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Table 41. Postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health in all institutions, by field, primary source of support, and primary mechanism of support: 2015

Field and primary source of support Total Fellowships Research grants Traineeships Other types of support
All surveyed fields 63,861 6,286 39,811 3,884 13,880
Federal 33,284 2,036 27,538 2,993 717
DOD 2,321 96 2,178 9 38
DOE 1,999 46 1,899 4 50
HHS 20,576 1,418 16,176 2,724 258
NIH 19,720 1,329 15,495 2,645 251
Other HHS 856 89 681 79 7
NASA 647 58 579 7 3
NSF 4,130 215 3,732 84 99
USDA 787 24 732 1 30
Other 2,824 179 2,242 164 239
Nonfederal 25,530 3,673 11,190 778 9,889
Institutional 13,173 1,442 4,745 509 6,477
Domestic 10,240 1,421 5,753 252 2,814
Foreign 2,117 810 692 17 598
Self-support 867 na na na 867
Unknown 4,180 577 1,083 113 2,407
Science and engineering 45,295 4,079 30,742 1,873 8,601
Federal 24,579 1,242 21,472 1,339 526
DOD 2,071 78 1,960 6 27
DOE 1,966 45 1,872 1 48
HHS 12,838 736 10,783 1,159 160
NIH 12,298 710 10,305 1,125 158
Other HHS 540 26 478 34 2
NASA 627 54 563 7 3
NSF 4,067 210 3,678 84 95
USDA 738 23 685 1 29
Other 2,272 96 1,931 81 164
Nonfederal 17,557 2,420 8,409 462 6,266
Institutional 8,997 848 3,557 332 4,260
Domestic 7,059 930 4,265 120 1,744
Foreign 1,501 642 587 10 262
Self-support 430 na na na 430
Unknown 2,729 417 861 72 1,379
Science 37,639 3,555 24,996 1,762 7,326
Federal 20,837 1,132 17,993 1,268 444
DOD 1,181 52 1,108 3 18
DOE 1,346 33 1,279 1 33
HHS 12,006 704 10,056 1,098 148
NIH 11,520 679 9,631 1,064 146
Other HHS 486 25 425 34 2
NASA 551 52 489 7 3
NSF 3,261 195 2,919 77 70
USDA 687 18 639 1 29
Other 1,805 78 1,503 81 143
Nonfederal 14,253 2,121 6,337 424 5,371
Institutional 7,481 726 2,839 305 3,611
Domestic 5,642 839 3,154 110 1,539
Foreign 1,130 556 344 9 221
Self-support 365 na na na 365
Unknown 2,184 302 666 70 1,146
Engineering 7,656 524 5,746 111 1,275
Federal 3,742 110 3,479 71 82
DOD 890 26 852 3 9
DOE 620 12 593 0 15
HHS 832 32 727 61 12
NIH 778 31 674 61 12
Other HHS 54 1 53 0 0
NASA 76 2 74 0 0
NSF 806 15 759 7 25
USDA 51 5 46 0 0
Other 467 18 428 0 21
Nonfederal 3,304 299 2,072 38 895
Institutional 1,516 122 718 27 649
Domestic 1,417 91 1,111 10 205
Foreign 371 86 243 1 41
Self-support 65 na na na 65
Unknown 545 115 195 2 233
Health 18,566 2,207 9,069 2,011 5,279
Federal 8,705 794 6,066 1,654 191
DOD 250 18 218 3 11
DOE 33 1 27 3 2
HHS 7,738 682 5,393 1,565 98
NIH 7,422 619 5,190 1,520 93
Other HHS 316 63 203 45 5
NASA 20 4 16 0 0
NSF 63 5 54 0 4
USDA 49 1 47 0 1
Other 552 83 311 83 75
Nonfederal 7,973 1,253 2,781 316 3,623
Institutional 4,176 594 1,188 177 2,217
Domestic 3,181 491 1,488 132 1,070
Foreign 616 168 105 7 336
Self-support 437 na na na 437
Unknown 1,451 160 222 41 1,028
na = not applicable; data were not collected at this level of detail.
DOD = Department of Defense; DOE = Department of Energy; HHS = Department of Health and Human Services; NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration; NIH = National Institutes of Health; NSF = National Science Foundation; USDA = Department of Agriculture.
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, 2015.