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Table 1-3c. Citizenship of graduate students and postdoctoral appointees in engineering: 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 74,335 56,438 75.9 17,897 24.1 981 303 30.9 678 69.1
1981 79,585 59,898 75.3 19,687 24.7 1,040 332 31.9 708 68.1
1982 83,720 58,656 70.1 25,064 29.9 980 323 33.0 657 67.0
1983 91,146 63,649 69.8 27,497 30.2 1,108 414 37.4 694 62.6
1984 92,739 64,832 69.9 27,907 30.1 1,203 439 36.5 764 63.5
1985 96,018 67,187 70.0 28,831 30.0 1,356 443 32.7 913 67.3
1986 101,905 69,949 68.6 31,956 31.4 1,405 460 32.7 945 67.3
1987 103,983 70,594 67.9 33,389 32.1 1,446 497 34.4 949 65.6
1988 102,854 67,617 65.7 35,237 34.3 1,690 588 34.8 1,102 65.2
1989 104,065 67,365 64.7 36,700 35.3 1,928 657 34.1 1,271 65.9
1990 107,658 69,454 64.5 38,204 35.5 1,950 613 31.4 1,337 68.6
1991 113,535 72,181 63.6 41,354 36.4 2,262 655 29.0 1,607 71.0
1992 118,039 76,569 64.9 41,470 35.1 2,369 767 32.4 1,602 67.6
1993 116,872 77,577 66.4 39,295 33.6 2,446 843 34.5 1,603 65.5
1994 113,024 76,018 67.3 37,006 32.7 2,606 1,018 39.1 1,588 60.9
1995 107,201 71,717 66.9 35,484 33.1 2,648 999 37.7 1,649 62.3
1996 103,224 68,168 66.0 35,056 34.0 2,677 1,050 39.2 1,627 60.8
1997 101,148 64,642 63.9 36,506 36.1 2,971 1,089 36.7 1,882 63.3
1998 100,038 62,249 62.2 37,789 37.8 2,853 950 33.3 1,903 66.7
1999 101,691 60,188 59.2 41,503 40.8 3,196 1,018 31.9 2,178 68.1
2000 104,112 56,651 54.4 47,461 45.6 3,313 1,069 32.3 2,244 67.7
2001 109,493 56,890 52.0 52,603 48.0 3,152 965 30.6 2,187 69.4
2002 119,668 61,277 51.2 58,391 48.8 3,566 1,117 31.3 2,449 68.7
2003 127,377 67,310 52.8 60,067 47.2 3,810 1,133 29.7 2,677 70.3
2004 123,566 66,379 53.7 57,187 46.3 3,949 1,297 32.8 2,652 67.2
2005 120,565 66,551 55.2 54,014 44.8 4,166 1,413 33.9 2,753 66.1
2006 123,041 67,698 55.0 55,343 45.0 4,642 1,538 33.1 3,104 66.9
2007olda 130,255 70,357 54.0 59,898 46.0 4,908 1,591 32.4 3,317 67.6
2007newa 131,676 71,299 54.1 60,377 45.9 4,942 1,594 32.3 3,348 67.7
2008 137,856 74,251 53.9 63,605 46.1 5,462 1,899 34.8 3,563 65.2
2009 144,677 78,642 54.4 66,035 45.6 6,416 2,375 37.0 4,041 63.0
2010b,c 149,241 82,295 55.1 66,946 44.9 6,969 2,637 37.8 4,332 62.2
2011c 146,501 79,314 54.1 67,187 45.9 6,786 2,634 38.8 4,152 61.2
2012 148,385 77,301 52.1 71,084 47.9 7,103 2,738 38.5 4,365 61.5
2013 153,049 75,662 49.4 77,387 50.6 7,106 2,706 38.1 4,400 61.9
2014oldd 162,013 73,268 45.2 88,745 54.8 7,292 2,789 38.2 4,503 61.8
2014newd 164,488 74,013 45.0 90,475 55.0 7,307 2,792 38.2 4,515 61.8
2015 169,354 73,452 43.4 95,902 56.6 7,656 2,521 32.9 5,135 67.1
2016 168,443 73,039 43.4 95,404 56.6 7,796 2,590 33.2 5,206 66.8
2017olde 166,819 76,182 45.7 90,637 54.3 7,929 2,662 33.6 5,267 66.4
2017newe 165,581 75,160 45.4 90,421 54.6 7,839 2,650 33.8 5,189 66.2
Master's students
2017newe 96,756 46,470 48.0 50,286 52.0 na na na na na
Doctoral students
2017newe 68,825 28,690 41.7 40,135 58.3 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.