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Table 1-1. Graduate students, postdoctoral appointees, and doctorate-holding nonfaculty researchers in science, engineering, and health: 1975–2017

Year Graduate students Postdoctoral associates Nonfaculty researchers
All fields Science Engineering Health All fields Science Engineering Health All fields Science Engineering Health
1975 328,510 234,649 68,332 25,529 na na na na na na na na
1976 333,716 238,675 66,723 28,318 na na na na na na na na
1977 345,374 242,932 68,757 33,685 na na na na na na na na
1978a 339,912 236,465 67,787 35,660 na na na na na na na na
1979 357,578 247,235 71,808 38,535 18,101 12,519 1,067 4,515 2,687 1,915 273 499
1980 367,078 251,265 74,335 41,478 18,399 13,042 981 4,376 3,260 2,184 423 653
1981 375,130 252,404 79,585 43,141 19,634 13,731 1,040 4,863 3,559 2,445 503 611
1982 382,291 255,146 83,720 43,425 19,363 13,698 980 4,685 4,026 2,809 670 547
1983 390,432 255,820 91,146 43,466 20,712 14,562 1,108 5,042 4,896 3,348 631 917
1984 394,670 256,903 92,739 45,028 21,535 14,979 1,203 5,353 5,042 3,442 589 1,011
1985 404,021 261,973 96,018 46,030 22,387 15,576 1,356 5,455 5,103 3,529 615 959
1986 415,520 266,077 101,905 47,538 23,721 16,512 1,405 5,804 4,846 3,356 521 969
1987 421,497 269,256 103,983 48,258 24,881 17,369 1,446 6,066 4,597 3,250 443 904
1988 424,523 272,309 102,854 49,360 26,123 18,024 1,690 6,409 4,869 3,348 566 955
1989 434,478 278,577 104,065 51,836 27,932 18,978 1,928 7,026 4,908 3,470 581 857
1990 452,113 289,383 107,658 55,072 29,565 19,853 1,950 7,762 5,255 3,745 609 901
1991 471,212 299,057 113,535 58,620 30,865 20,595 2,262 8,008 5,478 3,872 659 947
1992 493,522 312,478 118,039 63,005 32,747 21,514 2,369 8,864 5,482 3,660 737 1,085
1993 504,304 318,851 116,872 68,581 34,322 22,219 2,446 9,657 6,001 4,003 805 1,193
1994 504,399 318,118 113,024 73,257 36,377 23,181 2,606 10,590 6,209 4,156 825 1,228
1995 499,640 315,265 107,201 77,174 35,926 23,512 2,648 9,766 6,534 4,395 789 1,350
1996 494,079 311,957 103,224 78,898 37,107 23,892 2,677 10,538 6,604 4,426 731 1,447
1997 487,208 306,482 101,148 79,578 38,481 24,293 2,971 11,217 6,722 4,408 848 1,466
1998 485,627 304,818 100,038 80,771 40,086 25,023 2,853 12,210 7,100 4,497 810 1,793
1999 493,256 309,491 101,691 82,074 40,800 25,784 3,196 11,820 7,573 4,761 940 1,872
2000 493,311 309,424 104,112 79,775 43,115 26,911 3,313 12,891 7,879 4,931 896 2,052
2001 509,607 319,736 109,493 80,378 43,311 27,044 3,152 13,115 7,531 4,707 801 2,023
2002 540,404 335,166 119,668 85,570 45,034 28,371 3,566 13,097 7,906 5,019 903 1,984
2003 567,121 347,268 127,377 92,476 46,728 29,856 3,810 13,062 8,473 5,493 952 2,028
2004 574,463 352,307 123,566 98,590 47,240 30,116 3,949 13,175 9,075 5,880 1,043 2,152
2005 582,226 357,710 120,565 103,951 48,555 30,290 4,166 14,099 9,527 6,069 946 2,512
2006 597,643 363,246 123,041 111,356 49,343 30,245 4,642 14,456 10,814 6,658 1,118 3,038
2007oldb 607,823 372,120 130,255 105,448 50,712 30,986 4,908 14,818 10,736 6,517 1,298 2,921
2007newb 619,499 384,523 131,676 103,300 50,840 31,281 4,942 14,617 10,752 6,526 1,310 2,916
2008 631,489 391,419 137,856 102,214 54,164 32,741 5,462 15,961 13,747 8,669 1,419 3,659
2009 631,645 401,008 144,677 85,960 57,805 34,388 6,416 17,001 14,059 8,698 1,737 3,624
2010c,d 632,652 407,291 149,241 76,120 63,439 37,351 6,969 19,119 21,345 12,751 2,406 6,188
2011d 626,820 414,440 146,501 65,879 62,639 37,335 6,786 18,518 21,498 13,363 2,312 5,823
2012 627,243 413,033 148,385 65,825 62,851 36,738 7,103 19,010 21,908 13,264 2,497 6,147
2013 633,010 417,251 153,049 62,710 61,942 36,289 7,106 18,547 22,465 13,932 2,494 6,039
2014olde 650,738 425,148 162,013 63,577 62,379 36,184 7,292 18,903 23,290 14,283 2,744 6,263
2014newe 666,586 437,395 164,488 64,703 63,593 37,316 7,307 18,970 23,706 14,674 2,745 6,287
2015 685,397 448,654 169,354 67,389 63,861 37,639 7,656 18,566 25,292 15,667 2,929 6,696
2016 684,825 452,046 168,443 64,336 64,712 37,941 7,796 18,975 25,747 15,940 3,155 6,652
2017oldf 684,096 450,343 166,819 66,934 64,888 37,816 7,929 19,143 na na na na
2017newf 649,112 415,568 165,581 67,963 64,733 38,241 7,839 18,653 28,180 17,268 3,274 7,638
Master's students
2017newf 378,587 229,169 96,756 52,662 na na na na na na na na
Doctoral students
2017newf 270,525 186,399 68,825 15,301 na na na na na na na na
na = not applicable; master's and doctoral students were not reported separately until 2017, and counts of postdoctoral appointees (postdocs) and nonfaculty researchers (NFRs) were not collected until 1979.
a Master's-granting institutions were not surveyed in 1978; totals represent estimates based on 1977 and 1979 data.
b 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. See appendix A in https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf10307/ for more detail.
c In 2010, the postdoc and NFR section of the survey was expanded and significant effort was made to ensure that appropriate personnel were providing postdoc and NFR data. Thus, it is unclear how much of the increases in 2010 and later years over 2009 and prior years are from growth in postdocs and NFRs and how much are from improved data collection. More information on the changes to the data collection is available at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf13334/.
d Postdoc and NFR data from 2010 and 2011 were reimputed following the 2012 data collection; these data supersede those contained in previous reports.
e 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. For more information, see https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2016/nsf16314.
f As part of 2017 GSS redesign, the GSS taxonomy was changed to align with the NCSES Taxonomy of Disciplines (TOD), thus increasing comparability with other NCSES surveys. As a result, some eligible fields were reclassified and a small number of fields became fully or partially ineligible. Comparisons to prior years should use the 2017old estimates and should be limited to broad areas of study—detailed field comparisons are not recommended.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.