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Table 35. Postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health in public institutions, by detailed field: 2009–14

Field 2009 2010a,b 2011b 2012 2013 2014oldc 2014newc
All surveyed fields 32,467 35,134 34,266 34,574 33,874 34,355 34,413
Science and engineering 24,622 26,148 25,554 25,269 24,896 25,294 25,351
Science 20,533 21,845 21,475 21,018 20,605 20,913 20,955
Agricultural sciences 1,033 1,136 1,177 1,224 1,220 1,296 1,303
Biological sciences 11,270 11,542 10,969 10,353 9,857 9,703 9,713
Anatomy 230 285 261 198 176 156 156
Biochemistry 1,418 1,464 1,297 1,248 1,239 1,123 1,123
Biology 1,209 1,263 1,141 1,083 1,077 1,078 1,078
Biometry and epidemiology 197 227 199 232 223 237 237
Biophysics 57 63 52 60 51 35 35
Botany and plant biology 625 545 530 577 601 617 617
Cell and molecular biology 1,363 1,388 1,244 1,234 1,101 1,054 1,061
Ecology 157 134 118 127 60 56 56
Entomology and parasitology 242 223 249 243 234 245 245
Genetics 385 427 518 477 486 501 501
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 1,161 1,281 1,309 1,213 1,018 1,045 1,045
Nutrition 200 194 189 172 172 177 177
Pathology 674 703 633 607 547 578 578
Pharmacology and toxicology 988 1,008 925 836 771 700 700
Physiology 842 839 864 798 764 789 789
Zoology 78 76 85 87 94 75 75
Biosciences nec 1,444 1,422 1,355 1,161 1,243 1,237 1,240
Communicationa 11 29 30 17 25 21 21
Computer sciences 319 429 401 395 430 481 481
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 1,004 1,305 1,319 1,439 1,442 1,489 1,491
Atmospheric sciences 116 177 141 190 187 192 192
Geosciences 271 324 318 347 397 410 410
Ocean sciences 296 267 324 333 298 298 300
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 321 537 536 569 560 589 589
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 20 24 39 45 59 72 72
Mathematics and statistics 446 448 515 566 586 593 596
Mathematics and applied mathematics 418 407 458 490 491 520 523
Statistics 28 41 57 76 95 73 73
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 393 626 562 566 676 783 783
Neurobiology and neurosciencea 277 365 640 623 708 778 778
Physical sciences 4,856 4,983 4,850 4,764 4,550 4,577 4,594
Astronomy and astrophysics 289 287 282 275 223 231 231
Chemistry 2,802 2,749 2,616 2,572 2,424 2,357 2,369
Physics 1,622 1,766 1,776 1,740 1,725 1,805 1,810
Physical sciences nec 143 181 176 177 178 184 184
Psychology 584 600 607 608 580 566 569
Clinical psychology 52 54 59 56 62 49 49
Psychology, general 333 343 307 319 312 277 278
Psychology nec 199 203 241 233 206 240 242
Social sciences 320 358 366 418 472 554 554
Agricultural economics 41 41 42 56 55 57 57
Anthropology 57 59 45 57 67 86 86
Economics (except agricultural) 22 18 12 14 25 30 30
Geography 50 53 51 55 65 75 75
History and philosophy of science 3 4 2 7 3 1 1
Linguistics 8 13 16 17 15 20 20
Political science and government 31 29 64 53 70 97 97
Sociology 26 45 44 42 42 45 45
Sociology and anthropology 0 0 2 2 3 3 3
Social sciences nec 82 96 88 115 127 140 140
Engineering 4,089 4,303 4,079 4,251 4,291 4,381 4,396
Aerospace engineering 114 122 134 117 135 159 159
Agricultural engineering 110 110 101 111 133 132 136
Architecture 18 7 13 2 5 3 3
Biomedical engineering 438 482 509 600 563 606 608
Chemical engineering 744 708 743 692 760 753 753
Civil engineering 382 393 369 410 396 421 421
Electrical engineering 708 737 659 725 739 734 736
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 74 54 72 88 77 80 80
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 83 122 73 71 82 78 78
Mechanical engineering 586 622 522 563 614 629 632
Metallurgical and materials engineering 500 566 595 596 575 542 546
Mining engineering 4 4 4 5 7 15 15
Nuclear engineering 60 66 60 63 62 69 69
Petroleum engineering 23 25 17 32 26 46 46
Engineering nec 245 285 208 176 117 114 114
Health 7,845 8,986 8,712 9,305 8,978 9,061 9,062
Clinical medicine 5,812 6,781 6,728 7,040 6,658 6,751 6,751
Anesthesiology 161 170 169 184 185 173 173
Cardiovascular science 185 299 331 428 351 348 348
Endocrinology 163 160 160 186 175 170 170
Gastroenterology 116 149 170 155 135 121 121
Hematology 241 177 182 181 163 179 179
Neurology 514 441 376 304 343 333 333
Obstetrics and gynecology 142 161 160 146 153 156 156
Oncology and cancer research 691 839 810 843 849 907 907
Ophthalmology 175 186 186 232 241 263 263
Otorhinolaryngology 69 77 66 63 75 72 72
Pediatrics 441 577 763 821 818 764 764
Preventive medicine and community health 264 406 391 476 441 420 420
Psychiatry 386 441 443 528 443 529 529
Pulmonary disease 110 146 159 152 151 155 155
Radiology 299 317 333 290 261 294 294
Surgery 554 625 517 581 530 493 493
Clinical medicine nec 1,301 1,610 1,512 1,470 1,344 1,374 1,374
Other health 2,033 2,205 1,984 2,265 2,320 2,310 2,311
Communication disorders sciences 41 40 34 38 33 40 40
Dental sciences 189 265 244 250 211 224 224
Nursing science 50 47 64 54 48 58 58
Pharmaceutical sciences 931 1,030 965 908 932 949 950
Veterinary sciences 427 403 390 478 504 441 441
Other health nec 395 420 287 537 592 598 598
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.