Back to Data Tables
Excel icon Download to excel

Table 1-2a. Sex of graduate students, postdoctoral appointees, and doctorate-holding nonfaculty researchers in science, engineering, and health: 1977–2018

Year Graduate students Postdoctoral appointees Doctorate-holding nonfaculty researchers
Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
1977 345,374 244,924 70.9 100,450 29.1 na na na na na na na na na na
1978 339,912 NA NA NA NA na na na na na na na na na na
1979 357,578 240,839 67.4 116,739 32.6 18,101 14,761 81.5 3,340 18.5 2,687 2,076 77.3 611 22.7
1980 367,078 242,956 66.2 124,122 33.8 18,399 14,856 80.7 3,543 19.3 3,260 2,571 78.9 689 21.1
1981 375,130 243,558 64.9 131,572 35.1 19,634 15,554 79.2 4,080 20.8 3,559 2,809 78.9 750 21.1
1982 382,291 246,298 64.4 135,993 35.6 19,363 14,992 77.4 4,371 22.6 4,026 3,183 79.1 843 20.9
1983 390,432 250,928 64.3 139,504 35.7 20,712 15,919 76.9 4,793 23.1 4,896 3,915 80.0 981 20.0
1984 394,670 252,653 64.0 142,017 36.0 21,535 16,494 76.6 5,041 23.4 5,042 3,896 77.3 1,146 22.7
1985 404,021 258,216 63.9 145,805 36.1 22,387 16,973 75.8 5,414 24.2 5,103 3,826 75.0 1,277 25.0
1986 415,520 264,733 63.7 150,787 36.3 23,721 17,741 74.8 5,980 25.2 4,846 3,586 74.0 1,260 26.0
1987 421,497 267,941 63.6 153,556 36.4 24,881 18,498 74.3 6,383 25.7 4,597 3,354 73.0 1,243 27.0
1988 424,523 265,390 62.5 159,133 37.5 26,123 19,321 74.0 6,802 26.0 4,869 3,603 74.0 1,266 26.0
1989 434,478 268,725 61.9 165,753 38.1 27,932 20,560 73.6 7,372 26.4 4,908 3,623 73.8 1,285 26.2
1990 452,113 275,672 61.0 176,441 39.0 29,565 21,572 73.0 7,993 27.0 5,255 3,879 73.8 1,376 26.2
1991 471,212 284,897 60.5 186,315 39.5 30,865 22,406 72.6 8,459 27.4 5,478 4,026 73.5 1,452 26.5
1992 493,522 294,222 59.6 199,300 40.4 32,747 23,450 71.6 9,297 28.4 5,482 4,036 73.6 1,446 26.4
1993 504,304 294,476 58.4 209,828 41.6 34,322 24,381 71.0 9,941 29.0 6,001 4,376 72.9 1,625 27.1
1994 504,399 288,355 57.2 216,044 42.8 36,377 25,471 70.0 10,906 30.0 6,209 4,487 72.3 1,722 27.7
1995 499,640 279,305 55.9 220,335 44.1 35,926 25,024 69.7 10,902 30.3 6,534 4,785 73.2 1,749 26.8
1996 494,079 271,660 55.0 222,419 45.0 37,107 25,841 69.6 11,266 30.4 6,604 4,692 71.0 1,912 29.0
1997 487,208 264,497 54.3 222,711 45.7 38,481 26,506 68.9 11,975 31.1 6,722 4,733 70.4 1,989 29.6
1998 485,627 261,019 53.7 224,608 46.3 40,086 27,249 68.0 12,837 32.0 7,100 4,985 70.2 2,115 29.8
1999 493,256 262,675 53.3 230,581 46.7 40,800 27,831 68.2 12,969 31.8 7,573 5,244 69.2 2,329 30.8
2000 493,311 262,109 53.1 231,202 46.9 43,115 29,606 68.7 13,509 31.3 7,879 5,493 69.7 2,386 30.3
2001 509,607 271,155 53.2 238,452 46.8 43,311 29,310 67.7 14,001 32.3 7,531 5,041 66.9 2,490 33.1
2002 540,404 287,059 53.1 253,345 46.9 45,034 29,850 66.3 15,184 33.7 7,906 5,329 67.4 2,577 32.6
2003 567,121 298,682 52.7 268,439 47.3 46,728 30,692 65.7 16,036 34.3 8,473 5,700 67.3 2,773 32.7
2004 574,463 296,714 51.7 277,749 48.3 47,240 30,867 65.3 16,373 34.7 9,075 6,049 66.7 3,026 33.3
2005 582,226 295,291 50.7 286,935 49.3 48,555 31,515 64.9 17,040 35.1 9,527 6,305 66.2 3,222 33.8
2006 597,643 299,818 50.2 297,825 49.8 49,343 31,760 64.4 17,583 35.6 10,814 7,190 66.5 3,624 33.5
2007olda 607,823 308,152 50.7 299,671 49.3 50,712 32,860 64.8 17,852 35.2 10,736 7,060 65.8 3,676 34.2
2007newa 619,499 312,009 50.4 307,490 49.6 50,840 32,942 64.8 17,898 35.2 10,752 7,065 65.7 3,687 34.3
2008 631,489 320,310 50.7 311,179 49.3 54,164 33,943 62.7 20,221 37.3 13,747 8,667 63.0 5,080 37.0
2009 631,645 328,525 52.0 303,120 48.0 57,805 35,987 62.3 21,818 37.7 14,059 8,795 62.6 5,264 37.4
2010b,c 632,652 335,481 53.0 297,171 47.0 63,439 38,869 61.3 24,570 38.7 21,345 12,927 60.6 8,418 39.4
2011c 626,820 335,270 53.5 291,550 46.5 62,639 38,167 60.9 24,472 39.1 21,498 13,105 61.0 8,393 39.0
2012 627,243 336,187 53.6 291,056 46.4 62,851 38,166 60.7 24,685 39.3 21,908 13,250 60.5 8,658 39.5
2013 633,010 341,630 54.0 291,380 46.0 61,942 37,585 60.7 24,357 39.3 22,465 13,617 60.6 8,848 39.4
2014oldd 650,738 356,011 54.7 294,727 45.3 62,379 37,752 60.5 24,627 39.5 23,290 14,099 60.5 9,191 39.5
2014newd 666,586 365,841 54.9 300,745 45.1 63,593 38,491 60.5 25,102 39.5 23,706 14,314 60.4 9,392 39.6
2015 685,397 376,296 54.9 309,101 45.1 63,861 38,566 60.4 25,295 39.6 25,292 15,249 60.3 10,043 39.7
2016 684,825 375,569 54.8 309,256 45.2 64,712 39,118 60.4 25,594 39.6 25,747 15,437 60.0 10,310 40.0
2017olde 684,096 369,326 54.0 314,770 46.0 64,888 38,936 60.0 25,952 40.0 na na na na na
2017newe 649,112 356,447 54.9 292,665 45.1 64,733 38,870 60.0 25,863 40.0 28,180 16,580 58.8 11,600 41.2
2018 668,307 359,333 53.8 308,974 46.2 64,783 38,661 59.7 26,122 40.3 29,284 17,468 59.7 11,816 40.3
Master's students
2017newe 378,587 200,748 53.0 177,839 47.0 na na na na na na na na na na
2018 391,211 201,314 51.5 189,897 48.5 na na na na na na na na na na
Doctoral students
2017newe 270,525 155,699 57.6 114,826 42.4 na na na na na na na na na na
2018 277,096 158,019 57.0 119,077 43.0 na na na na na na na na na na
na = not applicable; master's and doctoral students were not reported separately until 2017, and data on postdoctoral appointees (postdocs) and nonfaculty researchers (NFRs) were not collected until 1979. NA = not available; master's-granting institutions were not surveyed in 1978, and the survey of doctorate-granting institutions did not collect data by sex.
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. Due to changes in reporting, NFR estimates for 2017old are not available.
NOTE: Percentages may not add to total because of rounding.
SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.