Back to Data Tables
Excel icon Download to excel

Table 12. First-time, full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health in all institutions, by detailed field: 2011–16

Field 2011 2012 2013 2014olda 2014newa 2015 2016
All surveyed fields 136,610 137,767 143,326 150,653 154,219 161,640 161,824
Science and engineering 120,135 121,856 127,725 134,896 137,783 144,011 144,787
Science 86,810 87,523 90,286 93,710 96,113 102,056 103,531
Agricultural sciences 3,053 3,040 3,128 3,233 3,364 3,637 3,531
Biological sciences 16,599 17,080 16,554 16,543 17,203 18,600 19,303
Anatomy 153 175 114 123 131 167 96
Biochemistry 900 972 913 910 910 831 795
Biology 3,491 3,346 3,154 3,111 3,231 3,297 3,273
Biometry and epidemiology 1,584 1,908 2,022 2,093 2,111 2,350 2,358
Biophysics 173 151 160 140 140 130 165
Botany and plant biology 334 368 364 324 324 336 308
Cell and molecular biology 1,451 1,352 1,281 1,061 1,077 1,305 1,342
Ecology 288 303 253 239 239 236 235
Entomology and parasitology 190 195 221 226 226 226 185
Genetics 417 364 367 430 447 418 439
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 845 838 813 836 837 824 860
Nutrition 1,156 1,156 1,123 1,185 1,267 1,383 1,374
Pathology 227 231 196 186 186 185 179
Pharmacology and toxicology 518 519 478 468 468 531 500
Physiology 772 901 947 1,013 1,047 1,147 1,190
Zoology 128 139 147 130 143 120 118
Biosciences nec 3,972 4,162 4,001 4,068 4,419 5,114 5,886
Communication 2,367 2,366 2,323 2,577 2,704 2,515 2,677
Computer sciences 10,995 11,688 15,397 19,606 20,658 22,911 22,614
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 3,408 3,451 3,382 3,377 3,441 3,321 3,319
Atmospheric sciences 266 300 291 296 302 281 300
Geosciences 1,839 1,868 1,940 1,973 1,983 1,937 1,889
Ocean sciences 520 481 476 466 499 540 582
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 783 802 675 642 657 563 548
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 832 809 819 734 740 776 740
Mathematics and statistics 5,594 5,738 6,011 6,347 6,386 6,708 7,291
Mathematics and applied mathematics 4,108 4,064 4,139 4,191 4,225 4,408 4,858
Statistics 1,486 1,674 1,872 2,156 2,161 2,300 2,433
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 1,384 1,374 1,240 1,442 1,691 2,035 2,325
Neurobiology and neuroscience 728 839 782 818 818 874 928
Physical sciences 7,762 7,615 7,542 7,314 7,347 7,809 7,818
Astronomy and astrophysics 267 235 210 206 206 238 286
Chemistry 4,585 4,487 4,429 4,245 4,261 4,480 4,486
Physics 2,766 2,783 2,761 2,718 2,734 2,938 2,882
Physical sciences nec 144 110 142 145 146 153 164
Psychology 10,218 10,455 10,467 9,995 9,839 10,669 10,708
Clinical psychology 1,897 1,841 1,795 1,598 1,560 1,867 1,798
Psychology, general 3,115 3,240 3,109 2,995 2,769 2,794 2,819
Psychology nec 5,206 5,374 5,563 5,402 5,510 6,008 6,091
Social sciences 23,870 23,068 22,641 21,724 21,922 22,201 22,277
Agricultural economics 528 498 484 490 490 492 431
Anthropology 1,407 1,459 1,436 1,380 1,401 1,279 1,265
Economics (except agricultural) 4,045 4,022 3,861 3,929 3,946 3,966 4,090
Geography 1,043 999 1,009 974 976 985 983
History and philosophy of science 85 78 53 64 64 66 68
Linguistics 680 709 707 691 691 665 596
Political science and government 10,618 10,277 10,152 9,546 9,553 9,810 9,809
Sociology 1,742 1,548 1,521 1,536 1,553 1,509 1,484
Sociology and anthropology 41 49 46 43 43 44 45
Social sciences nec 3,681 3,429 3,372 3,071 3,205 3,385 3,506
Engineering 33,325 34,333 37,439 41,186 41,670 41,955 41,256
Aerospace engineering 1,239 991 1,138 1,238 1,238 1,261 1,268
Agricultural engineering 353 321 357 405 409 356 343
Architecture 970 630 634 510 514 481 543
Biomedical engineering 2,141 2,261 2,182 2,318 2,318 2,446 2,735
Chemical engineering 2,039 2,216 2,433 2,408 2,408 2,527 2,662
Civil engineering 5,003 5,119 5,127 5,392 5,411 5,162 5,125
Electrical engineering 9,790 10,439 12,387 13,707 14,097 13,593 12,226
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 363 416 366 414 417 339 354
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 2,837 2,767 3,047 3,679 3,710 4,269 4,128
Mechanical engineering 4,832 5,344 5,843 6,412 6,428 6,794 6,698
Metallurgical and materials engineering 1,561 1,609 1,571 1,620 1,630 1,761 1,942
Mining engineering 94 65 77 95 95 80 97
Nuclear engineering 280 267 282 304 304 267 286
Petroleum engineering 323 371 357 523 523 425 419
Engineering nec 1,500 1,517 1,638 2,161 2,168 2,194 2,430
Health 16,475 15,911 15,601 15,757 16,436 17,629 17,037
Clinical medicine 6,581 6,423 6,568 6,543 6,967 7,495 7,097
Anesthesiology 0 0 7 11 11 13 1
Cardiovascular science 14 9 6 3 3 4 5
Endocrinology 9 9 5 5 5 5 10
Gastroenterology 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Hematology 1 2 0 0 0 0 1
Neurology 28 33 0 0 0 0 1
Obstetrics and gynecology 30 30 25 0 0 0 0
Oncology and cancer research 40 30 7 9 9 3 5
Ophthalmology 0 0 0 6 6 0 0
Otorhinolaryngology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pediatrics 34 21 0 0 0 0 5
Preventive medicine and community health 5,638 5,867 6,107 6,029 6,418 6,766 6,493
Psychiatry 38 40 0 0 0 0 13
Pulmonary disease 1 4 6 0 0 0 1
Radiology 79 93 64 32 51 58 39
Surgery 11 6 0 0 0 0 2
Clinical medicine nec 657 279 341 448 464 646 520
Other health 9,894 9,488 9,033 9,214 9,469 10,134 9,940
Communication disorders sciences 4,681 4,569 4,687 4,848 5,028 5,465 5,536
Dental sciences 487 496 530 443 443 509 453
Nursing science 902 814 430 456 412 516 493
Pharmaceutical sciences 674 608 649 729 764 795 804
Veterinary sciences 272 273 275 241 241 280 233
Other health nec 2,878 2,728 2,462 2,497 2,581 2,569 2,421
nec = not elsewhere classified.
a 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.