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Table 33. Female 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 24,472 24,685 24,357 24,627 25,102 25,295 25,594
Science and engineering 15,807 15,665 15,537 15,556 16,005 16,325 16,438
Science 14,308 14,076 13,949 13,914 14,363 14,628 14,716
Agricultural sciences 475 513 542 593 595 645 618
Biological sciences 9,293 8,787 8,445 8,170 8,508 8,479 8,472
Anatomy 178 139 126 102 102 93 85
Biochemistry 892 857 789 720 720 708 674
Biology 1,024 995 931 943 1,007 924 890
Biometry and epidemiology 223 247 275 286 286 302 317
Biophysics 63 65 53 48 48 44 45
Botany and plant biology 214 239 237 233 233 258 251
Cell and molecular biology 1,165 1,127 1,053 950 1,005 1,050 1,008
Ecology 81 97 47 46 46 56 64
Entomology and parasitology 119 122 121 125 125 132 109
Genetics 625 592 596 598 598 614 673
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 1,211 1,144 1,026 986 1,013 1,041 993
Nutrition 147 148 147 161 161 167 157
Pathology 786 719 678 665 665 636 582
Pharmacology and toxicology 687 603 563 528 547 548 506
Physiology 691 615 634 584 615 606 675
Zoology 29 36 40 33 33 19 19
Biosciences nec 1,158 1,042 1,129 1,162 1,304 1,281 1,424
Communication 24 21 31 30 30 36 46
Computer sciences 142 155 140 152 152 166 192
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 652 744 765 784 785 816 770
Atmospheric sciences 56 71 61 70 70 59 67
Geosciences 196 226 265 265 265 263 236
Ocean sciences 188 203 193 195 196 205 193
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 212 244 246 254 254 289 274
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 43 44 62 73 84 70 77
Mathematics and statistics 190 193 187 195 195 207 217
Mathematics and applied mathematics 167 162 155 172 172 181 198
Statistics 23 31 32 23 23 26 19
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 240 263 328 374 374 381 430
Neurobiology and neuroscience 610 661 730 766 817 865 936
Physical sciences 1,626 1,661 1,655 1,611 1,652 1,678 1,651
Astronomy and astrophysics 153 148 115 113 113 119 128
Chemistry 932 966 974 935 976 962 954
Physics 486 488 503 504 504 524 511
Physical sciences nec 55 59 63 59 59 73 58
Psychology 627 642 601 618 622 663 674
Clinical psychology 67 72 74 58 58 63 54
Psychology, general 336 331 323 324 326 360 398
Psychology nec 224 239 204 236 238 240 222
Social sciences 386 392 463 548 549 622 633
Agricultural economics 16 23 29 29 29 32 35
Anthropology 45 53 71 76 76 96 90
Economics (except agricultural) 10 15 17 27 27 31 31
Geography 19 27 40 54 54 44 45
History and philosophy of science 6 6 4 3 3 5 6
Linguistics 12 17 18 19 19 28 19
Political science and government 101 75 111 121 121 149 160
Sociology 60 62 58 62 62 70 65
Sociology and anthropology 1 1 2 1 1 1 1
Social sciences nec 116 113 113 156 157 166 181
Engineering 1,499 1,589 1,588 1,642 1,642 1,697 1,722
Aerospace engineering 32 31 30 29 29 30 20
Agricultural engineering 38 43 40 38 38 54 47
Architecture 7 3 6 7 7 8 8
Biomedical engineering 344 388 352 387 387 395 437
Chemical engineering 271 268 306 314 314 327 298
Civil engineering 153 149 161 175 175 174 176
Electrical engineering 153 185 187 187 187 152 163
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 61 59 46 52 52 50 56
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 27 27 30 29 29 32 27
Mechanical engineering 126 150 166 176 176 200 178
Metallurgical and materials engineering 181 172 174 154 154 186 181
Mining engineering 0 1 1 4 4 3 3
Nuclear engineering 15 12 11 16 16 15 12
Petroleum engineering 6 14 11 15 15 11 9
Engineering nec 85 87 67 59 59 60 107
Health 8,665 9,020 8,820 9,071 9,097 8,970 9,156
Clinical medicine 7,594 7,760 7,533 7,740 7,759 7,644 7,787
Anesthesiology 171 181 169 163 163 177 182
Cardiovascular science 256 316 318 292 292 319 299
Endocrinology 226 258 224 220 220 210 185
Gastroenterology 147 153 150 155 155 144 149
Hematology 162 175 179 165 165 160 140
Neurology 485 451 438 561 561 514 517
Obstetrics and gynecology 204 199 183 178 178 157 179
Oncology and cancer research 835 869 822 829 829 819 1,002
Ophthalmology 216 241 235 256 256 252 240
Otorhinolaryngology 75 60 73 77 77 78 95
Pediatrics 758 878 924 902 902 777 706
Preventive medicine and community health 376 420 412 397 397 425 483
Psychiatry 614 684 654 705 705 690 680
Pulmonary disease 135 129 136 133 133 145 136
Radiology 336 328 312 343 343 376 368
Surgery 469 529 478 523 523 500 517
Clinical medicine nec 2,129 1,889 1,826 1,841 1,860 1,901 1,909
Other health 1,071 1,260 1,287 1,331 1,338 1,326 1,369
Communication disorders sciences 30 38 30 39 39 55 58
Dental sciences 155 155 138 146 147 141 138
Nursing science 68 66 67 73 73 62 83
Pharmaceutical sciences 360 360 372 381 386 386 382
Veterinary sciences 240 311 300 281 282 301 325
Other health nec 218 330 380 411 411 381 383
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.