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Table 28. Postdoctoral appointees in science in all institutions, by science field: 1979–2016

Year Total Agricultural sciences Biological sciences Communicationa Computer sciences Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences Family and consumer sciences and human sciencesa Mathematics and statistics Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studiesa Neurobiology and neurosciencea Physical sciences Psychology Social sciences
1979 12,519 228 6,866 ne 38 315 ne 162 ne na 4,056 454 400
1980 13,042 259 7,083 ne 43 312 ne 162 ne na 4,279 475 429
1981 13,731 292 7,678 ne 35 346 ne 113 ne na 4,477 471 319
1982 13,698 302 7,713 ne 47 340 ne 194 ne na 4,298 520 284
1983 14,562 318 8,337 ne 80 420 ne 170 ne na 4,458 437 342
1984 14,979 384 8,683 ne 59 493 ne 203 ne na 4,408 423 326
1985 15,576 374 9,128 ne 70 379 ne 226 ne na 4,539 510 350
1986 16,512 421 9,692 ne 75 420 ne 201 ne na 4,860 521 322
1987 17,369 453 10,353 ne 103 424 ne 229 ne na 4,968 460 379
1988 18,024 476 10,653 ne 96 496 ne 284 ne na 5,201 498 320
1989 18,978 522 11,425 ne 84 453 ne 225 ne na 5,366 536 367
1990 19,853 536 11,909 ne 71 594 ne 249 ne na 5,592 464 438
1991 20,595 580 12,455 ne 120 625 ne 206 ne na 5,722 508 379
1992 21,514 640 13,158 ne 145 692 ne 201 ne na 5,792 525 361
1993 22,219 720 13,778 ne 164 765 ne 224 ne na 5,669 521 378
1994 23,181 729 14,379 ne 185 824 ne 239 ne na 5,884 551 390
1995 23,512 724 14,659 ne 213 845 ne 262 ne na 5,851 582 376
1996 23,892 699 14,890 ne 250 861 ne 326 ne na 5,828 594 444
1997 24,293 724 15,082 ne 322 942 ne 308 ne na 5,968 586 361
1998 25,023 695 15,761 ne 374 902 ne 279 ne na 6,004 617 391
1999 25,784 750 16,097 ne 334 925 ne 351 ne na 6,157 716 454
2000 26,911 822 16,734 ne 344 1,155 ne 385 ne na 6,270 730 471
2001 27,044 833 17,032 ne 336 1,049 ne 353 ne na 6,223 809 409
2002 28,371 963 17,640 ne 356 1,129 ne 395 ne na 6,619 815 454
2003 29,856 1,054 18,625 ne 355 1,182 ne 449 ne na 6,829 960 402
2004 30,116 959 18,716 ne 384 1,263 ne 468 ne na 7,059 902 365
2005 30,290 1,007 18,747 ne 406 1,364 ne 500 ne na 7,011 884 371
2006 30,245 927 18,807 ne 467 1,495 ne 579 ne na 6,703 873 394
2007olda 30,986 948 19,218 ne 516 1,322 ne 621 ne na 6,760 1,106 495
2007newa 31,281 985 19,109 30 456 1,250 8 624 244 285 6,719 1,088 483
2008 32,741 1,147 19,827 32 493 1,339 19 723 348 343 6,885 1,077 508
2009 34,388 1,083 20,159 38 594 1,424 22 737 459 645 7,447 1,219 561
2010b,c 37,351 1,190 21,726 62 763 1,740 30 791 785 838 7,583 1,132 711
2011c 37,335 1,256 21,107 67 759 1,774 52 830 704 1,398 7,490 1,124 774
2012 36,738 1,290 20,086 58 760 1,956 58 902 742 1,525 7,430 1,132 799
2013 36,289 1,319 19,330 76 765 2,032 90 932 891 1,696 7,197 1,023 938
2014oldd 36,184 1,395 18,749 75 833 2,059 93 956 1,045 1,778 7,089 1,062 1,050
2014newd 37,316 1,402 19,554 75 834 2,061 114 959 1,045 1,878 7,277 1,066 1,051
2015 37,639 1,525 19,304 83 888 2,129 103 1,011 972 1,957 7,358 1,130 1,179
2016 37,941 1,484 19,427 86 914 2,104 116 1,005 1,095 2,071 7,269 1,177 1,193
na = not applicable; data were not collected at this level of detail. ne = not eligible; data were not collected for this field prior to 2007.
a In 2007, eligible fields were reclassified, newly eligible fields were added, and the survey was redesigned to improve coverage and coding of eligible units. "2007new" presents data as collected in 2007; "2007old" shows data as they would have been collected in prior years. The science fields Communication and Family and consumer sciences and human sciences were newly eligible in 2007; data for these two fields begin in 2007new. The science field Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies was also added to the GSS code list in 2007; some data reported in this field were reported under other fields before 2007 and are included in those fields in 2007old. Neurobiology and neuroscience is reported as a separate field of science in 2007new; data were reported under the health field Neurology in 2007old and previous years. See appendix A in https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf10307/ for more detail.
b In 2010, the postdoctoral (postdoc) section of the survey was expanded, and significant effort was made to ensure that appropriate personnel were providing postdoc data (see appendix A for more information). Thus, it is unclear how much of the increases in 2010 and later years over 2009 and prior years are from growth in postdoc appointments and how much are from improved data collection. More information on the changes to the postdoc data collection is available at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf13334/.
c Postdoc data from 2010 and 2011 were reimputed following the 2012 data collection; these data supersede those contained in previous reports.
d 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.