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Table 4-6a. Agricultural 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 87 12.2 87 12.2 54 7.6
Schools 87 10.6 87 10.6 54 6.6
Units 290 1.5 267 1.4 183 0.9
All graduate students 9,538 100.0 5,658 100.0 3,880 100.0
Male 4,348 45.6 2,448 43.3 1,900 49.0
Female 5,190 54.4 3,210 56.7 1,980 51.0
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 6,634 69.6 4,599 81.3 2,035 52.4
Hispanic or Latino 601 6.3 457 8.1 144 3.7
Not Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native 34 0.4 22 0.4 12 0.3
Asian 241 2.5 140 2.5 101 2.6
Black or African American 354 3.7 248 4.4 106 2.7
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 14 0.1 11 0.2 3 0.1
White 5,031 52.7 3,472 61.4 1,559 40.2
More than one race 171 1.8 120 2.1 51 1.3
Unknown ethnicity and race 188 2.0 129 2.3 59 1.5
Temporary visa holders 2,904 30.4 1,059 18.7 1,845 47.6
Part time 2,639 27.7 2,032 35.9 607 15.6
Full time 6,899 72.3 3,626 64.1 3,273 84.4
First time 1,770 18.6 1,280 22.6 490 12.6
Primary source of support for full-time studentsb
Federal 1,294 13.6 588 10.4 706 18.2
DOD 7 0.1 4 0.1 3 0.1
DOE 32 0.3 12 0.2 20 0.5
HHS 94 1.0 42 0.7 52 1.3
NIH 25 0.3 5 0.1 20 0.5
Other HHS 69 0.7 37 0.7 32 0.8
NASA 7 0.1 1 * 6 0.2
NSF 122 1.3 30 0.5 92 2.4
USDA 837 8.8 395 7.0 442 11.4
Other 195 2.0 104 1.8 91 2.3
Nonfederal 4,324 45.3 2,071 36.6 2,253 58.1
Institutional 3,423 35.9 1,636 28.9 1,787 46.1
Domestic 821 8.6 417 7.4 404 10.4
Foreign 80 0.8 18 0.3 62 1.6
Self-support 1,281 13.4 967 17.1 314 8.1
Primary mechanism of support for full-time studentsb
Fellowships 421 4.4 121 2.1 300 7.7
Research assistantships 3,808 39.9 1,799 31.8 2,009 51.8
Teaching assistantships 955 10.0 492 8.7 463 11.9
Traineeships 42 0.4 24 0.4 18 0.5
Other types of support 1,673 17.5 1,190 21.0 483 12.4
Self-support 1,281 13.4 967 17.1 314 8.1
Other 392 4.1 223 3.9 169 4.4
* = 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.