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Table 4-15a. Social sciences master's and doctoral student demographics, enrollment status, and funding: 2018

Characteristic All graduate students Master's students Doctoral students
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Institutions 417 58.3 404 56.5 209 29.2
Schools 431 52.8 417 51.0 215 26.3
Units 2,075 10.6 1,668 8.5 963 4.9
All graduate students 77,985 100.0 42,726 100.0 35,259 100.0
Male 35,806 45.9 18,699 43.8 17,107 48.5
Female 42,179 54.1 24,027 56.2 18,152 51.5
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 57,911 74.3 34,972 81.9 22,939 65.1
Hispanic or Latino 7,130 9.1 4,834 11.3 2,296 6.5
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 437 0.6 259 0.6 178 0.5
Asian 3,438 4.4 1,844 4.3 1,594 4.5
Black or African American 6,194 7.9 4,237 9.9 1,957 5.6
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 97 0.1 55 0.1 42 0.1
White 34,947 44.8 20,111 47.1 14,836 42.1
More than one race 2,110 2.7 1,302 3.0 808 2.3
Unknown ethnicity and race 3,558 4.6 2,330 5.5 1,228 3.5
Temporary visa holders 20,074 25.7 7,754 18.1 12,320 34.9
Part time 21,234 27.2 16,014 37.5 5,220 14.8
Full time 56,751 72.8 26,712 62.5 30,039 85.2
First time 18,239 23.4 12,874 30.1 5,365 15.2
Primary source of support for full-time studentsb
Federal 2,806 3.6 1,169 2.7 1,637 4.6
DOD 517 0.7 442 1.0 75 0.2
DOE 22 * 8 * 14 *
HHS 287 0.4 31 0.1 256 0.7
NIH 187 0.2 18 * 169 0.5
Other HHS 100 0.1 13 * 87 0.2
NASA 39 0.1 14 * 25 0.1
NSF 753 1.0 90 0.2 663 1.9
USDA 244 0.3 88 0.2 156 0.4
Other 944 1.2 496 1.2 448 1.3
Nonfederal 34,139 43.8 9,609 22.5 24,530 69.6
Institutional 32,029 41.1 8,906 20.8 23,123 65.6
Domestic 1,641 2.1 510 1.2 1,131 3.2
Foreign 469 0.6 193 0.5 276 0.8
Self-support 19,806 25.4 15,934 37.3 3,872 11.0
Primary mechanism of support for full-time studentsb
Fellowships 8,296 10.6 1,858 4.3 6,438 18.3
Research assistantships 6,235 8.0 1,842 4.3 4,393 12.5
Teaching assistantships 15,086 19.3 2,987 7.0 12,099 34.3
Traineeships 1,047 1.3 251 0.6 796 2.3
Other types of support 26,087 33.5 19,774 46.3 6,313 17.9
Self-support 19,806 25.4 15,934 37.3 3,872 11.0
Other 6,281 8.1 3,840 9.0 2,441 6.9
* = value < 0.05%.
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 Ethnicity and race data are available only for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
b Funding data are available only for full-time students.
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, 2018.