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Table 20. Full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health in doctorate-granting institutions, by field and primary mechanism of support: 2011–16

Field and primary mechanism of support 2011 2012 2013 2014olda 2014newa 2015 2016
All surveyed fields 430,623 433,177 439,950 451,884 452,801 464,695 468,678
Fellowships 41,146 41,859 43,251 42,645 42,851 43,188 42,394
Research assistantships 120,267 117,510 114,549 113,536 113,790 114,682 114,602
Teaching assistantships 82,114 84,309 86,807 88,693 88,977 90,414 89,601
Traineeships 12,423 11,529 10,434 11,122 11,157 11,062 11,729
Other types of support 174,673 177,970 184,909 195,888 196,026 205,349 210,352
Self-support 146,783 148,501 155,679 165,267 165,222 172,437 175,159
Other 27,890 29,469 29,230 30,621 30,804 32,912 35,193
Science and engineering 388,995 392,563 400,213 412,683 414,209 425,174 429,899
Fellowships 39,059 39,825 41,183 40,561 40,754 41,038 40,221
Research assistantships 114,109 111,969 109,167 108,137 108,383 109,554 109,631
Teaching assistantships 78,679 80,638 83,108 84,918 85,190 86,616 85,991
Traineeships 10,447 9,811 8,951 9,557 9,592 9,418 10,262
Other types of support 146,701 150,320 157,804 169,510 170,290 178,548 183,794
Self-support 123,016 124,867 132,863 143,391 143,946 150,424 153,552
Other 23,685 25,453 24,941 26,119 26,344 28,124 30,242
Science 283,914 285,611 288,494 294,413 294,446 302,069 306,624
Fellowships 30,174 30,830 31,923 30,914 31,095 31,681 30,714
Research assistantships 73,931 72,755 70,562 69,635 69,841 70,581 70,137
Teaching assistantships 65,440 67,389 69,104 70,409 70,624 71,470 70,645
Traineeships 9,515 8,925 8,064 8,448 8,483 8,301 9,031
Other types of support 104,854 105,712 108,841 115,007 114,403 120,036 126,097
Self-support 87,483 87,465 90,855 96,152 95,330 100,088 104,701
Other 17,371 18,247 17,986 18,855 19,073 19,948 21,396
Agricultural sciences 10,889 10,815 11,034 11,463 11,509 12,300 12,042
Fellowships 795 858 913 1,026 1,033 957 966
Research assistantships 5,763 5,569 5,633 5,765 5,784 6,039 6,016
Teaching assistantships 1,464 1,539 1,511 1,605 1,624 1,838 1,725
Traineeships 59 22 42 41 41 40 53
Other types of support 2,808 2,827 2,935 3,026 3,027 3,426 3,282
Self-support 2,279 2,235 2,369 2,472 2,473 2,792 2,530
Other 529 592 566 554 554 634 752
Biological sciences 59,764 61,061 60,848 60,212 60,861 62,507 61,829
Fellowships 6,856 7,387 7,609 7,937 8,071 8,075 7,532
Research assistantships 23,633 22,928 22,300 21,044 21,102 21,500 20,391
Teaching assistantships 9,502 10,190 10,168 9,781 9,831 10,062 9,830
Traineeships 5,699 5,150 4,855 4,745 4,777 4,834 5,367
Other types of support 14,074 15,406 15,916 16,705 17,080 18,036 18,709
Self-support 10,682 11,639 12,362 12,958 13,220 13,948 14,512
Other 3,392 3,767 3,554 3,747 3,860 4,088 4,197
Communication 6,053 6,175 6,383 6,552 6,661 6,297 6,602
Fellowships 315 275 369 308 308 282 377
Research assistantships 678 713 686 717 718 760 735
Teaching assistantships 2,294 2,328 2,541 2,532 2,532 2,459 2,356
Traineeships 25 26 18 17 17 23 44
Other types of support 2,741 2,833 2,769 2,978 3,086 2,773 3,090
Self-support 2,361 2,466 2,329 2,475 2,586 2,398 2,689
Other 380 367 440 503 500 375 401
Computer sciences 30,407 31,739 35,297 42,254 43,937 49,104 53,907
Fellowships 1,651 1,702 1,818 1,784 1,785 1,742 1,885
Research assistantships 7,787 7,563 7,535 7,625 7,696 8,045 8,464
Teaching assistantships 4,354 4,385 4,844 5,652 5,652 5,942 6,362
Traineeships 186 153 127 212 215 242 212
Other types of support 16,429 17,936 20,973 26,981 28,589 33,133 36,984
Self-support 14,211 15,508 18,643 24,243 25,837 30,146 33,433
Other 2,218 2,428 2,330 2,738 2,752 2,987 3,551
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 11,973 12,199 11,943 11,966 11,990 11,818 11,381
Fellowships 1,384 1,379 1,438 1,459 1,459 1,477 1,414
Research assistantships 4,787 4,686 4,439 4,476 4,483 4,320 4,206
Teaching assistantships 2,706 2,850 2,883 2,962 2,964 3,039 2,931
Traineeships 68 90 100 90 90 92 61
Other types of support 3,028 3,194 3,083 2,979 2,994 2,890 2,769
Self-support 2,476 2,682 2,483 2,421 2,436 2,246 2,187
Other 552 512 600 558 558 644 582
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 2,348 2,169 2,347 2,347 2,347 2,249 2,161
Fellowships 132 111 112 121 121 69 71
Research assistantships 429 509 576 552 552 541 478
Teaching assistantships 655 539 663 601 601 619 582
Traineeships 28 26 29 43 43 25 29
Other types of support 1,104 984 967 1,030 1,030 995 1,001
Self-support 915 786 754 709 709 781 799
Other 189 198 213 321 321 214 202
Mathematics and statistics 17,587 18,192 18,696 19,475 19,537 20,337 21,368
Fellowships 1,754 1,734 1,836 1,783 1,783 1,710 1,604
Research assistantships 2,053 2,094 1,939 1,799 1,805 1,731 1,929
Teaching assistantships 8,747 9,149 9,366 9,549 9,576 9,828 9,503
Traineeships 205 183 169 185 185 182 152
Other types of support 4,828 5,032 5,386 6,159 6,188 6,886 8,180
Self-support 4,180 4,326 4,667 5,453 5,482 6,044 7,210
Other 648 706 719 706 706 842 970
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 3,790 3,807 3,690 4,009 4,291 4,777 5,538
Fellowships 377 314 351 372 402 399 426
Research assistantships 1,024 1,006 991 1,047 1,051 1,072 1,134
Teaching assistantships 650 671 639 676 706 751 772
Traineeships 82 182 132 131 131 150 160
Other types of support 1,657 1,634 1,577 1,783 2,001 2,405 3,046
Self-support 1,427 1,265 1,236 1,473 1,475 1,861 2,395
Other 230 369 341 310 526 544 651
Neurobiology and neuroscience 3,909 4,333 4,575 4,665 4,665 4,728 4,894
Fellowships 898 1,027 1,174 1,165 1,165 1,171 1,112
Research assistantships 1,473 1,684 1,785 1,824 1,824 1,824 1,948
Teaching assistantships 330 424 425 392 392 433 462
Traineeships 767 787 703 711 711 712 762
Other types of support 441 411 488 573 573 588 610
Self-support 220 233 304 325 325 320 300
Other 221 178 184 248 248 268 310
Physical sciences 35,056 35,282 35,424 35,688 35,762 35,751 35,960
Fellowships 3,585 3,788 3,907 3,821 3,822 3,914 3,730
Research assistantships 14,185 13,959 13,236 13,292 13,316 13,299 13,517
Teaching assistantships 13,181 13,579 14,193 14,430 14,478 14,412 14,510
Traineeships 414 335 374 392 392 336 404
Other types of support 3,691 3,621 3,714 3,753 3,754 3,790 3,799
Self-support 2,682 2,555 2,629 2,715 2,715 2,697 2,539
Other 1,009 1,066 1,085 1,038 1,039 1,093 1,260
Psychology 33,496 32,830 32,194 30,884 28,322 29,002 28,802
Fellowships 2,093 2,125 2,221 2,134 2,141 2,205 2,206
Research assistantships 4,942 4,923 4,562 4,354 4,356 4,510 4,384
Teaching assistantships 6,162 6,226 6,171 6,524 6,555 6,291 6,248
Traineeships 885 933 790 798 798 752 890
Other types of support 19,414 18,623 18,450 17,074 14,472 15,244 15,074
Self-support 16,986 16,218 16,144 14,781 12,262 12,646 12,382
Other 2,428 2,405 2,306 2,293 2,210 2,598 2,692
Social sciences 68,642 67,009 66,063 64,898 64,564 63,199 62,140
Fellowships 10,334 10,130 10,175 9,004 9,005 9,680 9,391
Research assistantships 7,177 7,121 6,880 7,140 7,154 6,940 6,935
Teaching assistantships 15,395 15,509 15,700 15,705 15,713 15,796 15,364
Traineeships 1,097 1,038 725 1,083 1,083 913 897
Other types of support 34,639 33,211 32,583 31,966 31,609 29,870 29,553
Self-support 29,064 27,552 26,935 26,127 25,810 24,209 23,725
Other 5,575 5,659 5,648 5,839 5,799 5,661 5,828
Engineering 105,081 106,952 111,719 118,270 119,763 123,105 123,275
Fellowships 8,885 8,995 9,260 9,647 9,659 9,357 9,507
Research assistantships 40,178 39,214 38,605 38,502 38,542 38,973 39,494
Teaching assistantships 13,239 13,249 14,004 14,509 14,566 15,146 15,346
Traineeships 932 886 887 1,109 1,109 1,117 1,231
Other types of support 41,847 44,608 48,963 54,503 55,887 58,512 57,697
Self-support 35,533 37,402 42,008 47,239 48,616 50,336 48,851
Other 6,314 7,206 6,955 7,264 7,271 8,176 8,846
Aerospace engineering 4,200 3,767 3,857 3,856 3,856 3,991 4,025
Fellowships 428 348 374 357 357 339 363
Research assistantships 1,708 1,621 1,573 1,535 1,535 1,633 1,677
Teaching assistantships 488 483 440 500 500 497 496
Traineeships 42 45 52 70 70 72 67
Other types of support 1,534 1,270 1,418 1,394 1,394 1,450 1,422
Self-support 1,286 1,046 1,163 1,116 1,116 1,161 1,113
Other 248 224 255 278 278 289 309
Agricultural engineering 1,372 1,250 1,256 1,389 1,412 1,380 1,329
Fellowships 100 89 88 150 153 165 108
Research assistantships 798 702 621 726 729 713 696
Teaching assistantships 100 94 86 90 107 124 123
Traineeships 24 5 2 0 0 3 6
Other types of support 350 360 459 423 423 375 396
Self-support 296 295 384 364 364 290 296
Other 54 65 75 59 59 85 100
Architecture 2,754 2,037 1,919 1,565 1,568 1,367 1,498
Fellowships 261 180 165 157 157 163 142
Research assistantships 246 210 147 128 128 110 135
Teaching assistantships 436 405 430 357 357 329 397
Traineeships 1 0 1 3 3 7 1
Other types of support 1,810 1,242 1,176 920 923 758 823
Self-support 1,409 842 766 714 717 621 719
Other 401 400 410 206 206 137 104
Biomedical engineering 7,847 7,931 8,015 8,246 8,246 8,494 9,051
Fellowships 1,218 1,360 1,304 1,331 1,331 1,425 1,374
Research assistantships 3,456 3,300 3,278 3,282 3,282 3,323 3,480
Teaching assistantships 586 620 692 770 770 850 891
Traineeships 493 389 374 413 413 383 441
Other types of support 2,094 2,262 2,367 2,450 2,450 2,513 2,865
Self-support 1,858 1,850 2,000 2,010 2,010 2,094 2,352
Other 236 412 367 440 440 419 513
Chemical engineering 7,594 8,014 8,490 8,580 8,587 8,785 8,951
Fellowships 987 1,005 1,058 1,135 1,135 1,059 1,061
Research assistantships 3,973 4,070 4,084 4,002 4,002 4,043 4,007
Teaching assistantships 853 876 918 896 896 1,018 1,077
Traineeships 73 82 77 74 74 76 76
Other types of support 1,708 1,981 2,353 2,473 2,480 2,589 2,730
Self-support 1,407 1,596 1,922 2,123 2,128 2,192 2,327
Other 301 385 431 350 352 397 403
Civil engineering 13,898 14,117 14,300 14,651 14,660 14,908 14,716
Fellowships 1,049 1,125 1,220 1,246 1,246 1,008 1,161
Research assistantships 4,820 4,638 4,584 4,590 4,590 4,761 4,758
Teaching assistantships 2,009 1,942 1,970 2,023 2,023 2,037 1,923
Traineeships 43 58 84 56 56 82 89
Other types of support 5,977 6,354 6,442 6,736 6,745 7,020 6,785
Self-support 5,119 5,375 5,452 5,635 5,643 5,735 5,632
Other 858 979 990 1,101 1,102 1,285 1,153
Electrical engineering 29,600 30,528 33,246 36,044 37,406 37,756 35,111
Fellowships 1,767 1,765 1,848 1,903 1,905 1,849 1,857
Research assistantships 10,303 10,089 9,874 9,895 9,911 9,830 9,995
Teaching assistantships 3,855 3,685 4,127 4,231 4,253 4,189 4,241
Traineeships 50 59 58 137 137 122 202
Other types of support 13,625 14,930 17,339 19,878 21,200 21,766 18,816
Self-support 12,015 12,878 15,545 17,629 18,950 19,514 16,577
Other 1,610 2,052 1,794 2,249 2,250 2,252 2,239
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 1,545 1,673 1,540 1,541 1,541 1,369 1,317
Fellowships 169 194 169 184 184 163 131
Research assistantships 700 667 699 612 612 573 521
Teaching assistantships 249 239 260 278 278 246 283
Traineeships 7 12 2 4 4 13 9
Other types of support 420 561 410 463 463 374 373
Self-support 342 420 283 347 347 271 275
Other 78 141 127 116 116 103 98
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 7,737 7,744 7,971 8,573 8,573 9,485 10,090
Fellowships 403 397 424 394 394 405 416
Research assistantships 1,680 1,604 1,572 1,426 1,426 1,463 1,472
Teaching assistantships 989 1,018 985 1,071 1,071 1,089 1,167
Traineeships 49 66 44 79 79 83 70
Other types of support 4,616 4,659 4,946 5,603 5,603 6,445 6,965
Self-support 3,676 3,904 4,234 5,000 5,000 5,699 6,137
Other 940 755 712 603 603 746 828
Mechanical engineering 15,758 16,701 17,599 18,440 18,488 19,742 20,391
Fellowships 1,331 1,339 1,311 1,411 1,411 1,356 1,474
Research assistantships 6,346 6,323 6,141 5,975 5,983 6,083 6,148
Teaching assistantships 2,522 2,631 2,747 2,879 2,897 3,125 3,125
Traineeships 96 109 119 157 157 160 164
Other types of support 5,463 6,299 7,281 8,018 8,040 9,018 9,480
Self-support 4,487 5,260 6,265 6,992 7,014 7,596 7,710
Other 976 1,039 1,016 1,026 1,026 1,422 1,770
Metallurgical and materials engineering 5,839 6,088 6,220 6,562 6,603 6,792 7,116
Fellowships 606 662 660 735 742 757 732
Research assistantships 3,396 3,229 3,293 3,481 3,494 3,545 3,623
Teaching assistantships 450 528 584 591 591 639 606
Traineeships 33 33 48 57 57 50 59
Other types of support 1,354 1,636 1,635 1,698 1,719 1,801 2,096
Self-support 1,174 1,376 1,419 1,481 1,499 1,555 1,723
Other 180 260 216 217 220 246 373
Mining engineering 412 240 265 307 307 300 287
Fellowships 13 10 27 18 18 27 18
Research assistantships 221 160 105 128 128 134 121
Teaching assistantships 39 21 56 48 48 66 76
Traineeships 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other types of support 139 49 77 113 113 73 72
Self-support 123 40 43 95 95 53 51
Other 16 9 34 18 18 20 21
Nuclear engineering 1,165 1,162 1,169 1,201 1,201 1,198 1,229
Fellowships 194 186 200 189 189 192 177
Research assistantships 591 612 555 593 593 626 685
Teaching assistantships 99 108 132 126 126 129 95
Traineeships 14 12 16 32 32 33 29
Other types of support 267 244 266 261 261 218 243
Self-support 151 142 174 171 171 138 158
Other 116 102 92 90 90 80 85
Petroleum engineering 1,057 1,287 1,315 1,662 1,662 1,560 1,461
Fellowships 62 53 78 83 83 89 111
Research assistantships 534 590 616 668 668 620 540
Teaching assistantships 144 200 178 202 202 228 253
Traineeships 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other types of support 317 444 443 709 709 623 557
Self-support 238 340 328 570 570 481 431
Other 79 104 115 139 139 142 126
Engineering nec 4,303 4,413 4,557 5,653 5,653 5,978 6,703
Fellowships 297 282 334 354 354 360 382
Research assistantships 1,406 1,399 1,463 1,461 1,461 1,516 1,636
Teaching assistantships 420 399 399 447 447 580 593
Traineeships 7 16 10 27 27 33 18
Other types of support 2,173 2,317 2,351 3,364 3,364 3,489 4,074
Self-support 1,952 2,038 2,030 2,992 2,992 2,936 3,350
Other 221 279 321 372 372 553 724
Health 41,628 40,614 39,737 39,201 38,592 39,521 38,779
Fellowships 2,087 2,034 2,068 2,084 2,097 2,150 2,173
Research assistantships 6,158 5,541 5,382 5,399 5,407 5,128 4,971
Teaching assistantships 3,435 3,671 3,699 3,775 3,787 3,798 3,610
Traineeships 1,976 1,718 1,483 1,565 1,565 1,644 1,467
Other types of support 27,972 27,650 27,105 26,378 25,736 26,801 26,558
Self-support 23,767 23,634 22,816 21,876 21,276 22,013 21,607
Other 4,205 4,016 4,289 4,502 4,460 4,788 4,951
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.