Characteristics of Recipients of Research Doctorates, 2010-11
Graduate students in education took longer to earn their doctorates and did so at an older age than did those in life sciences, on average. But more than half of doctorate recipients in education have definite postdoctoral employment plans, compared with just one in six doctorate recipients in the life sciences.
| All fields | Life sciences | Physical sciences | Social sciences | Engineering | Education | Humanities | Other | |
| All doctorate recipients | 49,010 | 11,467 | 8,678 | 8,120 | 8,004 | 4,691 | 5,214 | 2,836 |
| Age | ||||||||
| Median age at award | 32.0 | 31.3 | 30.2 | 32.5 | 30.4 | 39.3 | 34.2 | 35.7 |
| Time to doctorate | ||||||||
| Median number of years from bachelor’s degree to doctorate | 9.1 | 8.5 | 7.6 | 9.5 | 7.8 | 15.0 | 11.0 | 12.2 |
| Median number of years from enrollment in graduate school to doctorate | 7.7 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 6.8 | 11.7 | 9.3 | 9.7 |
| Other degrees received | ||||||||
| Percentage with bachelor’s degree in same field as doctorate | 55.0% | 50.5% | 66.4% | 52.2% | 77.4% | 26.2% | 52.2% | 35.5% |
| Percentage with a master’s degree in any field | 71.9% | 50.4% | 63.7% | 82.9% | 76.4% | 89.7% | 84.9% | 85.9% |
| Sex | ||||||||
| Male | 53.5% | 45.2% | 71.4% | 40.5% | 77.7% | 30.6% | 48.5% | 48.9% |
| Female | 46.4% | 54.7% | 28.6% | 59.5% | 22.2% | 69.3% | 51.5% | 51.1% |
| Citizenship | ||||||||
| U.S. citizen or permanent resident | 64.9% | 68.5% | 54.5% | 73.7% | 41.5% | 83.0% | 80.4% | 63.9% |
| Temporary visa holder | 29.1% | 26.2% | 39.6% | 19.5% | 52.0% | 10.6% | 14.4% | 28.6% |
| Unknown | 6.1% | 5.3% | 5.9% | 6.9% | 6.5% | 6.3% | 5.2% | 7.5% |
| Marital status | ||||||||
| Never married | 29.5% | 30.6% | 35.8% | 27.4% | 35.9% | 16.8% | 25.3% | 21.7% |
| Married | 48.3% | 48.3% | 45.2% | 45.5% | 46.5% | 58.0% | 49.2% | 53.5% |
| Marriagelike relationship | 7.4% | 8.6% | 7.4% | 9.0% | 4.8% | 4.8% | 10.0% | 5.6% |
| Separated, divorced, widowed | 4.1% | 3.6% | 2.3% | 4.9% | 1.9% | 8.8% | 5.5% | 5.5% |
| Unknown | 10.7% | 9.0% | 9.3% | 13.2% | 10.9% | 11.5% | 9.9% | 13.6% |
| Race/ethnicity of U.S. citizens and permanent residents | ||||||||
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.8% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Asian | 9.0% | 10.8% | 10.7% | 6.7% | 16.9% | 4.8% | 4.7% | 9.3% |
| Black | 6.1% | 5.7% | 3.0% | 6.6% | 4.0% | 13.0% | 3.9% | 9.3% |
| Hispanic | 6.3% | 6.0% | 4.5% | 8.4% | 5.8% | 6.0% | 6.9% | 6.0% |
| White | 74.1% | 73.4% | 77.3% | 73.5% | 69.1% | 71.7% | 80.0% | 71.2% |
| 2 or more races | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2.5% | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.1% |
| Other/unknown | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 1.9% |
| Postdoctoral plans | ||||||||
| Definite postdoctoral study | 24.2% | 38.2% | 35.9% | 21.7% | 22.6% | 4.6% | 8.4% | 4.5% |
| Definite employment | 32.4% | 16.9% | 25.8% | 36.9% | 32.5% | 53.5% | 40.1% | 54.0% |
| Seeking employment or study | 28.1% | 28.6% | 26.0% | 25.0% | 30.2% | 26.5% | 36.2% | 23.7% |
| Other | 3.4% | 6.1% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.7% | 2.5% | 3.4% | 2.4% |
| No response | 11.9% | 10.2% | 10.0% | 14.1% | 12.0% | 12.9% | 11.9% | 15.3% |
| If definite postdoctoral study, what type | ||||||||
| Postdoc fellowship | 51.5% | 57.5% | 39.7% | 69.3% | 32.5% | 47.7% | 82.4% | 60.2% |
| Postdoc research associateship | 44.6% | 39.3% | 57.6% | 23.0% | 64.1% | 45.4% | 15.1% | 36.7% |
| Other | 3.9% | 3.3% | 2.7% | 7.8% | 3.4% | 6.9% | 2.5% | 3.1% |
| If definite employment, what type | ||||||||
| Sector | ||||||||
| Academe | 53.0% | 49.2% | 32.5% | 61.8% | 17.0% | 59.4% | 83.6% | 79.1% |
| Government | 8.4% | 14.1% | 9.3% | 11.8% | 11.5% | 3.4% | 2.7% | 4.0% |
| Industry/business | 26.0% | 25.4% | 52.6% | 12.7% | 67.1% | 4.2% | 4.1% | 9.3% |
| Nonprofit organization | 5.6% | 8.8% | 3.4% | 8.8% | 2.6% | 5.2% | 5.1% | 4.8% |
| Other/unknown | 7.1% | 2.5% | 2.2% | 4.9% | 1.8% | 27.8% | 4.4% | 2.8% |
| Primary employment activity | ||||||||
| Research and development | 40.2% | 44.4% | 61.9% | 36.9% | 75.5% | 13.0% | 12.0% | 33.0% |
| Teaching | 37.1% | 30.0% | 23.6% | 38.5% | 8.5% | 43.5% | 75.1% | 49.1% |
| Management or administration | 11.1% | 11.4% | 4.3% | 7.6% | 5.2% | 31.5% | 7.0% | 10.1% |
| Professional services | 9.6% | 12.2% | 7.6% | 15.7% | 8.0% | 10.8% | 4.1% | 6.0% |
| Other | 1.9% | 2.0% | 2.6% | 1.3% | 2.9% | 1.2% | 1.9% | 1.8% |
Note: Percentages are rounded and may not add up to 100 percent. People reported as being 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.”
Source: Survey of Earned Doctorates by the National Science Foundation and five other federal agencies
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