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Table 2-2. Citizenship, ethnicity, and race of graduate students, postdoctoral appointees, and doctorate-holding nonfaculty researchers in science, engineering, and health fields, by sex: 2017

Citizenship, ethnicity, race, and field Graduate students Postdoctoral appointees Doctorate-holding nonfaculty researchers
All graduate students Master's Doctoral
Total number Percent female Total number Percent female Total number Percent female Total number Percent female Total number Percent female
All surveyed fields 649,112 45.1 378,587 47.0 270,525 42.4 64,733 40.0 28,180 41.2
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 416,481 50.4 251,896 52.4 164,585 47.4 30,110 45.6 na na
Hispanic or Latino 44,621 53.6 29,622 55.4 14,999 50.0 1,659 49.1 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 1,850 59.0 1,136 60.3 714 56.9 125 48.0 na na
Asian 42,045 47.3 26,093 47.3 15,952 47.3 6,045 43.2 na na
Black or African American 32,749 59.1 23,266 59.0 9,483 59.4 1,019 56.5 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 703 53.9 468 55.8 235 50.2 112 62.5 na na
White 257,302 49.1 148,031 51.4 109,271 46.0 17,313 45.6 na na
More than one race 13,539 53.5 8,119 54.4 5,420 52.2 730 44.7 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 23,672 49.9 15,161 52.9 8,511 44.5 3,107 44.4 na na
Temporary visa holders 232,631 35.5 126,691 36.2 105,940 34.7 34,623 35.0 na na
Science 415,568 48.4 229,169 49.8 186,399 46.6 38,241 39.2 17,268 40.1
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 281,057 51.8 156,831 53.4 124,226 49.8 17,993 43.6 na na
Hispanic or Latino 30,383 56.0 18,728 57.8 11,655 53.1 968 48.7 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 1,347 58.9 777 60.0 570 57.4 68 48.5 na na
Asian 26,028 49.7 15,084 48.5 10,944 51.3 3,164 42.2 na na
Black or African American 22,557 59.3 15,639 58.6 6,918 60.9 546 53.5 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 487 55.4 305 57.0 182 52.7 45 73.3 na na
White 174,801 50.2 91,511 52.2 83,290 48.1 10,863 43.1 na na
More than one race 9,434 55.3 5,202 56.0 4,232 54.4 420 42.4 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 16,020 50.9 9,585 53.6 6,435 46.8 1,919 43.0 na na
Temporary visa holders 134,511 41.2 72,338 42.0 62,173 40.3 20,248 35.2 na na
Agricultural sciences 9,347 53.1 5,603 55.3 3,744 49.7 1,024 40.3 496 44.0
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 6,530 54.8 4,576 55.8 1,954 52.5 428 45.8 na na
Hispanic or Latino 593 56.5 463 58.3 130 50.0 26 61.5 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 33 60.6 22 63.6 11 54.5 4 75.0 na na
Asian 238 64.3 147 67.3 91 59.3 84 36.9 na na
Black or African American 327 58.4 228 58.8 99 57.6 10 30.0 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 8 62.5 4 100.0 4 25.0 3 100.0 na na
White 4,985 54.1 3,466 55.1 1,519 52.0 224 47.3 na na
More than one race 139 51.1 102 54.9 37 40.5 26 34.6 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 207 51.2 144 47.9 63 58.7 51 49.0 na na
Temporary visa holders 2,817 49.1 1,027 53.2 1,790 46.7 596 36.4 na na
Biological and biomedical sciences 85,217 56.8 33,926 61.7 51,291 53.6 21,781 44.2 8,203 46.9
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 67,673 57.0 29,106 61.3 38,567 53.7 10,119 47.5 na na
Hispanic or Latino 6,748 57.7 2,957 61.6 3,791 54.7 576 49.0 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 252 64.7 97 72.2 155 60.0 39 46.2 na na
Asian 7,964 56.0 3,615 58.7 4,349 53.9 2,101 45.6 na na
Black or African American 4,672 66.4 2,702 68.4 1,970 63.6 306 55.2 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 134 53.7 69 55.1 65 52.3 24 75.0 na na
White 41,950 55.8 16,894 60.3 25,056 52.7 5,840 47.8 na na
More than one race 2,324 60.7 1,023 64.2 1,301 57.9 232 47.4 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 3,629 56.6 1,749 63.5 1,880 50.3 1,001 46.4 na na
Temporary visa holders 17,544 56.1 4,820 64.0 12,724 53.2 11,662 41.2 na na
Computer and information sciences 89,909 30.1 75,618 31.0 14,291 25.0 854 21.2 476 23.5
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 36,847 26.1 31,595 26.5 5,252 24.2 286 27.6 na na
Hispanic or Latino 3,094 23.8 2,782 24.0 312 22.1 8 37.5 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 82 32.9 67 32.8 15 33.3 2 50.0 na na
Asian 6,512 31.3 5,770 31.7 742 28.7 62 30.6 na na
Black or African American 4,444 34.4 4,106 34.0 338 38.5 9 44.4 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 59 32.2 56 32.1 3 33.3 0 - na na
White 18,902 21.8 15,639 21.8 3,263 21.9 176 26.1 na na
More than one race 1,189 28.7 1,019 29.2 170 25.3 9 33.3 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 2,565 31.5 2,156 33.0 409 23.5 20 15.0 na na
Temporary visa holders 53,062 32.8 44,023 34.3 9,039 25.5 568 18.0 na na
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 12,545 45.0 6,006 45.1 6,539 44.9 2,089 37.6 1,794 31.0
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 9,792 47.2 5,360 46.0 4,432 48.8 1,180 41.2 na na
Hispanic or Latino 783 51.9 450 50.0 333 54.4 57 56.1 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 62 54.8 39 51.3 23 60.9 3 66.7 na na
Asian 364 53.6 160 51.3 204 55.4 125 40.8 na na
Black or African American 234 41.9 143 39.2 91 46.2 10 30.0 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 15 40.0 8 62.5 7 14.3 5 20.0 na na
White 7,510 46.3 4,134 45.1 3,376 47.7 778 41.0 na na
More than one race 308 56.2 159 51.6 149 61.1 40 27.5 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 516 46.3 267 47.6 249 45.0 162 41.4 na na
Temporary visa holders 2,753 37.1 646 38.2 2,107 36.7 909 32.9 na na
Mathematics and statistics 29,669 37.1 16,568 43.4 13,101 29.0 991 23.2 240 27.5
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 14,540 32.8 7,925 38.0 6,615 26.5 444 22.3 na na
Hispanic or Latino 1,291 32.6 815 36.1 476 26.7 21 33.3 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 38 31.6 26 38.5 12 16.7 0 - na na
Asian 1,891 38.9 1,200 44.8 691 28.7 47 27.7 na na
Black or African American 645 41.9 417 44.4 228 37.3 6 33.3 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 9 33.3 6 50.0 3 0.0 0 - na na
White 9,277 31.5 4,711 36.8 4,566 25.9 314 19.7 na na
More than one race 436 28.2 203 31.5 233 25.3 11 9.1 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 953 29.4 547 33.1 406 24.4 45 31.1 na na
Temporary visa holders 15,129 41.2 8,643 48.4 6,486 31.6 547 23.9 na na
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 9,854 52.2 6,923 52.6 2,931 51.1 1,131 40.2 806 33.5
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 7,370 53.3 5,193 53.9 2,177 51.9 625 47.5 na na
Hispanic or Latino 820 56.5 664 58.6 156 47.4 37 51.4 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 31 71.0 25 72.0 6 66.7 0 - na na
Asian 750 56.3 559 56.0 191 57.1 67 46.3 na na
Black or African American 621 59.3 488 58.2 133 63.2 27 66.7 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 17 58.8 12 66.7 5 40.0 0 - na na
White 4,478 51.0 2,975 51.0 1,503 50.9 419 47.3 na na
More than one race 223 57.4 163 55.2 60 63.3 9 22.2 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 430 54.2 307 58.6 123 43.1 66 43.9 na na
Temporary visa holders 2,484 48.8 1,730 48.7 754 48.9 506 31.2 na na
Natural resources and conservation 10,879 54.9 7,311 56.6 3,568 51.5 731 41.6 364 36.3
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 9,285 55.9 6,638 56.7 2,647 54.0 459 42.0 na na
Hispanic or Latino 715 59.4 533 60.2 182 57.1 19 31.6 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 88 62.5 64 59.4 24 70.8 5 40.0 na na
Asian 322 61.2 204 57.8 118 66.9 41 31.7 na na
Black or African American 373 58.7 222 58.6 151 58.9 7 14.3 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 22 45.5 20 45.0 2 50.0 2 50.0 na na
White 6,918 55.2 4,955 56.1 1,963 52.8 324 45.1 na na
More than one race 330 59.1 257 61.5 73 50.7 10 30.0 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 517 53.4 383 54.8 134 49.3 51 41.2 na na
Temporary visa holders 1,594 49.0 673 55.3 921 44.4 272 40.8 na na
Physical sciences 41,829 33.4 6,368 38.1 35,461 32.5 7,211 22.7 2,871 20.2
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 25,397 33.2 4,416 37.7 20,981 32.3 2,778 25.0 na na
Hispanic or Latino 2,261 34.5 559 34.5 1,702 34.4 105 28.6 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 87 28.7 26 34.6 61 26.2 6 50.0 na na
Asian 2,208 40.0 383 45.2 1,825 39.0 498 26.1 na na
Black or African American 954 44.3 314 50.3 640 41.4 75 33.3 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 20 60.0 3 66.7 17 58.8 5 80.0 na na
White 17,795 31.7 2,700 36.4 15,095 30.8 1,703 23.3 na na
More than one race 838 34.7 163 35.0 675 34.7 47 34.0 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 1,234 31.7 268 34.7 966 30.8 339 26.5 na na
Temporary visa holders 16,432 33.5 1,952 39.0 14,480 32.8 4,433 21.3 na na
Psychology 50,033 75.5 29,638 78.7 20,395 70.9 1,082 58.6 494 62.1
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 46,845 75.6 28,305 78.7 18,540 70.9 778 60.7 na na
Hispanic or Latino 7,124 76.3 4,820 79.6 2,304 69.4 52 63.5 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 216 74.5 124 80.6 92 66.3 0 - na na
Asian 2,500 76.4 1,324 78.1 1,176 74.6 63 66.7 na na
Black or African American 4,513 77.9 3,101 80.0 1,412 73.2 25 60.0 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 91 75.8 60 76.7 31 74.2 4 100.0 na na
White 28,352 74.8 16,358 78.2 11,994 70.1 537 59.0 na na
More than one race 1,603 76.9 912 78.1 691 75.3 13 84.6 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 2,446 77.3 1,606 79.5 840 73.0 84 59.5 na na
Temporary visa holders 3,188 74.6 1,333 78.4 1,855 71.8 304 53.3 na na
Social sciences 76,286 53.9 41,208 56.3 35,078 51.1 1,347 53.7 1,524 54.8
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 56,778 55.4 33,717 56.3 23,061 54.0 896 58.6 na na
Hispanic or Latino 6,954 59.2 4,685 60.0 2,269 57.6 67 64.2 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 458 59.8 287 57.5 171 63.7 9 44.4 na na
Asian 3,279 58.7 1,722 58.4 1,557 59.2 76 60.5 na na
Black or African American 5,774 63.6 3,918 63.7 1,856 63.4 71 73.2 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 112 57.1 67 61.2 45 51.1 2 100.0 na na
White 34,634 52.7 19,679 53.7 14,955 51.5 548 55.3 na na
More than one race 2,044 61.1 1,201 61.4 843 60.6 23 52.2 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 3,523 53.1 2,158 54.6 1,365 50.7 100 63.0 na na
Temporary visa holders 19,508 49.5 7,491 56.0 12,017 45.5 451 43.9 na na
Engineering 165,581 24.7 96,756 24.1 68,825 25.4 7,839 22.3 3,274 22.7
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 75,160 24.2 46,470 22.3 28,690 27.3 2,650 27.2 na na
Hispanic or Latino 7,537 24.8 5,130 23.3 2,407 27.9 119 30.3 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 208 30.3 134 27.6 74 35.1 12 0.0 na na
Asian 10,483 28.6 6,416 26.6 4,067 31.8 687 26.2 na na
Black or African American 3,842 28.9 2,505 26.1 1,337 34.2 75 37.3 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 86 25.6 56 25.0 30 26.7 7 14.3 na na
White 46,637 22.7 28,281 20.8 18,356 25.5 1,383 28.3 na na
More than one race 2,265 28.0 1,422 25.4 843 32.4 53 28.3 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 4,102 23.1 2,526 20.5 1,576 27.2 314 22.0 na na
Temporary visa holders 90,421 25.0 50,286 25.8 40,135 24.0 5,189 19.9 na na
Health 67,963 74.8 52,662 76.7 15,301 68.3 18,653 49.0 7,638 51.5
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 60,264 76.8 48,595 78.0 11,669 71.9 9,467 54.5 na na
Hispanic or Latino 6,701 75.2 5,764 76.2 937 68.9 572 53.8 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 295 79.7 225 80.9 70 75.7 45 60.0 na na
Asian 5,534 71.6 4,593 72.4 941 67.8 2,194 50.1 na na
Black or African American 6,350 76.6 5,122 76.2 1,228 78.7 398 64.3 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 130 66.9 107 68.2 23 60.9 60 60.0 na na
White 35,864 78.0 28,239 79.7 7,625 71.8 5,067 55.6 na na
More than one race 1,840 76.0 1,495 76.5 345 73.6 257 51.8 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 3,550 76.3 3,050 77.4 500 69.4 874 55.5 na na
Temporary visa holders 7,699 59.2 4,067 61.5 3,632 56.7 9,186 43.2 na na
Clinical medicineb 29,693 73.1 25,283 73.6 4,410 69.8 16,100 48.7 6,448 51.3
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 26,710 74.2 23,151 74.6 3,559 71.6 8,148 53.6 na na
Hispanic or Latino 3,164 73.3 2,701 74.0 463 69.1 502 52.0 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 160 77.5 134 78.4 26 73.1 37 59.5 na na
Asian 3,182 71.3 2,834 71.2 348 72.1 1,951 50.1 na na
Black or African American 3,871 77.2 3,367 77.3 504 76.2 347 64.3 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 78 67.9 69 69.6 9 55.6 52 59.6 na na
White 13,309 74.0 11,384 74.7 1,925 70.3 4,366 54.5 na na
More than one race 956 74.7 817 73.4 139 82.0 181 54.1 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 1,990 75.4 1,845 75.8 145 69.7 712 52.1 na na
Temporary visa holders 2,983 62.9 2,132 63.2 851 62.0 7,952 43.7 na na
Other health 38,270 76.1 27,379 79.5 10,891 67.7 2,553 50.7 1,190 52.6
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 33,554 78.8 25,444 81.0 8,110 72.1 1,319 60.3 na na
Hispanic or Latino 3,537 76.9 3,063 78.2 474 68.8 70 67.1 na na
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 135 82.2 91 84.6 44 77.3 8 62.5 na na
Asian 2,352 72.2 1,759 74.5 593 65.3 243 49.8 na na
Black or African American 2,479 75.8 1,755 74.0 724 80.4 51 64.7 na na
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 52 65.4 38 65.8 14 64.3 8 62.5 na na
White 22,555 80.3 16,855 83.0 5,700 72.3 701 62.2 na na
More than one race 884 77.4 678 80.2 206 68.0 76 46.1 na na
Unknown ethnicity and race 1,560 77.5 1,205 79.9 355 69.3 162 70.4 na na
Temporary visa holders 4,716 56.9 1,935 59.6 2,781 55.0 1,234 40.4 na na
- = not calculable. na = not applicable; citizenship and race and ethnicity data are not collected for doctorate-holding nonfaculty researchers.
a Ethnicity and race data are available only for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
b Clinical medicine includes graduate students in public health and clinical medicine not elsewhere classified (nec). Clinical medicine includes postdoctoral appointees and nonfaculty researchers in anesthesiology, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, hematology, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology and cancer research, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, pediatrics, psychiatry, public health, pulmonary disease, radiology, surgery, and clinical medicine nec.
NOTE: "Field" refers to the field of the unit that reports postdoctorates and doctorate-holding nonfaculty researchers to the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.
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, 2017.