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Table 48. Postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health in all institutions, by detailed field and origin of doctoral degree: 2014

Field Total United Statesa Foreign country Degree origin unknown
All surveyed fields 63,593 23,453 18,272 21,868
Science and engineering 44,623 16,575 12,221 15,827
Science 37,316 13,961 10,484 12,871
Agricultural sciences 1,402 483 241 678
Biological sciences 19,554 7,032 6,310 6,212
Anatomy 235 77 83 75
Biochemistry 1,885 662 622 601
Biology 2,392 1,143 744 505
Biometry and epidemiology 652 295 164 193
Biophysics 156 81 50 25
Botany and plant biology 626 134 138 354
Cell and molecular biology 2,270 737 673 860
Ecology 102 44 10 48
Entomology and parasitology 279 125 45 109
Genetics 1,385 493 448 444
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 2,187 839 707 641
Nutrition 236 97 57 82
Pathology 1,469 474 612 383
Pharmacology and toxicology 1,226 491 445 290
Physiology 1,380 502 470 408
Zoology 75 34 7 34
Biosciences nec 2,999 804 1,035 1,160
Communication 75 32 13 30
Computer sciences 834 306 232 296
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 2,061 853 431 777
Atmospheric sciences 212 76 51 85
Geosciences 725 298 180 247
Ocean sciences 423 268 92 63
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 701 211 108 382
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 114 44 1 69
Mathematics and statistics 959 453 226 280
Mathematics and applied mathematics 840 400 195 245
Statistics 119 53 31 35
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 1,045 389 163 493
Neurobiology and neuroscience 1,878 713 527 638
Physical sciences 7,277 2,445 2,000 2,832
Astronomy and astrophysics 390 140 94 156
Chemistry 3,891 1,278 1,090 1,523
Physics 2,738 987 792 959
Physical sciences nec 258 40 24 194
Psychology 1,066 653 200 213
Clinical psychology 85 68 8 9
Psychology, general 584 332 112 140
Psychology nec 397 253 80 64
Social sciences 1,051 558 140 353
Agricultural economics 65 19 4 42
Anthropology 142 60 13 69
Economics (except agricultural) 86 54 8 24
Geography 104 58 23 23
History and philosophy of science 9 2 6 1
Linguistics 36 24 2 10
Political science and government 258 151 44 63
Sociology 91 54 9 28
Sociology and anthropology 3 3 0 0
Social sciences nec 257 133 31 93
Engineering 7,307 2,614 1,737 2,956
Aerospace engineering 220 79 45 96
Agricultural engineering 150 39 31 80
Architecture 14 5 4 5
Biomedical engineering 1,198 479 294 425
Chemical engineering 1,244 384 292 568
Civil engineering 629 238 120 271
Electrical engineering 1,179 372 291 516
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 270 106 96 68
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 131 65 29 37
Mechanical engineering 1,058 429 233 396
Metallurgical and materials engineering 780 221 203 356
Mining engineering 15 7 6 2
Nuclear engineering 112 50 29 33
Petroleum engineering 66 41 19 6
Engineering nec 241 99 45 97
Health 18,970 6,878 6,051 6,041
Clinical medicine 16,216 5,981 5,443 4,792
Anesthesiology 434 126 137 171
Cardiovascular science 742 264 314 164
Endocrinology 435 178 187 70
Gastroenterology 318 123 150 45
Hematology 378 154 168 56
Neurology 1,124 335 400 389
Obstetrics and gynecology 325 114 125 86
Oncology and cancer research 1,840 699 704 437
Ophthalmology 574 157 298 119
Otorhinolaryngology 164 74 56 34
Pediatrics 1,512 731 516 265
Preventive medicine and community health 658 327 135 196
Psychiatry 1,095 532 180 383
Pulmonary disease 287 167 86 34
Radiology 990 323 336 331
Surgery 1,360 386 446 528
Clinical medicine nec 3,980 1,291 1,205 1,484
Other health 2,754 897 608 1,249
Communication disorders sciences 61 21 7 33
Dental sciences 328 90 100 138
Nursing science 82 60 3 19
Pharmaceutical sciences 1,016 339 280 397
Veterinary sciences 513 124 91 298
Other health nec 754 263 127 364
nec = not elsewhere classified.
a United States includes Puerto Rico and U.S. territories.
NOTES: "Field" refers to the field of the unit that reports postdocs to the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering. 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.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, 2014.