Characteristics of Recipients of Research Doctorates, 2009-10
Recipients of doctorates in the humanities are more likely to go into academe than are those in other fields. Over all, just over half of doctoral recipients with definite employment plans upon graduation entered academe.
| | All fields | Life sciences | Physical sciences | Social sciences | Engineering | Education | Humanities | Other |
| All doctorate recipients | 48,069 | 11,266 | 8,319 | 7,771 | 7,552 | 5,294 | 4,979 | 2,888 |
| Age |
| Median age at award | 32.2 | 31.3 | 30.2 | 32.4 | 30.5 | 40.5 | 34.6 | 35.4 |
| Time to doctorate |
| Median number of years from bachelor’s degree to doctorate | 9.3 | 8.6 | 7.6 | 9.5 | 7.8 | 16.2 | 11.4 | 12.3 |
| Median number of years from enrollment in graduate school to doctorate | 7.7 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 12.5 | 9.3 | 9.5 |
| Other degrees received |
| Percentage with bachelor’s degree in same field as doctorate | 53.5% | 48.6% | 64.3% | 52.2% | 76.6% | 27.9% | 52.8% | 32.5% |
| Percentage with a master’s degree in any field | 72.3% | 50.2% | 64.2% | 83.4% | 77.4% | 89.3% | 85.3% | 84.6% |
| Sex |
| Male | 53.1% | 45.0% | 70.4% | 42.6% | 76.9% | 31.4% | 48.3% | 49.7% |
| Female | 46.8% | 55.0% | 29.5% | 57.4% | 23.1% | 68.6% | 51.6% | 50.1% |
| Citizenship |
| U.S. citizen or permanent resident | 65.7% | 68.9% | 54.4% | 73.1% | 43.7% | 84.5% | 80.8% | 62.3% |
| Temporary visa holder | 28.3% | 25.8% | 40.3% | 19.9% | 51.0% | 9.1% | 13.0% | 29.1% |
| Unknown | 6.0% | 5.2% | 5.3% | 6.9% | 5.3% | 6.4% | 6.2% | 8.6% |
| Marital status |
| Never married | 28.8% | 29.6% | 35.4% | 27.7% | 35.1% | 15.8% | 24.8% | 23.8% |
| Married | 49.6% | 49.4% | 45.7% | 46.6% | 49.3% | 59.1% | 49.6% | 52.3% |
| Marriagelike relationship | 7.0% | 8.1% | 6.7% | 8.8% | 4.4% | 4.7% | 10.0% | 5.5% |
| Separated, divorced, widowed | 4.2% | 3.9% | 2.5% | 5.0% | 1.6% | 8.2% | 5.3% | 4.5% |
| Unknown | 10.4% | 8.9% | 9.6% | 11.9% | 9.6% | 12.2% | 10.3% | 13.9% |
| Race/ethnicity of U.S. citizens and permanent residents |
| American Indian | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Asian | 9.0% | 11.1% | 10.5% | 6.6% | 16.9% | 4.5% | 4.7% | 9.2% |
| Black | 6.3% | 5.1% | 3.0% | 6.2% | 4.2% | 14.4% | 4.5% | 8.3% |
| Hispanic | 5.9% | 5.8% | 4.2% | 6.5% | 5.8% | 6.2% | 6.9% | 5.1% |
| White | 74.5% | 74.0% | 77.6% | 75.7% | 68.5% | 71.0% | 79.0% | 73.9% |
| More than one race | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.1% | 2.6% | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.2% | 1.7% |
| Other/unknown | 1.9% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 1.7% | 2.4% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 1.4% |
| Postdoctoral plans |
| Definite postdoctoral study | 25.8% | 41.8% | 39.4% | 21.5% | 26.4% | 4.2% | 8.3% | 4.7% |
| Definite employment | 33.8% | 17.5% | 24.7% | 40.0% | 31.6% | 55.6% | 43.3% | 55.4% |
| Seeking employment or study | 25.7% | 25.3% | 23.6% | 23.3% | 29.0% | 23.1% | 33.9% | 21.1% |
| Other | 3.4% | 6.2% | 2.2% | 2.3% | 2.7% | 3.0% | 2.8% | 2.4% |
| No response | 11.3% | 9.2% | 10.0% | 12.9% | 10.2% | 14.1% | 11.8% | 16.4% |
| If definite postdoctoral study, what type |
| Postdoc fellowship | 52.1% | 59.4% | 41.1% | 69.5% | 32.0% | 49.8% | 83.3% | 60.0% |
| Postdoc research associateship | 44.3% | 37.3% | 56.9% | 23.4% | 66.0% | 35.3% | 12.6% | 35.6% |
| Other | 3.5% | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7.1% | 2.0% | 14.9% | 4.1% | 4.4% |
| If definite employment, what type |
| Sector |
| Academe | 53.6% | 49.8% | 37.0% | 61.3% | 20.3% | 54.3% | 81.9% | 75.0% |
| Government | 9.2% | 14.4% | 9.8% | 14.8% | 12.7% | 3.8% | 2.3% | 5.5% |
| Industry/business | 22.6% | 23.7% | 47.2% | 12.3% | 61.3% | 4.5% | 4.7% | 9.6% |
| Nonprofit | 5.2% | 8.6% | 2.7% | 6.6% | 3.3% | 4.5% | 5.2% | 5.7% |
| Other/unknown | 9.3% | 3.6% | 3.4% | 4.9% | 2.5% | 32.8% | 5.9% | 4.3% |
| Primary employment activity |
| Research and development | 36.8% | 43.5% | 60.8% | 35.1% | 71.6% | 9.9% | 12.4% | 31.3% |
| Teaching | 38.5% | 30.0% | 25.2% | 40.0% | 9.9% | 42.9% | 75.3% | 48.3% |
| Management or administration | 13.6% | 11.5% | 4.5% | 8.7% | 7.0% | 37.7% | 6.4% | 13.3% |
| Professional services | 9.8% | 13.9% | 7.8% | 15.0% | 9.6% | 8.7% | 4.5% | 6.2% |
| Other | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.6% | 1.3% | 1.8% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 1.0% |
Note: Percentages are rounded and may not add up to 100 percent. People reported as of Hispanic ethnicity may be of any race. Asians do not include Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders; they are reported in the category “Other.” Percentages for type of postdoctoral study are based on number of doctorate recipients reporting definite postgraduation plans for study. Percentages for type of employment obtained are based on number of doctorate recipients reporting definite postgraduation plans for employment.
Source: Survey of Earned Doctorates, National Science Foundation and five other federal agencies
Correction, 2/24/2012, 12:55 p.m.): In the original version of this table, the row headings under “Time to doctorate” were incorrectly reversed. The row with the greater number of years should have been labeled “Median number of years from bachelor’s degree to doctorate,” not “Median number of years from enrollment in graduate school to doctorate.” The error has been corrected.
