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Table 1-3b. Citizenship of graduate students and postdoctoral appointees in science: 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 251,265 220,903 87.9 30,362 12.1 13,042 8,307 63.7 4,735 36.3
1981 252,404 219,762 87.1 32,642 12.9 13,731 8,504 61.9 5,227 38.1
1982 255,146 215,397 84.4 39,749 15.6 13,698 8,393 61.3 5,305 38.7
1983 255,820 213,114 83.3 42,706 16.7 14,562 9,063 62.2 5,499 37.8
1984 256,903 212,717 82.8 44,186 17.2 14,979 9,248 61.7 5,731 38.3
1985 261,973 214,014 81.7 47,959 18.3 15,576 9,300 59.7 6,276 40.3
1986 266,077 214,097 80.5 51,980 19.5 16,512 9,660 58.5 6,852 41.5
1987 269,256 213,882 79.4 55,374 20.6 17,369 9,835 56.6 7,534 43.4
1988 272,309 213,945 78.6 58,364 21.4 18,024 9,856 54.7 8,168 45.3
1989 278,577 217,211 78.0 61,366 22.0 18,978 10,028 52.8 8,950 47.2
1990 289,383 224,792 77.7 64,591 22.3 19,853 10,056 50.7 9,797 49.3
1991 299,057 231,803 77.5 67,254 22.5 20,595 10,152 49.3 10,443 50.7
1992 312,478 244,514 78.2 67,964 21.8 21,514 10,417 48.4 11,097 51.6
1993 318,851 252,480 79.2 66,371 20.8 22,219 10,792 48.6 11,427 51.4
1994 318,118 253,008 79.5 65,110 20.5 23,181 11,451 49.4 11,730 50.6
1995 315,265 252,245 80.0 63,020 20.0 23,512 11,824 50.3 11,688 49.7
1996 311,957 248,907 79.8 63,050 20.2 23,892 11,880 49.7 12,012 50.3
1997 306,482 244,026 79.6 62,456 20.4 24,293 11,746 48.4 12,547 51.6
1998 304,818 240,630 78.9 64,188 21.1 25,023 12,016 48.0 13,007 52.0
1999 309,491 241,066 77.9 68,425 22.1 25,784 11,707 45.4 14,077 54.6
2000 309,424 234,000 75.6 75,424 24.4 26,911 11,558 42.9 15,353 57.1
2001 319,736 237,718 74.3 82,018 25.7 27,044 11,108 41.1 15,936 58.9
2002 335,166 247,842 73.9 87,324 26.1 28,371 12,407 43.7 15,964 56.3
2003 347,268 259,871 74.8 87,397 25.2 29,856 12,409 41.6 17,447 58.4
2004 352,307 265,643 75.4 86,664 24.6 30,116 12,672 42.1 17,444 57.9
2005 357,710 271,962 76.0 85,748 24.0 30,290 12,665 41.8 17,625 58.2
2006 363,246 275,905 76.0 87,341 24.0 30,245 12,573 41.6 17,672 58.4
2007olda 372,120 282,785 76.0 89,335 24.0 30,986 13,312 43.0 17,674 57.0
2007newa 384,523 293,792 76.4 90,731 23.6 31,281 13,513 43.2 17,768 56.8
2008 391,419 295,530 75.5 95,889 24.5 32,741 14,375 43.9 18,366 56.1
2009 401,008 303,700 75.7 97,308 24.3 34,388 15,800 45.9 18,588 54.1
2010b,c 407,291 308,108 75.6 99,183 24.4 37,351 17,793 47.6 19,558 52.4
2011c 414,440 312,846 75.5 101,594 24.5 37,335 17,706 47.4 19,629 52.6
2012 413,033 308,042 74.6 104,991 25.4 36,738 17,476 47.6 19,262 52.4
2013 417,251 305,563 73.2 111,688 26.8 36,289 17,551 48.4 18,738 51.6
2014oldd 425,148 300,110 70.6 125,038 29.4 36,184 17,229 47.6 18,955 52.4
2014newd 437,395 308,499 70.5 128,896 29.5 37,316 17,661 47.3 19,655 52.7
2015 448,654 309,182 68.9 139,472 31.1 37,639 17,072 45.4 20,567 54.6
2016 452,046 306,710 67.8 145,336 32.2 37,941 17,615 46.4 20,326 53.6
2017olde 450,343 310,973 69.1 139,370 30.9 37,816 17,803 47.1 20,013 52.9
2017newe 415,568 281,057 67.6 134,511 32.4 38,241 17,993 47.1 20,248 52.9
Master's students
2017newe 229,169 156,831 68.4 72,338 31.6 na na na na na
Doctoral students
2017newe 186,399 124,226 66.6 62,173 33.4 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) and nonfaculty researcher (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/.
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.