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Table 1-3a. Citizenship of graduate students and postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health: 1980–2017

Year Graduate students Postdoctoral appointees
Total U.S. citizens and permanent resident Temporary visa holder Total U.S. citizens and permanent resident Temporary visa holder
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
1980 367,078 316,776 86.3 50,302 13.7 18,399 11,893 64.6 6,506 35.4
1981 375,130 320,655 85.5 54,475 14.5 19,634 12,340 62.9 7,294 37.1
1982 382,291 314,458 82.3 67,833 17.7 19,363 12,129 62.6 7,234 37.4
1983 390,432 317,185 81.2 73,247 18.8 20,712 13,193 63.7 7,519 36.3
1984 394,670 319,648 81.0 75,022 19.0 21,535 13,548 62.9 7,987 37.1
1985 404,021 324,081 80.2 79,940 19.8 22,387 13,528 60.4 8,859 39.6
1986 415,520 328,234 79.0 87,286 21.0 23,721 14,041 59.2 9,680 40.8
1987 421,497 329,350 78.1 92,147 21.9 24,881 14,133 56.8 10,748 43.2
1988 424,523 327,279 77.1 97,244 22.9 26,123 14,420 55.2 11,703 44.8
1989 434,478 332,503 76.5 101,975 23.5 27,932 14,863 53.2 13,069 46.8
1990 452,113 345,047 76.3 107,066 23.7 29,565 15,115 51.1 14,450 48.9
1991 471,212 358,025 76.0 113,187 24.0 30,865 15,135 49.0 15,730 51.0
1992 493,522 379,605 76.9 113,917 23.1 32,747 15,800 48.2 16,947 51.8
1993 504,304 393,985 78.1 110,319 21.9 34,322 16,727 48.7 17,595 51.3
1994 504,399 397,852 78.9 106,547 21.1 36,377 17,986 49.4 18,391 50.6
1995 499,640 396,755 79.4 102,885 20.6 35,926 18,142 50.5 17,784 49.5
1996 494,079 391,095 79.2 102,984 20.8 37,107 18,412 49.6 18,695 50.4
1997 487,208 383,327 78.7 103,881 21.3 38,481 18,916 49.2 19,565 50.8
1998 485,627 378,560 78.0 107,067 22.0 40,086 19,710 49.2 20,376 50.8
1999 493,256 377,802 76.6 115,454 23.4 40,800 18,884 46.3 21,916 53.7
2000 493,311 364,894 74.0 128,417 26.0 43,115 19,452 45.1 23,663 54.9
2001 509,607 368,737 72.4 140,870 27.6 43,311 18,379 42.4 24,932 57.6
2002 540,404 387,416 71.7 152,988 28.3 45,034 19,663 43.7 25,371 56.3
2003 567,121 412,105 72.7 155,016 27.3 46,728 19,663 42.1 27,065 57.9
2004 574,463 423,218 73.7 151,245 26.3 47,240 20,156 42.7 27,084 57.3
2005 582,226 434,730 74.7 147,496 25.3 48,555 21,507 44.3 27,048 55.7
2006 597,643 446,625 74.7 151,018 25.3 49,343 21,147 42.9 28,196 57.1
2007olda 607,823 450,251 74.1 157,572 25.9 50,712 22,022 43.4 28,690 56.6
2007newa 619,499 460,294 74.3 159,205 25.7 50,840 22,103 43.5 28,737 56.5
2008 631,489 463,450 73.4 168,039 26.6 54,164 24,915 46.0 29,249 54.0
2009 631,645 459,648 72.8 171,997 27.2 57,805 27,105 46.9 30,700 53.1
2010b,c 632,652 458,492 72.5 174,160 27.5 63,439 30,155 47.5 33,284 52.5
2011c 626,820 450,523 71.9 176,297 28.1 62,639 29,712 47.4 32,927 52.6
2012 627,243 443,697 70.7 183,546 29.3 62,851 29,864 47.5 32,987 52.5
2013 633,010 436,296 68.9 196,714 31.1 61,942 29,546 47.7 32,396 52.3
2014oldd 650,738 429,133 65.9 221,605 34.1 62,379 29,630 47.5 32,749 52.5
2014newd 666,586 439,309 65.9 227,277 34.1 63,593 30,095 47.3 33,498 52.7
2015 685,397 441,956 64.5 243,441 35.5 63,861 28,726 45.0 35,135 55.0
2016 684,825 436,139 63.7 248,686 36.3 64,712 29,810 46.1 34,902 53.9
2017olde 684,096 446,676 65.3 237,420 34.7 64,888 30,197 46.5 34,691 53.5
2017newe 649,112 416,481 64.2 232,631 35.8 64,733 30,110 46.5 34,623 53.5
Master's students
2017newe 378,587 251,896 66.5 126,691 33.5 na na na na na
Doctoral students
2017newe 270,525 164,585 60.8 105,940 39.2 na na na na na
na = not applicable; master's and doctoral students were not reported separately until 2017.
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. 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 and nonfaculty researcher (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/.
c Postdoc and NFR 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. For more information, see https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2016/nsf16314.
e 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.
NOTE: Percentages may not add to total because of rounding.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.