sciences 1,669 1,682 1,626 1,661 1,655 1,611 1,652
Astronomy and astrophysics 143 141 153 148 115 113 113
Chemistry 1,089 1,016 932 966 974 935 976
Physics 400 479 486 488 503 504 504
Physical sciences nec 37 46 55 59 63 59 59
Psychology 610 623 627 642 601 618 622
Clinical psychology 102 98 67 72 74 58 58
Psychology, general 336 350 336 331 323 324 326
Psychology nec 172 175 224 239 204 236 238
Social sciences 253 342 386 392 463 548 549
Agricultural economics 16 16 16 23 29 29 29
Anthropology 47 49 45 53 71 76 76
Economics (except agricultural) 18 18 10 15 17 27 27
Geography 23 23 19 27 40 54 54
History and philosophy of science 5 7 6 6 4 3 3
Linguistics 4 10 12 17 18 19 19
Political science and government 35 43 101 75 111 121 121
Sociology 34 52 60 62 58 62 62
Sociology and anthropology 1 0 1 1 2 1 1
Social sciences nec 70 124 116 113 113 156 157
Engineering 1,385 1,490 1,499 1,589 1,588 1,642 1,642
Aerospace engineering 24 30 32 31 30 29 29
Agricultural engineering 30 38 38 43 40 38 38
Architecture 11 5 7 3 6 7 7
Biomedical engineering 324 325 344 388 352 387 387
Chemical engineering 234 236 271 268 306 314 314
Civil engineering 125 148 153 149 161 175 175
Electrical engineering 158 169 153 185 187 187 187
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 54 46 61 59 46 52 52
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 28 40 27 27 30 29 29
Mechanical engineering 141 148 126 150 166 176 176
Metallurgical and materials engineering 147 174 181 172 174 154 154
Mining engineering 0 0 0 1 1 4 4
Nuclear engineering 15 15 15 12 11 16 16
Petroleum engineering 7 12 6 14 11 15 15
Engineering nec 87 104 85 87 67 59 59
Health 7,661 8,781 8,665 9,020 8,820 9,071 9,097
Clinical medicine 6,561 7,590 7,594 7,760 7,533 7,740 7,759
Anesthesiology 166 206 171 181 169 163 163
Cardiovascular science 198 247 256 316 318 292 292
Endocrinology 233 227 226 258 224 220 220
Gastroenterology 107 118 147 153 150 155 155
Hematology 173 149 162 175 179 165 165
Neurology 653 625 485 451 438 561 561
Obstetrics and gynecology 158 201 204 199 183 178 178
Oncology and cancer research 758 865 835 869 822 829 829
Ophthalmology 222 207 216 241 235 256 256
Otorhinolaryngology 61 55 75 60 73 77 77
Pediatrics 529 718 758 878 924 902 902
Preventive medicine and community health 245 362 376 420 412 397 397
Psychiatry 552 604 614 684 654 705 705
Pulmonary disease 97 119 135 129 136 133 133
Radiology 340 361 336 328 312 343 343
Surgery 441 456 469 529 478 523 523
Clinical medicine nec 1,628 2,070 2,129 1,889 1,826 1,841 1,860
Other health 1,100 1,191 1,071 1,260 1,287 1,331 1,338
Communication disorders sciences 39 32 30 38 30 39 39
Dental sciences 140 169 155 155 138 146 147
Nursing science 58 49 68 66 67 73 73
Pharmaceutical sciences 353 388 360 360 372 381 386
Veterinary sciences 243 242 240 311 300 281 282
Other health nec 267 311 218 330 380 411 411
nec = not elsewhere classified.
a In 2010, the postdoc section of the survey was expanded, and significant effort was made to ensure that appropriate personnel were providing postdoc data (see appendix A for more information). Thus, it is unclear how much of the increases in 2010 and later years over 2009 and prior years are from growth in postdoctoral appointments and how much are from improved data collection. More information on the changes to the postdoc data collection is available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf13334/.
b Postdoc data from 2010 and 2011 were reimputed following the 2012 data collection; these data supersede those contained in previous reports.
c 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, 2014.