Back to Data Tables
Excel icon Download to excel

Table A-3. Surveyed institutions, schools, organizational units, and graduate enrollment, by type of institution: 1972–2017

Year Institutions Schoolsa Organizational units Graduate enrollment
Total Master's Doctorate Non-Degree Total Full time Part time
All institutions
1972b 252 321 4,568 764 3,804 0 207,859 159,392 48,467
1973b 255 333 6,523 851 5,557 115 214,348 161,525 52,823
1974b 276 367 7,468 1,387 5,951 130 259,968 190,562 69,406
1975 584 682 9,003 2,829 6,038 136 328,510 219,648 108,862
1976 594 693 9,110 2,895 6,074 141 333,716 223,412 110,304
1977 601 704 9,392 3,081 6,168 143 345,374 226,738 118,636
1978 599 708 9,509 3,126 6,239 144 339,912 223,030 116,882
1979 629 745 9,686 3,203 5,153 1,330 357,578 231,760 125,818
1980 626 742 9,798 3,255 5,011 1,532 367,078 238,416 128,662
1981 622 736 9,728 3,256 4,938 1,534 375,130 242,049 133,081
1982 609 724 9,584 3,241 4,822 1,521 382,291 244,757 137,534
1983 609 723 9,467 3,211 4,741 1,515 390,432 252,017 138,415
1984 412 530 8,791 2,503 4,725 1,563 394,670 253,922 140,748
1985 412 525 8,911 2,550 4,751 1,610 404,021 257,287 146,734
1986 412 527 8,985 2,558 4,782 1,645 415,520 266,168 149,352
1987 416 533 9,104 2,563 4,850 1,691 421,497 271,056 150,441
1988 606 723 10,015 3,310 4,950 1,755 424,523 275,127 149,396
1989 609 726 10,187 3,372 5,026 1,789 434,478 282,648 151,830
1990 610 727 10,358 3,448 5,059 1,851 452,113 292,782 159,331
1991 609 726 10,598 3,517 5,180 1,901 471,212 307,010 164,202
1992 608 725 10,872 3,602 5,298 1,972 493,522 322,555 170,967
1993 606 723 11,103 3,650 5,391 2,062 504,304 329,644 174,660
1994 605 722 11,365 3,759 5,500 2,106 504,399 332,088 172,311
1995 603 720 11,566 3,837 5,539 2,190 499,640 329,283 170,357
1996 603 720 11,579 3,886 5,507 2,186 494,079 328,536 165,543
1997 601 722 11,589 3,994 5,526 2,069 487,208 327,289 159,919
1998 601 721 11,685 4,020 5,590 2,075 485,627 327,389 158,238
1999 599 719 11,827 4,015 5,773 2,039 493,256 334,423 158,833
2000 596 716 11,894 4,085 5,791 2,018 493,311 341,283 152,028
2001 601 720 11,962 4,096 5,826 2,040 509,607 354,522 155,085
2002 596 715 12,126 4,165 5,931 2,030 540,404 378,991 161,413
2003 593 712 12,261 4,185 6,080 1,996 567,121 397,420 169,701
2004 591 710 12,268 4,180 6,142 1,946 574,463 402,573 171,890
2005 588 702 12,297 4,123 6,231 1,943 582,226 406,620 175,606
2006 588 707 12,320 4,109 6,294 1,917 597,643 419,015 178,628
2007oldc 582 700 12,325 4,148 6,418 1,759 607,823 430,860 176,963
2007newc 582 700 12,629 4,335 6,525 1,769 619,499 437,365 182,134
2008 579 708 13,166 4,399 6,710 2,057 631,489 449,613 181,876
2009 575 703 13,285 4,336 6,774 2,175 631,645 456,115 175,530
2010 574 692 13,711 4,416 6,863 2,432 632,652 461,185 171,467
2011 565 686 13,785 4,295 6,849 2,641 626,820 457,292 169,528
2012 565 684 13,952 4,320 6,911 2,721 627,243 459,498 167,745
2013 564 680 14,019 4,314 6,875 2,830 633,010 468,953 164,057
2014oldd 557 671 14,369 4,375 6,940 3,054 650,738 484,880 165,858
2014newd 706 821 14,845 4,769 6,988 3,088 666,586 492,170 174,416
2015 711 824 15,202 4,901 7,104 3,197 685,397 506,262 179,135
2016e 714 828 15,853 5,054 7,217 3,582 684,825 508,773 176,052
2017 703 814 18,745 5,580 7,004 6,161 649,112 480,788 168,324
Doctorate institutions
1972 252 321 4,568 764 3,804 0 207,859 159,392 48,467
1973 255 333 6,523 851 5,557 115 214,348 161,525 52,823
1974 276 367 7,468 1,387 5,951 130 259,968 190,562 69,406
1975 345 443 8,031 1,857 6,038 136 301,902 209,328 92,574
1976 355 454 8,131 1,916 6,074 141 305,824 213,033 92,791
1977 357 460 8,361 2,050 6,168 143 313,938 215,377 98,561
1978 345 454 8,381 1,998 6,239 144 308,107 211,508 96,599
1979 371 487 8,612 2,130 5,153 1,329 323,677 219,634 104,043
1980 370 486 8,714 2,174 5,011 1,529 333,164 225,877 107,287
1981 370 484 8,645 2,174 4,938 1,533 339,946 229,708 110,238
1982 369 484 8,504 2,162 4,822 1,520 346,668 232,980 113,688
1983 371 485 8,386 2,133 4,741 1,512 354,060 239,220 114,840
1984 346 464 8,320 2,033 4,725 1,562 353,673 239,400 114,273
1985 346 459 8,434 2,074 4,751 1,609 362,581 242,748 119,833
1986 346 461 8,509 2,083 4,782 1,644 373,545 251,562 121,983
1987 350 467 8,626 2,087 4,850 1,689 378,785 255,936 122,849
1988 377 494 8,949 2,250 4,950 1,749 386,300 262,351 123,949
1989 380 497 9,084 2,276 5,026 1,782 394,510 269,679 124,831
1990 379 496 9,234 2,332 5,059 1,843 409,419 278,637 130,782
1991 379 496 9,435 2,362 5,180 1,893 425,914 291,508 134,406
1992 379 496 9,678 2,417 5,298 1,963 445,704 305,979 139,725
1993 379 496 9,875 2,434 5,391 2,050 454,745 312,519 142,226
1994 378 495 10,093 2,499 5,500 2,094 455,332 313,976 141,356
1995 377 494 10,269 2,552 5,539 2,178 449,555 310,538 139,017
1996 378 495 10,289 2,608 5,507 2,174 444,319 309,418 134,901
1997 377 498 10,271 2,688 5,526 2,057 438,135 307,697 130,438
1998 377 497 10,366 2,713 5,590 2,063 435,826 307,040 128,786
1999 378 498 10,482 2,683 5,773 2,026 443,104 313,866 129,238
2000 377 497 10,526 2,726 5,791 2,009 443,542 319,923 123,619
2001 381 500 10,577 2,728 5,826 2,023 459,438 332,732 126,706
2002 376 495 10,726 2,778 5,931 2,017 487,645 355,611 132,034
2003 376 495 10,849 2,790 6,080 1,979 510,335 372,366 137,969
2004 376 495 10,858 2,781 6,142 1,935 518,641 377,984 140,657
2005 375 489 10,907 2,745 6,231 1,931 527,048 381,198 145,850
2006 376 495 10,946 2,745 6,294 1,907 542,073 393,138 148,935
2007oldc 375 493 10,976 2,830 6,418 1,728 551,832 403,722 148,110
2007newc 375 493 11,210 2,949 6,525 1,736 561,352 409,421 151,931
2008 376 505 11,773 3,042 6,710 2,021 574,241 422,287 151,954
2009 366 493 11,865 2,956 6,774 2,135 573,883 428,856 145,027
2010 364 481 12,276 3,023 6,863 2,390 575,785 433,252 142,533
2011 368 488 12,419 2,964 6,849 2,606 570,534 430,623 139,911
2012 367 485 12,567 2,977 6,911 2,679 571,578 433,177 138,401
2013 364 480 12,607 2,940 6,875 2,792 574,004 439,950 134,054
2014oldd 366 480 12,985 3,028 6,940 3,017 588,600 451,884 136,716
2014newd 406 521 13,140 3,115 6,988 3,037 588,952 452,801 136,151
2015 412 525 13,506 3,251 7,104 3,151 604,944 464,695 140,249
2016e 415 529 14,188 3,451 7,217 3,520 609,420 468,678 140,742
2017 399 509 16,971 3,934 7,004 6,033 577,139 442,001 135,138
Master's institutions
1975f 239 239 972 972 na 0 26,608 10,320 16,288
1976 239 239 979 979 na 0 27,892 10,379 17,513
1977 244 244 1,031 1,031 na 0 31,436 11,361 20,075
1978g 254 254 1,128 1,128 na 0 31,805 11,522 20,283
1979 258 258 1,074 1,073 na 1 33,901 12,126 21,775
1980 256 256 1,084 1,081 na 3 33,914 12,539 21,375
1981 252 252 1,083 1,082 na 1 35,184 12,341 22,843
1982 240 240 1,080 1,079 na 1 35,623 11,777 23,846
1983 238 238 1,081 1,078 na 3 36,372 12,797 23,575
1984 66 66 471 470 na 1 40,997 14,522 26,475
1985 66 66 477 476 na 1 41,440 14,539 26,901
1986 66 66 476 475 na 1 41,975 14,606 27,369
1987 66 66 478 476 na 2 42,712 15,120 27,592
1988 229 229 1,066 1,060 na 6 38,223 12,776 25,447
1989 229 229 1,103 1,096 na 7 39,968 12,969 26,999
1990 231 231 1,124 1,116 na 8 42,694 14,145 28,549
1991 230 230 1,163 1,155 na 8 45,298 15,502 29,796
1992 229 229 1,194 1,185 na 9 47,818 16,576 31,242
1993 227 227 1,228 1,216 na 12 49,559 17,125 32,434
1994 227 227 1,272 1,260 na 12 49,067 18,112 30,955
1995 226 226 1,297 1,285 na 12 50,085 18,745 31,340
1996 225 225 1,290 1,278 na 12 49,760 19,118 30,642
1997 224 224 1,318 1,306 na 12 49,073 19,592 29,481
1998 224 224 1,319 1,307 na 12 49,801 20,349 29,452
1999 221 221 1,345 1,332 na 13 50,152 20,557 29,595
2000 219 219 1,368 1,359 na 9 49,769 21,360 28,409
2001 220 220 1,385 1,368 na 17 50,169 21,790 28,379
2002 220 220 1,400 1,387 na 13 52,759 23,380 29,379
2003 217 217 1,412 1,395 na 17 56,786 25,054 31,732
2004 215 215 1,410 1,399 na 11 55,822 24,589 31,233
2005 213 213 1,390 1,378 na 12 55,178 25,422 29,756
2006 212 212 1,374 1,364 na 10 55,570 25,877 29,693
2007oldc 207 207 1,349 1,318 na 31 55,991 27,138 28,853
2007newc 207 207 1,419 1,386 na 33 58,147 27,944 30,203
2008 203 203 1,393 1,357 na 36 57,248 27,326 29,922
2009 209 210 1,420 1,380 na 40 57,762 27,259 30,503
2010 210 211 1,435 1,393 na 42 56,867 27,933 28,934
2011 197 198 1,366 1,331 na 35 56,286 26,669 29,617
2012 198 199 1,385 1,343 na 42 55,665 26,321 29,344
2013 200 200 1,412 1,374 na 38 59,006 29,003 30,003
2014oldd 191 191 1,384 1,347 na 37 62,138 32,996 29,142
2014newd 300 300 1,705 1,654 na 51 77,634 39,369 38,265
2015 299 299 1,696 1,650 na 46 80,453 41,567 38,886
2016e 299 299 1,665 1,603 na 62 75,405 40,095 35,310
2017 304 305 1,774 1,646 na 128 71,973 38,787 33,186
na = not applicable.
a Schools are administrative and degree-granting entities within academic institutions. Schools surveyed may exceed institutions surveyed because schools at some institutions report information to the survey separately. Examples of schools eligible for the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS) include graduate schools, schools of architecture, schools of medicine, schools of nursing, schools of pharmacology, schools of public health, and schools of veterinary medicine.
b Data collected only from the doctorate-granting institutions.
c In 2007, GSS-eligible fields were reclassified, newly eligible fields were added, and survey was redesigned to improve coverage and coding of GSS-eligible units. "2007new" presents data as collected in 2007; "2007old" reflects data as they would have been collected under 2006 methodology. See appendix A, "Technical Notes," in https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf10307/ for more detail.
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.
e The 2016 survey included a pilot data collection to assess the feasibility of several data collection changes, including the use of Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes for reporting data and file uploads for transmitting data. The number of units added and deleted by pilot coordinators was much greater than is typical. These increases are largely due to how data are organized in institutional information systems and the increased granularity of CIP codes relative to GSS codes, rather than a reflection of increased organizational complexity.
f 1976 survey also collected 1975 data from master's-granting institutions.
g Master's-granting institutions were not surveyed in 1978; totals represent estimates based on 1977 and 1979 data.
NOTES: Data from 1972 to 1974 are not directly comparable with data from 1975 forward due to changes both in science and engineering fields and in types of institutions covered in the survey. In 2007, newly eligible science fields were added.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.