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Table 13. Doctoral degrees awarded, by field of degree and citizenship status of recipients: 2008–18

Field 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Doctoral degree recipients, all fieldsa 48,776 49,552 48,028 48,910 50,943 52,703 53,989 54,889 54,798 54,559 55,195
Science and engineering 34,717 35,313 34,997 36,332 37,846 39,031 40,633 41,178 41,234 41,294 42,227
Science 26,854 27,671 27,419 28,300 29,377 30,031 31,007 31,303 31,776 31,517 32,044
Computer and information sciences 1,787 1,610 1,633 1,667 1,793 1,843 1,988 2,003 2,082 1,998 2,004
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 865 877 862 852 941 989 1,098 1,057 1,227 1,169 1,185
Atmospheric sciences 188 167 170 178 205 205 200 213 245 248 265
Earth sciences 458 492 463 451 462 489 579 554 618 572 591
Ocean sciences 219 218 229 223 274 295 319 290 364 349 329
Life sciences 11,086 11,403 11,319 11,535 11,964 12,207 12,484 12,493 12,536 12,555 12,780
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 1,198 1,283 1,100 1,206 1,255 1,324 1,338 1,434 1,378 1,494 1,445
Biological and biomedical sciences 7,797 8,025 8,046 8,152 8,322 8,354 8,868 8,783 8,861 8,566 8,801
Health sciences 2,091 2,095 2,173 2,177 2,387 2,529 2,278 2,276 2,297 2,495 2,534
Mathematics and Statistics 1,400 1,553 1,590 1,606 1,703 1,817 1,874 1,815 1,872 1,844 2,026
Physical sciences 4,081 4,283 4,133 4,419 4,478 4,595 4,812 4,860 5,024 4,915 5,150
Astronomy 249 262 266 287 274 301 289 269 315 339 352
Chemistry 2,246 2,391 2,304 2,432 2,416 2,484 2,673 2,667 2,703 2,701 2,810
Physics 1,586 1,630 1,563 1,700 1,788 1,810 1,850 1,924 2,006 1,875 1,988
Psychology and social sciences 7,635 7,945 7,882 8,221 8,498 8,580 8,751 9,075 9,035 9,036 8,899
Anthropology 483 503 507 553 547 550 523 492 460 446 424
Economics 1,091 1,118 1,073 1,121 1,243 1,183 1,196 1,255 1,235 1,239 1,247
Political science 628 682 728 685 724 803 777 859 745 743 734
Psychology 3,357 3,472 3,420 3,576 3,599 3,592 3,724 3,775 3,910 3,926 3,837
Sociology 601 662 639 657 633 636 679 742 613 683 669
Other social sciences 1,475 1,508 1,515 1,629 1,752 1,816 1,852 1,952 2,072 1,999 1,988
Engineering 7,863 7,642 7,578 8,032 8,469 9,000 9,626 9,875 9,458 9,777 10,183
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 266 297 252 262 307 348 386 361 370 379 383
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 762 834 824 898 943 1,039 1,046 1,125 1,089 1,032 1,134
Chemical engineering 873 807 822 823 840 824 973 1,002 921 931 981
Civil engineering 713 707 643 634 495 542 617 632 564 713 677
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 1,888 1,693 1,778 1,886 1,938 1,897 1,952 1,997 1,822 1,880 1,951
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 279 251 215 258 226 241 298 243 256 249 272
Materials science engineering 636 625 670 662 743 815 832 871 984 937 995
Mechanical engineering 1,082 1,095 983 1,084 1,220 1,277 1,331 1,466 1,297 1,399 1,504
Other engineering 1,364 1,333 1,391 1,525 1,757 2,017 2,191 2,178 2,155 2,257 2,286
Non-science and engineering 14,059 14,239 13,031 12,578 13,097 13,672 13,356 13,711 13,564 13,265 12,968
Education 6,561 6,528 5,287 4,670 4,802 4,934 4,789 5,098 5,143 4,826 4,834
Humanities and arts 4,736 4,904 5,015 5,225 5,561 5,715 5,524 5,594 5,480 5,286 5,145
Other non-science and engineering 2,762 2,807 2,729 2,683 2,734 3,023 3,043 3,019 2,941 3,153 2,989
U.S. citizens and permanent residents, all fieldsb 30,844 32,327 31,602 31,725 32,981 33,964 34,004 35,071 35,671 35,738 35,404
Science and engineering 19,869 21,103 21,406 21,963 22,857 23,461 23,884 24,518 25,057 25,446 25,473
Science 16,911 17,937 18,074 18,613 19,278 19,694 19,818 20,299 20,877 21,135 21,255
Computer and information sciences 697 734 761 790 785 758 807 774 783 801 743
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 536 559 573 555 623 654 722 704 803 790 760
Atmospheric sciences 105 94 90 108 129 133 121 145 159 166 157
Earth sciences 280 318 325 297 307 327 366 363 387 363 383
Ocean sciences 151 147 158 150 187 194 235 196 257 261 220
Life sciences 7,279 7,803 7,812 7,892 8,184 8,352 8,390 8,470 8,682 8,826 9,041
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 647 712 618 697 675 737 754 774 771 822 793
Biological and biomedical sciences 5,141 5,528 5,585 5,614 5,790 5,768 5,993 6,029 6,214 6,147 6,406
Health sciences 1,491 1,563 1,609 1,581 1,719 1,847 1,643 1,667 1,697 1,857 1,842
Mathematics and Statistics 673 772 838 813 842 873 931 889 946 947 996
Physical sciences 2,138 2,355 2,287 2,493 2,525 2,593 2,578 2,777 2,866 2,925 3,011
Astronomy 175 174 190 198 191 212 199 190 236 238 253
Chemistry 1,231 1,391 1,323 1,407 1,385 1,443 1,447 1,572 1,581 1,697 1,711
Physics 732 790 774 888 949 938 932 1,015 1,049 990 1,047
Psychology and social sciences 5,588 5,714 5,803 6,070 6,319 6,464 6,390 6,685 6,797 6,846 6,704
Anthropology 400 403 384 455 445 457 405 397 360 349 335
Economics 405 418 459 428 517 505 469 552 521 547 484
Political science 441 483 522 488 536 593 574 621 579 572 543
Psychology 2,892 2,908 2,874 3,062 3,046 3,067 3,042 3,102 3,341 3,377 3,321
Sociology 463 506 519 511 512 516 545 596 506 562 556
Other social sciences 987 996 1,045 1,126 1,263 1,326 1,355 1,417 1,490 1,439 1,465
Engineering 2,958 3,166 3,332 3,350 3,579 3,767 4,066 4,219 4,180 4,311 4,218
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 122 160 141 145 181 194 246 216 233 241 221
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 469 513 516 564 602 637 674 723 746 695 744
Chemical engineering 396 411 433 393 377 365 445 488 470 469 469
Civil engineering 207 262 231 216 159 182 229 231 219 231 200
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 558 578 627 617 614 603 575 632 547 581 544
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 90 70 62 100 75 77 91 65 82 85 62
Materials science engineering 266 254 313 278 350 349 363 381 456 470 463
Mechanical engineering 371 421 403 440 505 547 558 620 585 591 608
Other engineering 479 497 606 597 716 813 885 863 842 948 907
Non-science and engineering 10,975 11,224 10,196 9,762 10,124 10,503 10,120 10,553 10,614 10,292 9,931
Education 5,584 5,584 4,476 3,878 4,040 4,118 3,934 4,196 4,301 4,052 4,033
Humanities and arts 3,744 3,893 4,029 4,191 4,434 4,535 4,361 4,478 4,448 4,297 4,150
Other non-science and engineering 1,647 1,747 1,691 1,693 1,650 1,850 1,825 1,879 1,865 1,943 1,748
Temporary visa holders, all fields 15,261 14,736 13,636 14,235 14,784 15,674 15,839 16,129 16,474 16,290 17,604
Science and engineering 13,045 12,570 11,675 12,185 12,729 13,435 13,725 14,010 14,311 14,124 15,223
Science 8,553 8,349 7,809 8,021 8,374 8,676 8,764 8,902 9,469 9,086 9,640
Computer and information sciences 1,005 791 760 759 870 990 1,029 1,094 1,201 1,105 1,166
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 293 295 251 246 281 290 326 307 390 332 392
Atmospheric sciences 78 72 71 61 71 68 71 62 81 77 101
Earth sciences 155 157 116 125 133 138 178 159 205 174 185
Ocean sciences 60 66 64 60 77 84 77 86 104 81 106
Life sciences 3,252 3,097 2,926 3,029 3,197 3,177 3,169 3,264 3,350 3,332 3,364
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 492 509 412 472 529 516 504 555 560 608 609
Biological and biomedical sciences 2,302 2,190 2,084 2,124 2,166 2,154 2,229 2,266 2,303 2,180 2,160
Health sciences 458 398 430 433 502 507 436 443 487 544 595
Mathematics and Statistics 651 713 686 690 747 843 821 823 852 821 964
Physical sciences 1,734 1,733 1,633 1,709 1,678 1,742 1,870 1,792 1,923 1,829 1,983
Astronomy 66 80 67 82 69 79 72 68 74 93 93
Chemistry 879 889 847 907 880 888 1,000 929 1,000 920 1,022
Physics 789 764 719 720 729 775 798 795 849 816 868
Psychology and social sciences 1,618 1,720 1,553 1,588 1,601 1,634 1,549 1,622 1,753 1,667 1,771
Anthropology 63 81 88 73 74 76 86 68 76 65 70
Economics 621 656 556 623 656 615 627 606 656 641 707
Political science 160 178 162 150 150 163 145 178 128 140 159
Psychology 249 258 270 238 254 282 249 260 305 286 285
Sociology 119 139 95 113 85 92 90 101 89 93 89
Other social sciences 406 408 382 391 382 406 352 409 499 442 461
Engineering 4,492 4,221 3,866 4,164 4,355 4,759 4,961 5,108 4,842 5,038 5,583
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 127 126 99 100 107 138 124 132 121 123 146
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 265 280 290 291 292 352 318 348 301 300 362
Chemical engineering 439 383 359 379 414 409 482 461 401 426 478
Civil engineering 468 419 378 373 303 333 339 359 307 427 443
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 1,219 1,050 1,040 1,109 1,181 1,160 1,217 1,237 1,160 1,216 1,319
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 175 175 142 152 140 156 185 161 164 157 196
Materials science engineering 339 352 326 350 334 435 419 448 494 428 502
Mechanical engineering 651 646 519 568 631 664 686 783 652 742 831
Other engineering 809 790 713 842 953 1,112 1,191 1,179 1,242 1,219 1,306
Non-science and engineering 2,216 2,166 1,961 2,050 2,055 2,239 2,114 2,119 2,163 2,166 2,381
Education 567 567 478 497 460 515 478 539 561 534 613
Humanities and arts 723 729 667 767 761 779 731 713 712 692 738
Other non-science and engineering 926 870 816 786 834 945 905 867 890 940 1,030
a Total includes doctorate recipients who did not report citizenship, not shown separately.
b These categories include U.S. citizens and foreign citizens on permanent visas (i.e., resident aliens who have been admitted for permanent residency).
NOTE: See technical table A-1 for specific fields included in each category.
SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates.