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Table 36. Postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health in private institutions, by detailed field: 2009–14

Field 2009 2010a,b 2011b 2012 2013 2014oldc 2014newc
All surveyed fields 25,338 28,305 28,373 28,277 28,068 28,024 29,180
Science and engineering 16,182 18,172 18,567 18,572 18,499 18,182 19,272
Science 13,855 15,506 15,860 15,720 15,684 15,271 16,361
Agricultural sciences 50 54 79 66 99 99 99
Biological sciences 8,889 10,184 10,138 9,733 9,473 9,046 9,841
Anatomy 141 128 113 89 82 79 79
Biochemistry 933 1,059 1,017 984 858 762 762
Biology 1,221 1,270 1,200 1,185 1,064 1,131 1,314
Biometry and epidemiology 198 339 324 304 415 415 415
Biophysics 123 200 142 125 113 121 121
Botany and plant biology 15 14 31 19 13 9 9
Cell and molecular biology 1,275 1,392 1,409 1,340 1,286 1,087 1,209
Ecology 76 82 82 78 47 46 46
Entomology and parasitology 6 10 12 23 24 34 34
Genetics 669 921 942 930 908 884 884
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 1,104 1,285 1,265 1,224 1,170 1,075 1,142
Nutrition 14 51 58 52 42 59 59
Pathology 1,117 1,108 1,040 975 958 891 891
Pharmacology and toxicology 535 644 629 547 513 485 526
Physiology 585 622 663 601 648 509 591
Zoology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Biosciences nec 877 1,059 1,211 1,257 1,332 1,459 1,759
Communication 27 33 37 41 51 54 54
Computer sciences 275 334 358 365 335 352 353
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 420 435 455 517 590 570 570
Atmospheric sciences 8 12 26 19 22 20 20
Geosciences 265 277 260 290 333 315 315
Ocean sciences 114 65 84 113 125 123 123
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 33 81 85 95 110 112 112
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 2 6 13 13 31 21 42
Mathematics and statistics 291 343 315 336 346 363 363
Mathematics and applied mathematics 257 308 275 292 296 317 317
Statistics 34 35 40 44 50 46 46
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 66 159 142 176 215 262 262
Neurobiology and neuroscience 368 473 758 902 988 1,000 1,100
Physical sciences 2,591 2,600 2,640 2,666 2,647 2,512 2,683
Astronomy and astrophysics 218 245 242 234 184 159 159
Chemistry 1,417 1,430 1,389 1,444 1,426 1,351 1,522
Physics 895 842 918 911 957 928 928
Physical sciences nec 61 83 91 77 80 74 74
Psychology 635 532 517 524 443 496 497
Clinical psychology 78 81 35 48 42 36 36
Psychology, general 422 321 332 294 256 305 306
Psychology nec 135 130 150 182 145 155 155
Social sciences 241 353 408 381 466 496 497
Agricultural economics 2 3 5 4 6 8 8
Anthropology 20 27 37 39 51 56 56
Economics (except agricultural) 43 42 26 36 37 56 56
Geography 8 9 7 14 24 29 29
History and philosophy of science 6 13 7 7 11 8 8
Linguistics 6 14 15 14 18 16 16
Political science and government 46 64 156 123 169 161 161
Sociology 33 38 47 55 51 46 46
Sociology and anthropology 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Social sciences nec 74 143 108 89 99 116 117
Engineering 2,327 2,666 2,707 2,852 2,815 2,911 2,911
Aerospace engineering 54 90 68 53 67 61 61
Agricultural engineering 0 9 28 22 19 14 14
Architecturea 4 3 3 4 12 11 11
Biomedical engineering 522 541 560 561 540 590 590
Chemical engineering 340 369 394 406 470 491 491
Civil engineeringa 153 178 182 180 191 208 208
Electrical engineering 317 358 376 427 441 443 443
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 152 182 209 204 163 190 190
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 26 29 48 56 51 53 53
Mechanical engineering 362 399 367 422 420 426 426
Metallurgical and materials engineering 258 275 265 258 234 234 234
Mining engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nuclear engineering 30 41 51 57 43 43 43
Petroleum engineering 13 19 18 21 23 20 20
Engineering nec 96 173 138 181 141 127 127
Health 9,156 10,133 9,806 9,705 9,569 9,842 9,908
Clinical medicine 8,789 9,734 9,437 9,321 9,173 9,413 9,465
Anesthesiology 274 327 238 252 254 261 261
Cardiovascular science 347 325 356 359 426 394 394
Endocrinology 312 296 279 287 266 265 265
Gastroenterology 153 154 173 164 182 197 197
Hematology 188 170 182 186 185 199 199
Neurologya 904 864 653 648 598 791 791
Obstetrics and gynecology 137 188 164 161 148 169 169
Oncology and cancer research 990 1,080 1,057 1,080 1,010 933 933
Ophthalmology 287 280 275 286 287 311 311
Otorhinolaryngology 68 65 92 81 85 92 92
Pediatrics 562 734 678 762 766 748 748
Preventive medicine and community health 131 224 263 254 262 238 238
Psychiatry 532 518 536 561 565 566 566
Pulmonary disease 141 139 135 127 137 132 132
Radiology 678 715 654 689 660 696 696
Surgery 788 642 724 792 767 867 867
Clinical medicine nec 2,297 3,013 2,978 2,632 2,575 2,554 2,606
Other health 367 399 369 384 396 429 443
Communication disorders sciences 17 15 14 21 16 21 21
Dental sciences 102 88 102 93 92 103 104
Nursing science 20 8 15 22 29 24 24
Pharmaceutical sciences 46 40 44 74 63 55 66
Veterinary sciences 43 65 60 56 60 71 72
Other health nec 139 183 134 118 136 155 156
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.