Back to Data Tables
Excel icon Download to excel

Table 32. Postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health in all institutions, by detailed field: 2011–16

Field 2011a 2012 2013 2014oldb 2014newb 2015 2016
All surveyed fields 62,639 62,851 61,942 62,379 63,593 63,861 64,712
Science and engineering 44,121 43,841 43,395 43,476 44,623 45,295 45,737
Science 37,335 36,738 36,289 36,184 37,316 37,639 37,941
Agricultural sciences 1,256 1,290 1,319 1,395 1,402 1,525 1,484
Biological sciences 21,107 20,086 19,330 18,749 19,554 19,304 19,427
Anatomy 374 287 258 235 235 202 184
Biochemistry 2,314 2,232 2,097 1,885 1,885 1,874 1,776
Biology 2,341 2,268 2,141 2,209 2,392 2,131 2,094
Biometry and epidemiology 523 536 638 652 652 649 676
Biophysics 194 185 164 156 156 144 148
Botany and plant biology 561 596 614 626 626 640 648
Cell and molecular biology 2,653 2,574 2,387 2,141 2,270 2,380 2,310
Ecology 200 205 107 102 102 137 154
Entomology and parasitology 261 266 258 279 279 289 254
Genetics 1,460 1,407 1,394 1,385 1,385 1,410 1,566
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 2,574 2,437 2,188 2,120 2,187 2,206 2,139
Nutrition 247 224 214 236 236 250 265
Pathology 1,673 1,582 1,505 1,469 1,469 1,407 1,264
Pharmacology and toxicology 1,554 1,383 1,284 1,185 1,226 1,253 1,193
Physiology 1,527 1,399 1,412 1,298 1,380 1,350 1,494
Zoology 85 87 94 75 75 51 46
Biosciences nec 2,566 2,418 2,575 2,696 2,999 2,931 3,216
Communication 67 58 76 75 75 83 86
Computer sciences 759 760 765 833 834 888 914
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 1,774 1,956 2,032 2,059 2,061 2,129 2,104
Atmospheric sciences 167 209 209 212 212 180 254
Geosciences 578 637 730 725 725 744 688
Ocean sciences 408 446 423 421 423 457 429
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 621 664 670 701 701 748 733
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 52 58 90 93 114 103 116
Mathematics and statistics 830 902 932 956 959 1,011 1,005
Mathematics and applied mathematics 733 782 787 837 840 873 887
Statistics 97 120 145 119 119 138 118
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 704 742 891 1,045 1,045 972 1,095
Neurobiology and neuroscience 1,398 1,525 1,696 1,778 1,878 1,957 2,071
Physical sciences 7,490 7,430 7,197 7,089 7,277 7,358 7,269
Astronomy and astrophysics 524 509 407 390 390 418 440
Chemistry 4,005 4,016 3,850 3,708 3,891 3,840 3,742
Physics 2,694 2,651 2,682 2,733 2,738 2,779 2,819
Physical sciences nec 267 254 258 258 258 321 268
Psychology 1,124 1,132 1,023 1,062 1,066 1,130 1,177
Clinical psychology 94 104 104 85 85 93 76
Psychology, general 639 613 568 582 584 634 721
Psychology nec 391 415 351 395 397 403 380
Social sciences 774 799 938 1,050 1,051 1,179 1,193
Agricultural economics 47 60 61 65 65 61 64
Anthropology 82 96 118 142 142 174 152
Economics (except agricultural) 38 50 62 86 86 95 89
Geography 58 69 89 104 104 96 99
History and philosophy of science 9 14 14 9 9 12 11
Linguistics 31 31 33 36 36 47 38
Political science and government 220 176 239 258 258 313 319
Sociology 91 97 93 91 91 104 112
Sociology and anthropology 2 2 3 3 3 2 3
Social sciences nec 196 204 226 256 257 275 306
Engineering 6,786 7,103 7,106 7,292 7,307 7,656 7,796
Aerospace engineering 202 170 202 220 220 217 201
Agricultural engineering 129 133 152 146 150 221 165
Architecture 16 6 17 14 14 17 16
Biomedical engineering 1,069 1,161 1,103 1,196 1,198 1,201 1,278
Chemical engineering 1,137 1,098 1,230 1,244 1,244 1,283 1,218
Civil engineering 551 590 587 629 629 670 706
Electrical engineering 1,035 1,152 1,180 1,177 1,179 1,160 1,186
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 281 292 240 270 270 251 284
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 121 127 133 131 131 142 130
Mechanical engineering 889 985 1,034 1,055 1,058 1,161 1,080
Metallurgical and materials engineering 860 854 809 776 780 911 882
Mining engineering 4 5 7 15 15 15 10
Nuclear engineering 111 120 105 112 112 107 100
Petroleum engineering 35 53 49 66 66 73 72
Engineering nec 346 357 258 241 241 227 468
Health 18,518 19,010 18,547 18,903 18,970 18,566 18,975
Clinical medicine 16,165 16,361 15,831 16,164 16,216 15,850 16,165
Anesthesiology 407 436 439 434 434 433 424
Cardiovascular science 687 787 777 742 742 825 716
Endocrinology 439 473 441 435 435 414 355
Gastroenterology 343 319 317 318 318 299 304
Hematology 364 367 348 378 378 356 316
Neurology 1,029 952 941 1,124 1,124 1,035 1,027
Obstetrics and gynecology 324 307 301 325 325 287 297
Oncology and cancer research 1,867 1,923 1,859 1,840 1,840 1,788 2,206
Ophthalmology 461 518 528 574 574 568 567
Otorhinolaryngology 158 144 160 164 164 169 207
Pediatrics 1,441 1,583 1,584 1,512 1,512 1,309 1,191
Preventive medicine and community health 654 730 703 658 658 704 796
Psychiatry 979 1,089 1,008 1,095 1,095 1,084 1,060
Pulmonary disease 294 279 288 287 287 305 299
Radiology 987 979 921 990 990 1,012 1,011
Surgery 1,241 1,373 1,297 1,360 1,360 1,267 1,287
Clinical medicine nec 4,490 4,102 3,919 3,928 3,980 3,995 4,102
Other health 2,353 2,649 2,716 2,739 2,754 2,716 2,810
Communication disorders sciences 48 59 49 61 61 77 77
Dental sciences 346 343 303 327 328 307 287
Nursing science 79 76 77 82 82 75 107
Pharmaceutical sciences 1,009 982 995 1,004 1,016 999 1,007
Veterinary sciences 450 534 564 512 513 541 600
Other health nec 421 655 728 753 754 717 732
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.