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Table 1-6. Primary source of support for full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health: 1975–2017

Year Total Federal Institutional Nonfederal domestic Foreign Personal resources
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
1975 219,648 47,055 21.4 76,170 34.7 11,189 5.1 5,374 2.4 79,860 36.4
1976 223,412 49,036 21.9 81,839 36.6 11,830 5.3 6,279 2.8 74,428 33.3
1977 226,738 50,809 22.4 82,994 36.6 11,883 5.2 6,879 3.0 74,173 32.7
1978a 223,030 51,984 23.3 81,676 36.6 19,450 8.7 na na 69,920 31.4
1979 231,760 52,682 22.7 84,879 36.6 12,577 5.4 7,773 3.4 73,849 31.9
1980 238,416 52,959 22.2 88,691 37.2 13,068 5.5 8,241 3.5 75,457 31.6
1981 242,049 50,896 21.0 92,089 38.0 13,735 5.7 8,807 3.6 76,522 31.6
1982 244,757 47,403 19.4 95,271 38.9 15,128 6.2 9,059 3.7 77,896 31.8
1983 252,017 47,752 18.9 98,149 38.9 15,904 6.3 8,979 3.6 81,233 32.2
1984 253,922 47,784 18.8 102,175 40.2 16,638 6.6 8,175 3.2 79,150 31.2
1985 257,287 49,051 19.1 104,058 40.4 18,778 7.3 7,770 3.0 77,630 30.2
1986 266,168 51,361 19.3 109,199 41.0 19,056 7.2 7,672 2.9 78,880 29.6
1987 271,056 53,538 19.8 112,263 41.4 18,275 6.7 7,200 2.7 79,780 29.4
1988 275,127 55,489 20.2 114,740 41.7 18,737 6.8 7,001 2.5 79,160 28.8
1989 282,648 57,433 20.3 119,114 42.1 19,140 6.8 6,710 2.4 80,251 28.4
1990 292,782 59,258 20.2 123,005 42.0 19,604 6.7 6,531 2.2 84,384 28.8
1991 307,010 63,000 20.5 125,329 40.8 20,455 6.7 6,643 2.2 91,583 29.8
1992 322,555 65,607 20.3 127,846 39.6 21,343 6.6 6,460 2.0 101,299 31.4
1993 329,644 67,673 20.5 128,950 39.1 21,264 6.5 5,481 1.7 106,276 32.2
1994 332,088 68,550 20.6 129,218 38.9 21,567 6.5 5,718 1.7 107,035 32.2
1995 329,283 67,294 20.4 129,320 39.3 20,435 6.2 5,547 1.7 106,687 32.4
1996 328,536 65,240 19.9 128,379 39.1 20,193 6.1 5,249 1.6 109,475 33.3
1997 327,289 64,522 19.7 128,927 39.4 20,251 6.2 4,848 1.5 108,741 33.2
1998 327,389 63,759 19.5 128,995 39.4 22,157 6.8 4,254 1.3 108,224 33.1
1999 334,423 65,796 19.7 133,182 39.8 22,099 6.6 3,930 1.2 109,416 32.7
2000 341,283 67,588 19.8 133,415 39.1 24,000 7.0 3,848 1.1 112,432 32.9
2001 354,522 68,843 19.4 140,787 39.7 24,420 6.9 3,836 1.1 116,636 32.9
2002 378,991 75,538 19.9 147,883 39.0 25,557 6.7 3,359 0.9 126,654 33.4
2003 397,420 81,761 20.6 151,713 38.2 26,118 6.6 3,098 0.8 134,730 33.9
2004 402,573 83,816 20.8 154,514 38.4 24,325 6.0 2,840 0.7 137,078 34.1
2005 406,620 83,723 20.6 156,332 38.4 24,548 6.0 2,614 0.6 139,403 34.3
2006 419,015 83,962 20.0 160,405 38.3 25,384 6.1 2,658 0.6 146,606 35.0
2007oldb 430,860 81,542 18.9 167,836 39.0 24,262 5.6 2,927 0.7 154,293 35.8
2007newb 437,365 81,859 18.7 171,128 39.1 24,410 5.6 2,939 0.7 157,029 35.9
2008 449,613 78,464 17.5 179,439 39.9 22,238 4.9 3,814 0.8 165,658 36.8
2009 456,115 81,565 17.9 177,680 39.0 22,910 5.0 4,004 0.9 169,956 37.3
2010 461,185 86,310 18.7 177,946 38.6 22,127 4.8 4,238 0.9 170,564 37.0
2011 457,292 85,220 18.6 179,895 39.3 21,717 4.7 4,653 1.0 165,807 36.3
2012 459,498 80,962 17.6 183,965 40.0 22,443 4.9 5,228 1.1 166,900 36.3
2013 468,953 76,840 16.4 189,440 40.4 20,514 4.4 5,371 1.1 176,788 37.7
2014oldc 484,880 72,507 15.0 195,446 40.3 19,970 4.1 5,809 1.2 191,148 39.4
2014newc 492,170 72,756 14.8 196,810 40.0 20,035 4.1 5,882 1.2 196,687 40.0
2015 506,262 72,393 14.3 201,681 39.8 20,771 4.1 5,739 1.1 205,678 40.6
2016 508,773 71,955 14.1 203,823 40.1 19,793 3.9 5,020 1.0 208,182 40.9
2017oldd 498,619 69,899 14.0 201,388 40.4 21,211 4.3 5,271 1.1 200,850 40.3
2017newd 480,788 69,537 14.5 194,550 40.5 20,833 4.3 5,175 1.1 190,693 39.7
Master's students
2017newd 245,010 12,354 5.0 59,385 24.2 5,884 2.4 1,902 0.8 165,485 67.5
Doctoral students
2017newd 235,778 57,183 24.3 135,165 57.3 14,949 6.3 3,273 1.4 25,208 10.7
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 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.
d 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.
NOTES: Percentages may not add to total because of rounding. Master's and doctoral students were not reported separately until 2017.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.