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Table 36. Postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health in private institutions, by detailed field: 2011–16

Field 2011a 2012 2013 2014oldb 2014newb 2015 2016
All surveyed fields 28,373 28,277 28,068 28,024 29,180 29,150 29,615
Science and engineering 18,567 18,572 18,499 18,182 19,272 19,438 19,941
Science 15,860 15,720 15,684 15,271 16,361 16,413 16,738
Agricultural sciences 79 66 99 99 99 118 106
Biological sciences 10,138 9,733 9,473 9,046 9,841 9,573 9,722
Anatomy 113 89 82 79 79 56 52
Biochemistry 1,017 984 858 762 762 753 717
Biology 1,200 1,185 1,064 1,131 1,314 1,174 1,167
Biometry and epidemiology 324 304 415 415 415 400 409
Biophysics 142 125 113 121 121 118 125
Botany and plant biology 31 19 13 9 9 37 39
Cell and molecular biology 1,409 1,340 1,286 1,087 1,209 1,155 1,202
Ecology 82 78 47 46 46 55 49
Entomology and parasitology 12 23 24 34 34 30 20
Genetics 942 930 908 884 884 929 1,006
Microbiology, immunology, and virology 1,265 1,224 1,170 1,075 1,142 1,138 1,115
Nutrition 58 52 42 59 59 67 93
Pathology 1,040 975 958 891 891 825 746
Pharmacology and toxicology 629 547 513 485 526 544 477
Physiology 663 601 648 509 591 632 715
Zoology 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Biosciences nec 1,211 1,257 1,332 1,459 1,759 1,660 1,789
Communication 37 41 51 54 54 55 53
Computer sciences 358 365 335 352 353 373 406
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 455 517 590 570 570 588 594
Atmospheric sciences 26 19 22 20 20 13 18
Geosciences 260 290 333 315 315 318 319
Ocean sciences 84 113 125 123 123 131 126
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences nec 85 95 110 112 112 126 131
Family and consumer sciences and human sciences 13 13 31 21 42 35 50
Mathematics and statistics 315 336 346 363 363 356 374
Mathematics and applied mathematics 275 292 296 317 317 308 319
Statistics 40 44 50 46 46 48 55
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 142 176 215 262 262 314 330
Neurobiology and neuroscience 758 902 988 1,000 1,100 1,120 1,238
Physical sciences 2,640 2,666 2,647 2,512 2,683 2,806 2,813
Astronomy and astrophysics 242 234 184 159 159 179 217
Chemistry 1,389 1,444 1,426 1,351 1,522 1,548 1,520
Physics 918 911 957 928 928 939 1,035
Physical sciences nec 91 77 80 74 74 140 41
Psychology 517 524 443 496 497 511 492
Clinical psychology 35 48 42 36 36 49 31
Psychology, general 332 294 256 305 306 291 333
Psychology nec 150 182 145 155 155 171 128
Social sciences 408 381 466 496 497 564 560
Agricultural economics 5 4 6 8 8 10 9
Anthropology 37 39 51 56 56 60 56
Economics (except agricultural) 26 36 37 56 56 68 64
Geography 7 14 24 29 29 23 21
History and philosophy of science 7 7 11 8 8 9 6
Linguistics 15 14 18 16 16 16 12
Political science and government 156 123 169 161 161 217 205
Sociology 47 55 51 46 46 59 63
Sociology and anthropology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Social sciences nec 108 89 99 116 117 102 124
Engineering 2,707 2,852 2,815 2,911 2,911 3,025 3,203
Aerospace engineering 68 53 67 61 61 67 70
Agricultural engineering 28 22 19 14 14 14 13
Architecture 3 4 12 11 11 10 10
Biomedical engineering 560 561 540 590 590 647 673
Chemical engineering 394 406 470 491 491 491 432
Civil engineering 182 180 191 208 208 228 235
Electrical engineering 376 427 441 443 443 443 501
Engineering science, mechanics, and physics 209 204 163 190 190 182 232
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 48 56 51 53 53 55 50
Mechanical engineering 367 422 420 426 426 461 463
Metallurgical and materials engineering 265 258 234 234 234 259 342
Mining engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nuclear engineering 51 57 43 43 43 43 48
Petroleum engineering 18 21 23 20 20 24 17
Engineering nec 138 181 141 127 127 101 117
Health 9,806 9,705 9,569 9,842 9,908 9,712 9,674
Clinical medicine 9,437 9,321 9,173 9,413 9,465 9,262 9,190
Anesthesiology 238 252 254 261 261 257 268
Cardiovascular science 356 359 426 394 394 399 380
Endocrinology 279 287 266 265 265 271 255
Gastroenterology 173 164 182 197 197 206 222
Hematology 182 186 185 199 199 204 210
Neurology 653 648 598 791 791 726 726
Obstetrics and gynecology 164 161 148 169 169 149 148
Oncology and cancer research 1,057 1,080 1,010 933 933 956 931
Ophthalmology 275 286 287 311 311 321 358
Otorhinolaryngology 92 81 85 92 92 99 109
Pediatrics 678 762 766 748 748 683 557
Preventive medicine and community health 263 254 262 238 238 275 344
Psychiatry 536 561 565 566 566 571 517
Pulmonary disease 135 127 137 132 132 147 159
Radiology 654 689 660 696 696 718 731
Surgery 724 792 767 867 867 758 822
Clinical medicine nec 2,978 2,632 2,575 2,554 2,606 2,522 2,453
Other health 369 384 396 429 443 450 484
Communication disorders sciences 14 21 16 21 21 24 30
Dental sciences 102 93 92 103 104 83 69
Nursing science 15 22 29 24 24 30 43
Pharmaceutical sciences 44 74 63 55 66 69 89
Veterinary sciences 60 56 60 71 72 77 86
Other health nec 134 118 136 155 156 167 167
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.