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Table 36. Postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health in private institutions, by detailed field: 2010–15

Field 2010a 2011a 2012 2013 2014oldb 2014newb 2015
All surveyed fields 28,305 28,373 28,277 28,068 28,024 29,180 29,150
Science and engineering 18,172 18,567 18,572 18,499 18,182 19,272 19,438
Science 15,506 15,860 15,720 15,684 15,271 16,361 16,413
Agricultural sciences 54 79 66 99 99 99 118
Biological sciences 10,184 10,138 9,733 9,473 9,046 9,841 9,573
Anatomy 128 113 89 82 79 79 56
Biochemistry 1,059 1,017 984 858 762 762 753
Biology 1,270 1,200 1,185 1,064 1,131 1,314 1,174
Biometry and epidemiology 339 324 304 415 415 415 400
Biophysics 200 142 125 113 121 121 118
Botany and plant biology 14 31 19 13 9 9 37
Cell and molecular biology 1,392 1,409 1,340 1,286 1,087 1,209 1,155
Ecology 82 82 78 47 46 46 55
Entomology and parasitology 10 12 23 24 34 34 30
Genetics 921 942 930 908 884 884 929
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 1,285 1,265 1,224 1,170 1,075 1,142 1,138
Nutrition 51 58 52 42 59 59 67
Pathology 1,108 1,040 975 958 891 891 825
Pharmacology and toxicology 644 629 547 513 485 526 544
Physiology 622 663 601 648 509 591 632
Zoology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Biosciences nec 1,059 1,211 1,257 1,332 1,459 1,759 1,660
Communication 33 37 41 51 54 54 55
Computer sciences 334 358 365 335 352 353 373
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 435 455 517 590 570 570 588
Atmospheric sciences 12 26 19 22 20 20 13
Geosciences 277 260 290 333 315 315 318
Ocean sciences 65 84 113 125 123 123 131
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 81 85 95 110 112 112 126
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 6 13 13 31 21 42 35
Mathematics and statistics 343 315 336 346 363 363 356
Mathematics and applied mathematics 308 275 292 296 317 317 308
Statistics 35 40 44 50 46 46 48
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 159 142 176 215 262 262 314
Neurobiology and neuroscience 473 758 902 988 1,000 1,100 1,120
Physical sciences 2,600 2,640 2,666 2,647 2,512 2,683 2,806
Astronomy and astrophysics 245 242 234 184 159 159 179
Chemistry 1,430 1,389 1,444 1,426 1,351 1,522 1,548
Physics 842 918 911 957 928 928 939
Physical sciences nec 83 91 77 80 74 74 140
Psychology 532 517 524 443 496 497 511
Clinical psychology 81 35 48 42 36 36 49
Psychology, general 321 332 294 256 305 306 291
Psychology nec 130 150 182 145 155 155 171
Social sciences 353 408 381 466 496 497 564
Agricultural economics 3 5 4 6 8 8 10
Anthropology 27 37 39 51 56 56 60
Economics (except agricultural) 42 26 36 37 56 56 68
Geography 9 7 14 24 29 29 23
History and philosophy of science 13 7 7 11 8 8 9
Linguistics 14 15 14 18 16 16 16
Political science and government 64 156 123 169 161 161 217
Sociology 38 47 55 51 46 46 59
Sociology and anthropology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Social sciences nec 143 108 89 99 116 117 102
Engineering 2,666 2,707 2,852 2,815 2,911 2,911 3,025
Aerospace engineering 90 68 53 67 61 61 67
Agricultural engineering 9 28 22 19 14 14 14
Architecture 3 3 4 12 11 11 10
Biomedical engineering 541 560 561 540 590 590 647
Chemical engineering 369 394 406 470 491 491 491
Civil engineering 178 182 180 191 208 208 228
Electrical engineering 358 376 427 441 443 443 443
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 182 209 204 163 190 190 182
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 29 48 56 51 53 53 55
Mechanical engineering 399 367 422 420 426 426 461
Metallurgical and materials engineering 275 265 258 234 234 234 259
Mining engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nuclear engineering 41 51 57 43 43 43 43
Petroleum engineering 19 18 21 23 20 20 24
Engineering nec 173 138 181 141 127 127 101
Health 10,133 9,806 9,705 9,569 9,842 9,908 9,712
Clinical medicine 9,734 9,437 9,321 9,173 9,413 9,465 9,262
Anesthesiology 327 238 252 254 261 261 257
Cardiovascular science 325 356 359 426 394 394 399
Endocrinology 296 279 287 266 265 265 271
Gastroenterology 154 173 164 182 197 197 206
Hematology 170 182 186 185 199 199 204
Neurology 864 653 648 598 791 791 726
Obstetrics and gynecology 188 164 161 148 169 169 149
Oncology and cancer research 1,080 1,057 1,080 1,010 933 933 956
Ophthalmology 280 275 286 287 311 311 321
Otorhinolaryngology 65 92 81 85 92 92 99
Pediatrics 734 678 762 766 748 748 683
Preventive medicine and community health 224 263 254 262 238 238 275
Psychiatry 518 536 561 565 566 566 571
Pulmonary disease 139 135 127 137 132 132 147
Radiology 715 654 689 660 696 696 718
Surgery 642 724 792 767 867 867 758
Clinical medicine nec 3,013 2,978 2,632 2,575 2,554 2,606 2,522
Other health 399 369 384 396 429 443 450
Communication disorders sciences 15 14 21 16 21 21 24
Dental sciences 88 102 93 92 103 104 83
Nursing science 8 15 22 29 24 24 30
Pharmaceutical sciences 40 44 74 63 55 66 69
Veterinary sciences 65 60 56 60 71 72 77
Other health nec 183 134 118 136 155 156 167
nec = not elsewhere classified.
a Postdoctoral appointee (postdoc) data from 2010 and 2011 were reimputed following the 2012 data collection; these data supersede those contained in previous reports.
b 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.