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Table 3-4. Detailed primary source of federal support for postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health, by field: 2018

Broad field Total DOD DOE HHS: NIH HHS: Other HHS NASA NSF USDA Other
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
All surveyed fields 32,022 2,322 7.3 1,734 5.4 19,388 60.5 751 2.3 667 2.1 3,519 11.0 793 2.5 2,848 8.9
Science 19,422 1,139 5.9 1,196 6.2 10,875 56.0 377 1.9 567 2.9 2,755 14.2 670 3.4 1,843 9.5
Agricultural sciences 466 11 2.4 24 5.2 52 11.2 9 1.9 1 0.2 43 9.2 250 53.6 76 16.3
Biological and biomedical sciences 11,862 386 3.3 156 1.3 9,089 76.6 237 2.0 34 0.3 797 6.7 294 2.5 869 7.3
Computer and information sciences 419 126 30.1 19 4.5 48 11.5 1 0.2 1 0.2 158 37.7 0 0.0 66 15.8
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 901 70 7.8 51 5.7 19 2.1 1 0.1 202 22.4 333 37.0 28 3.1 197 21.9
Mathematics and statistics 307 48 15.6 21 6.8 62 20.2 2 0.7 3 1.0 136 44.3 1 0.3 34 11.1
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies 447 47 10.5 27 6.0 236 52.8 6 1.3 2 0.4 70 15.7 5 1.1 54 12.1
Natural resources and conservation 338 14 4.1 25 7.4 13 3.8 0 0.0 17 5.0 94 27.8 69 20.4 106 31.4
Physical sciences 3,748 392 10.5 868 23.2 883 23.6 74 2.0 282 7.5 936 25.0 7 0.2 306 8.2
Psychology 586 27 4.6 2 0.3 379 64.7 26 4.4 3 0.5 81 13.8 0 0.0 68 11.6
Social sciences 348 18 5.2 3 0.9 94 27.0 21 6.0 22 6.3 107 30.7 16 4.6 67 19.3
Engineering 3,709 903 24.3 529 14.3 917 24.7 88 2.4 87 2.3 718 19.4 53 1.4 414 11.2
Health 8,891 280 3.1 9 0.1 7,596 85.4 286 3.2 13 0.1 46 0.5 70 0.8 591 6.6
Clinical medicinea 7,679 238 3.1 9 0.1 6,646 86.5 202 2.6 13 0.2 26 0.3 36 0.5 509 6.6
Other health 1,212 42 3.5 0 0.0 950 78.4 84 6.9 0 0.0 20 1.7 34 2.8 82 6.8
DOD = Department of Defense; DOE = Department of Energy; HHS = Department of Health and Human Services; NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration; NIH = National Institutes of Health; NSF = National Science Foundation; USDA = Department of Agriculture.
a Clinical medicine includes postdoctoral appointees 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 not elsewhere classified.
NOTES: "Field" refers to the field of the unit that reports postdoctoral appointees to the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering. 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, 2018.