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Table 18. Doctoral degrees awarded to female U.S. citizens and permanent residents, by field of degree, ethnicity, and race of recipients: 2008–18

Field 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Female U.S. citizens and permanent residents, all fieldsa,b 16,069 16,818 16,327 16,329 16,909 17,414 17,344 17,852 18,142 18,183 18,068
Science and engineering 9,494 10,177 10,264 10,558 10,948 11,287 11,433 11,646 11,813 12,062 12,253
Science 8,740 9,359 9,399 9,743 10,020 10,342 10,418 10,556 10,790 10,976 11,124
Computer and information sciences 176 154 176 175 154 148 183 148 165 204 184
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 217 229 249 228 278 316 351 316 362 368 377
Atmospheric sciences 29 24 32 28 41 53 44 47 62 71 57
Earth sciences 114 128 133 117 139 156 186 169 169 159 185
Ocean sciences 74 77 84 83 98 107 121 100 131 138 135
Life sciences 4,009 4,450 4,511 4,488 4,719 4,779 4,829 4,876 4,975 5,018 5,204
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 272 332 304 340 307 346 382 387 357 423 400
Biological and biomedical sciences 2,627 2,957 3,009 3,023 3,161 3,112 3,267 3,264 3,360 3,265 3,475
Health sciences 1,110 1,161 1,198 1,125 1,251 1,321 1,180 1,225 1,258 1,330 1,329
Mathematics and Statistics 220 231 250 219 230 241 259 245 252 249 238
Physical sciences 619 751 726 795 750 833 779 875 858 910 968
Astronomy 48 58 63 62 56 72 56 56 81 76 80
Chemistry 438 543 512 574 527 594 564 631 595 665 662
Physics 133 150 151 159 167 167 159 188 182 169 226
Psychology and social sciences 3,499 3,544 3,487 3,838 3,889 4,025 4,017 4,096 4,178 4,227 4,153
Anthropology 247 250 240 275 304 307 266 255 233 232 242
Economics 144 137 159 138 172 164 146 186 160 175 139
Political science 195 194 207 226 224 257 257 245 227 218 231
Psychology 2,061 2,091 2,003 2,221 2,177 2,233 2,183 2,231 2,376 2,410 2,370
Sociology 295 307 322 327 326 305 356 380 307 347 345
Other social sciences 557 565 556 651 686 759 809 799 875 845 826
Engineering 754 818 865 815 928 945 1,015 1,090 1,023 1,086 1,129
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 13 22 22 17 28 32 38 33 35 25 28
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 186 211 212 224 229 233 272 285 279 286 308
Chemical engineering 124 116 138 128 120 115 119 148 137 118 130
Civil engineering 58 69 78 62 47 52 73 69 61 73 57
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 93 95 107 89 119 89 91 99 81 97 98
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 35 26 23 33 29 25 31 27 21 30 20
Materials science engineering 68 84 91 70 95 95 89 97 117 119 126
Mechanical engineering 67 74 62 69 84 97 85 108 99 89 98
Other engineering 110 121 132 123 177 207 217 224 193 249 264
Non-science and engineering 6,575 6,641 6,063 5,771 5,961 6,127 5,911 6,206 6,329 6,121 5,815
Education 3,784 3,739 3,086 2,715 2,800 2,824 2,742 2,894 3,030 2,810 2,811
Humanities and arts 1,895 1,977 2,049 2,137 2,270 2,293 2,197 2,281 2,307 2,196 2,066
Other non-science and engineering 896 925 928 919 891 1,010 972 1,031 992 1,115 938
Hispanic or Latino, all fields 1,025 1,027 1,027 1,096 1,196 1,230 1,191 1,329 1,414 1,384 1,379
Science and engineering 613 590 644 727 766 786 775 845 936 908 942
Science 567 545 578 681 710 725 706 772 863 830 870
Computer and information sciences 6 5 8 D 5 7 10 6 6 10 13
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 10 10 11 12 18 19 17 23 19 D 26
Atmospheric sciences 0 0 D D D D D D D D 5
Earth sciences D 5 D D 6 10 6 14 D 12 D
Ocean sciences D 5 5 D D D D D 6 12 D
Life sciences 219 218 266 262 281 325 301 357 410 363 395
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 11 20 20 23 18 28 24 28 27 28 30
Biological and biomedical sciences 167 166 194 191 211 245 203 262 301 248 287
Health sciences 41 32 52 48 52 52 74 67 82 87 78
Mathematics and Statistics 5 12 6 D 12 7 8 10 12 D 10
Physical sciences 37 40 45 52 44 53 55 55 54 54 57
Astronomy D D D 5 D D D D D D 6
Chemistry 30 33 37 37 32 43 48 44 44 47 42
Physics D D D 10 D D D D D D 9
Psychology and social sciences 290 260 242 349 350 314 315 321 362 369 369
Anthropology D D 12 27 24 27 36 23 25 20 D
Economics D D 8 7 7 10 7 15 13 9 D
Political science 10 7 19 5 16 17 19 17 17 11 14
Psychology 203 171 143 217 205 179 181 183 212 209 224
Sociology 22 18 19 33 39 25 25 26 19 43 32
Other social sciences 33 38 41 60 59 56 47 57 76 77 78
Engineering 46 45 66 46 56 61 69 73 73 78 72
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 D D 0 0 D 5 D D D D
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 10 8 11 9 11 18 12 17 17 19 20
Chemical engineering 8 12 12 8 12 7 11 8 11 8 9
Civil engineering D 5 8 D D D 7 8 D 10 6
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering D D 5 5 5 7 D D 6 D 5
Industrial and manufacturing engineering D D D 6 D D D D D 0 D
Materials science engineering D D 8 D 5 5 8 D 15 12 8
Mechanical engineering 7 5 5 8 6 5 D 8 6 6 D
Other engineering 7 6 10 5 10 8 18 21 9 17 16
Non-science and engineering 412 437 383 369 430 444 416 484 478 476 437
Education 241 253 183 165 175 189 187 230 229 238 223
Humanities and arts 122 137 150 151 196 188 160 198 179 163 171
Other non-science and engineering 49 47 50 53 59 67 69 56 70 75 43
Not Hispanic or Latino, all fields
American Indian or Alaska Native, all fields 66 76 59 77 63 63 54 73 71 61 72
Science and engineering 35 42 35 D 33 37 36 41 40 33 49
Science D D D D D 37 36 D D D D
Computer and information sciences 0 0 0 0 D 0 D 0 0 0 D
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences D 0 0 0 0 0 D D D D D
Atmospheric sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D 0 0
Earth sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D D
Ocean sciences D 0 0 0 0 0 D D 0 D D
Life sciences D 16 12 18 18 19 12 D 20 D D
Agricultural sciences and natural resources D D 0 D D D D D D D 0
Biological and biomedical sciences 15 D D D D D D D D D D
Health sciences D D D D 5 7 5 D D D D
Mathematics and Statistics 0 0 0 0 0 0 D 0 0 0 0
Physical sciences 0 0 D D D D D D D D D
Astronomy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D 0 0
Chemistry 0 0 D D D D D D D D D
Physics 0 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Psychology and social sciences 12 D 21 20 10 D 18 15 14 15 D
Anthropology D 0 D D D D D D D D D
Economics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D
Political science D D D D D D 0 0 D 0 D
Psychology D D 11 D D D D D 6 D 10
Sociology D 0 D 0 0 D D 0 D 0 0
Other social sciences D D D D D D D 5 D 8 D
Engineering D D D 0 D 0 0 D D D D
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D 0 0
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering D D 0 0 0 0 0 D 0 0 0
Chemical engineering 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D
Civil engineering 0 0 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 0 0 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Materials science engineering 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mechanical engineering 0 D D 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 D
Other engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D D D
Non-science and engineering 31 34 24 D 30 26 18 32 31 28 23
Education 23 28 17 23 D D 13 17 D D D
Humanities and arts D D D 7 7 8 5 D 9 9 7
Other non-science and engineering D D D D D D 0 D D D D
Asian, all fields 1,379 1,449 1,518 1,569 1,631 1,628 1,638 1,713 1,650 1,847 1,742
Science and engineering 1,037 1,065 1,171 1,200 1,277 1,228 1,261 1,304 1,240 1,434 1,361
Science 869 906 981 1,019 1,092 1,024 1,058 1,091 1,035 1,211 1,131
Computer and information sciences 41 D 41 44 38 30 49 24 30 42 35
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 15 D 12 14 15 13 16 11 24 26 19
Atmospheric sciences D D D D D D 0 D D D D
Earth sciences D D D D 7 D D 5 6 8 7
Ocean sciences D D D D D D D D D D D
Life sciences 454 479 531 522 601 555 566 581 547 603 593
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 25 17 22 28 20 18 33 32 32 31 27
Biological and biomedical sciences 335 369 393 393 455 413 440 446 409 451 446
Health sciences 94 93 116 101 126 124 93 103 106 121 120
Mathematics and Statistics 27 38 48 36 31 41 34 47 35 58 39
Physical sciences 87 95 91 114 96 96 97 111 102 121 121
Astronomy D D D D 8 D D D 10 8 D
Chemistry 63 D D 85 68 72 D 79 74 84 D
Physics D 21 18 D 20 D 30 D 18 29 30
Psychology and social sciences 245 248 258 289 311 289 296 317 297 361 324
Anthropology 17 D D 19 D 27 D 15 D 13 14
Economics 30 D 25 D 42 36 D 42 34 47 36
Political science 18 16 19 D D 21 16 16 14 20 22
Psychology 122 D 130 139 145 122 134 153 D 167 149
Sociology 15 26 D 26 24 18 30 27 18 24 30
Other social sciences 43 45 53 45 67 65 66 64 67 90 73
Engineering 168 159 190 181 185 204 203 213 205 223 230
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering D D D D D D D D 7 D D
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 44 43 52 57 D 60 59 D 59 68 60
Chemical engineering 25 20 23 D 25 D 20 31 31 25 37
Civil engineering 8 11 D 6 D 7 7 D 8 11 D
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering D D 36 38 D 33 32 27 27 26 31
Industrial and manufacturing engineering D 6 D D D D D D 6 5 D
Materials science engineering 17 13 19 18 19 17 23 18 19 23 D
Mechanical engineering 8 9 D 6 12 17 D 17 26 D 18
Other engineering 18 D 29 25 25 33 37 38 22 39 45
Non-science and engineering 342 384 347 369 354 400 377 409 410 413 381
Education 150 165 142 139 140 169 162 155 171 176 159
Humanities and arts 112 131 116 135 126 122 126 130 122 107 128
Other non-science and engineering 80 88 89 95 88 109 89 124 117 130 94
Black or African American, all fields 1,249 1,378 1,242 1,233 1,314 1,371 1,351 1,468 1,495 1,552 1,530
Science and engineering 540 650 628 679 684 794 761 800 823 876 856
Science 498 606 584 634 630 737 698 746 764 828 794
Computer and information sciences D 7 D 16 13 13 11 7 21 15 15
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences D D D D 7 D 6 5 D D D
Atmospheric sciences 0 D D 0 D D D 0 D D 0
Earth sciences D D D D D D D D D D D
Ocean sciences D D D D D 0 D D 0 D D
Life sciences 213 279 281 285 317 348 330 317 351 389 396
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 16 20 20 8 16 24 18 11 14 21 21
Biological and biomedical sciences 116 152 144 155 164 154 183 141 169 192 193
Health sciences 81 107 117 122 137 170 129 165 168 176 182
Mathematics and Statistics 14 11 9 9 10 6 12 9 12 D 11
Physical sciences 30 D 33 D 29 D 30 43 38 36 D
Astronomy 0 0 D D 0 D D D D 0 0
Chemistry D 37 26 36 D 31 26 37 32 30 36
Physics D D D D D D D D D 6 D
Psychology and social sciences 227 266 247 279 254 332 309 365 D 379 330
Anthropology D 16 D 12 D D 11 11 D 12 D
Economics 7 5 D 7 5 D 5 D D 8 8
Political science 11 19 15 21 10 29 15 26 12 20 8
Psychology 126 135 136 139 128 171 154 193 179 182 D
Sociology D 29 28 26 33 30 30 38 27 39 32
Other social sciences 46 62 50 74 D 80 94 D 97 118 77
Engineering 42 44 44 45 54 57 63 54 59 48 62
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering D 0 0 D D D D D D D D
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 10 D 11 D 8 16 19 11 11 8 19
Chemical engineering 7 D D D D D D D D D D
Civil engineering D D D D D D D D D D D
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering D 8 D 5 11 D D 7 D D D
Industrial and manufacturing engineering D D D D D 5 D D D 5 D
Materials science engineering D D D D D 10 D 6 D D 9
Mechanical engineering D D D D D D D D D 0 D
Other engineering D 5 9 8 14 D 19 16 D 16 16
Non-science and engineering 709 728 614 554 630 577 590 668 672 676 674
Education 499 545 431 365 424 367 375 466 456 425 418
Humanities and arts 91 87 98 92 103 100 83 72 100 87 118
Other non-science and engineering 119 96 85 97 103 110 132 130 116 164 138
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, all fields 30 51 32 23 36 33 30 22 30 22 27
Science and engineering 21 32 25 D 26 21 21 14 22 14 18
Science D D D D D 21 D D D 14 D
Computer and information sciences 0 0 D 0 0 0 D 0 0 D 0
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 0 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Atmospheric sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Earth sciences 0 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ocean sciences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Life sciences 10 15 15 5 D D 9 8 6 D D
Agricultural sciences and natural resources D 0 0 0 D 0 D D 0 0 0
Biological and biomedical sciences D D D 5 D D D D D D D
Health sciences D D D 0 6 6 D 0 D D D
Mathematics and Statistics 0 0 D 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0
Physical sciences D D D D 0 0 D 0 D D 0
Astronomy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D 0 0
Chemistry D D D 0 0 0 0 0 D D 0
Physics 0 0 D D 0 0 D 0 0 D 0
Psychology and social sciences 9 D D D 5 D 8 D D 5 D
Anthropology 0 0 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0
Economics 0 D D 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0
Political science D D D 0 0 D 0 0 0 D D
Psychology D D 0 D D D D D D D D
Sociology D 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other social sciences D D 0 D D D D D 5 D D
Engineering D D D 0 D 0 D D D 0 D
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering D D 0 0 0 0 D D 0 0 0
Chemical engineering 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 D 0 0 0
Civil engineering 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 0 D D 0 0 0 0 0 D 0 0
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Materials science engineering 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mechanical engineering 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other engineering 0 0 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 D
Non-science and engineering 9 19 7 D 10 12 9 8 8 8 9
Education D D D D D 12 D D D D D
Humanities and arts D D D D D 0 0 D 0 D 0
Other non-science and engineering D D 0 D D 0 D 0 D 0 D
White, all fields 11,538 11,954 11,496 11,541 11,842 12,167 12,240 12,397 12,466 12,183 12,333
Science and engineering 6,810 7,268 7,161 7,384 7,610 7,805 8,033 8,056 8,058 8,030 8,347
Science 6,340 6,765 6,659 6,875 7,029 7,236 7,408 7,377 7,447 7,374 7,641
Computer and information sciences 111 103 107 102 87 88 104 101 100 119 108
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 182 184 209 191 229 270 296 262 289 286 308
Atmospheric sciences 24 16 D 20 26 37 38 38 43 50 42
Earth sciences 94 110 114 101 119 140 164 139 139 131 149
Ocean sciences 64 58 D 70 84 93 94 85 107 105 117
Life sciences 2,934 3,235 3,171 3,211 3,281 3,305 3,395 3,369 3,389 3,346 3,533
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 205 254 227 266 237 262 293 295 263 319 302
Biological and biomedical sciences 1,879 2,104 2,111 2,144 2,160 2,133 2,279 2,243 2,287 2,178 2,356
Health sciences 850 877 833 801 884 910 823 831 839 849 875
Mathematics and Statistics 168 160 171 158 164 176 191 169 170 161 160
Physical sciences 441 538 514 544 534 606 554 627 610 635 711
Astronomy 43 49 54 46 44 63 49 48 63 62 65
Chemistry 300 375 353 391 370 418 395 440 411 457 471
Physics 98 114 107 107 120 125 110 139 136 116 175
Psychology and social sciences 2,504 2,545 2,487 2,669 2,734 2,791 2,868 2,849 2,889 2,827 2,821
Anthropology 177 177 184 199 230 217 186 190 168 176 173
Economics 101 94 115 81 112 106 98 115 100 89 83
Political science 144 130 143 170 164 172 195 169 169 150 166
Psychology 1,463 1,546 1,444 1,562 1,562 1,573 1,586 1,572 1,663 1,695 1,649
Sociology 216 222 234 234 219 219 254 269 218 222 224
Other social sciences 403 376 367 423 447 504 549 534 571 495 526
Engineering 470 503 502 509 581 569 625 679 611 656 706
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 6 D 13 14 23 24 24 22 15 17 19
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 113 135 123 140 139 123 165 167 172 179 197
Chemical engineering 81 73 86 77 73 74 77 97 83 71 74
Civil engineering 43 46 51 48 31 37 51 47 42 45 40
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 43 45 50 38 65 36 46 54 36 52 51
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 20 D 10 21 18 12 19 17 11 18 13
Materials science engineering 40 48 52 40 62 57 48 62 70 67 74
Mechanical engineering 47 51 40 49 55 65 62 74 53 49 69
Other engineering 77 78 77 82 115 141 133 139 129 158 169
Non-science and engineering 4,728 4,686 4,335 4,157 4,232 4,362 4,207 4,341 4,408 4,153 3,986
Education 2,688 2,571 2,135 1,889 1,932 1,933 1,859 1,901 2,006 1,806 1,859
Humanities and arts 1,444 1,498 1,550 1,639 1,699 1,755 1,710 1,759 1,770 1,678 1,532
Other non-science and engineering 596 617 650 629 601 674 638 681 632 669 595
More than one race, all fields 279 346 391 376 460 470 468 509 578 553 616
Science and engineering 177 226 268 244 304 331 325 353 411 395 433
Science 165 203 244 227 279 304 293 312 378 362 402
Computer and information sciences D D 5 5 D 7 D D 5 D D
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences D D 6 D 6 D 11 D 15 10 D
Atmospheric sciences D D 0 D D 0 0 D 0 D D
Earth sciences 0 0 D 0 D D 6 D D D D
Ocean sciences 0 D D D D D 5 0 D D D
Life sciences D 84 100 96 D D 134 150 156 D 162
Agricultural sciences and natural resources D 7 D 9 D D D D 10 D 11
Biological and biomedical sciences 54 62 72 70 101 92 96 109 119 111 120
Health sciences D 15 D 17 18 29 D D 27 46 31
Mathematics and Statistics D 7 D 5 D 5 D 5 14 8 15
Physical sciences 11 12 D 21 29 27 21 24 33 34 25
Astronomy 0 D D D D D D D D D D
Chemistry D 7 11 D 21 D 15 D D 27 16
Physics D D 5 8 D D D D 8 D D
Psychology and social sciences 76 D D D 109 135 118 121 155 138 180
Anthropology D D 13 D 11 D 10 D 8 D D
Economics D 0 D D D D D D D 6 D
Political science D D D D 8 8 7 7 D D 11
Psychology 49 55 61 60 61 73 65 60 82 D 89
Sociology 8 7 12 D 6 7 D 15 D 10 24
Other social sciences D 12 D 19 D 35 21 25 D D 39
Engineering 12 23 24 17 25 27 32 41 33 33 31
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 0 0 D D 0 0 D D D D 0
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering D 7 6 D D 9 12 14 12 7 6
Chemical engineering D D 5 D D D D D D D D
Civil engineering D D 0 D 0 0 D D D D D
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 0 D D 0 D D D 5 0 D D
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 0 0 D 0 D 0 D 0 0 0 0
Materials science engineering D D D 5 D 6 D 5 D D D
Mechanical engineering D D D D D D D D D D D
Other engineering D D D 0 D D 5 6 10 8 D
Non-science and engineering 102 120 123 132 156 139 143 156 167 158 183
Education 43 D 55 62 60 59 61 D 74 55 82
Humanities and arts 45 43 50 50 73 55 62 65 73 69 65
Other non-science and engineering 14 D 18 20 23 25 20 D 20 34 36
D = suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information.
a Total includes doctorate recipients who did not report their race or ethnicity, not shown separately.
b Ethnicity and race categories are as designated on survey form. Hispanic or Latino may be of any race or unreported race. American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, black or African American, white, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander are single race and not Hispanic. More than one race includes doctorate recipients who are not Hispanic and indicated more than one race category. Ethnicity and race 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.