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Table 1-5b. First-time status among full-time graduate students in science, engineering and health, by degree level: 1975–2018

Year All full-time graduate students Full-time master's students Full-time doctoral students
Total First time Total First time Total First time
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
1975 219,648 76,686 34.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1976 223,412 90,811 40.6 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1977 226,738 93,116 41.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1978a 223,030 70,578 31.6 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1979 231,760 76,788 33.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1980 238,416 81,259 34.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1981 242,049 80,003 33.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1982 244,757 80,257 32.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1983 252,017 81,606 32.4 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1984 253,922 80,186 31.6 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1985 257,287 80,678 31.4 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1986 266,168 82,548 31.0 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1987 271,056 80,843 29.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1988 275,127 80,580 29.3 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1989 282,648 84,532 29.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1990 292,782 87,401 29.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1991 307,010 93,147 30.3 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1992 322,555 95,802 29.7 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1993 329,644 92,748 28.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1994 332,088 92,171 27.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1995 329,283 89,482 27.2 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1996 328,536 88,984 27.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1997 327,289 89,177 27.2 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1998 327,389 90,828 27.7 NA NA NA NA NA NA
1999 334,423 92,214 27.6 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2000 341,283 94,340 27.6 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2001 354,522 98,112 27.7 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2002 378,991 104,184 27.5 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2003 397,420 107,715 27.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2004 402,573 106,544 26.5 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2005 406,620 110,219 27.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2006 419,015 116,482 27.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2007oldb 430,860 120,236 27.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2007newb 437,365 122,449 28.0 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2008 449,613 130,635 29.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2009 456,115 134,756 29.5 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2010 461,185 136,487 29.6 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2011 457,292 136,610 29.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2012 459,498 137,767 30.0 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2013 468,953 143,326 30.6 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2014oldc 484,880 150,653 31.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2014newc 492,170 154,219 31.3 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2015 506,262 161,640 31.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2016 508,773 161,824 31.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2017oldd 498,619 162,805 32.7 NA NA NA NA NA NA
2017newd 480,788 156,157 32.5 245,010 110,980 45.3 235,778 45,177 19.2
2018 491,449 159,724 32.5 248,552 114,214 46.0 242,897 45,510 18.7
NA = not available; master's and doctoral students were not reported separately until 2017.
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.
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.