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Characteristics of Recipients of Research Doctorates, 2015

Almanac 2017 August 13, 2017

Compared with doctorate recipients in other fields, those in the physical sciences finished their degrees in the shortest period of time and at the youngest median age. Of all doctorate recipients with definite employment plans, those with advanced degrees in the humanities and arts were among the most likely to have secured jobs in academe. Their overall expected median basic salary fell below anticipated earnings of doctorate recipients in other fields, but if they took jobs in government, their pay was comparable to that of doctorate recipients in the life sciences and physical sciences.

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Compared with doctorate recipients in other fields, those in the physical sciences finished their degrees in the shortest period of time and at the youngest median age. Of all doctorate recipients with definite employment plans, those with advanced degrees in the humanities and arts were among the most likely to have secured jobs in academe. Their overall expected median basic salary fell below anticipated earnings of doctorate recipients in other fields, but if they took jobs in government, their pay was comparable to that of doctorate recipients in the life sciences and physical sciences.


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All doctorate recipients

Characteristics All fields Life sciences Physical sciences Math and
computer
science
Psychology
and social
sciences
Engineering Education Humanities
and arts
Other
Number of recipients 55,006 12,520 5,924 3,825 9,095 9,897 5,117 5,600 3,028
Percentage of all recipients 100.0% 22.8% 10.8% 7.0% 16.5% 18.0% 9.3% 10.2% 5.5%
Median age at award 31.6 30.9 29.6 30.3 32.3 30.0 38.6 34.2 34.7
Median number of years from bachelor’s degree to doctorate 8.7 8.2 7.0 7.8 9.3 7.3 14.8 11.0 11.2
Median number of years from start of graduate school to doctorate 7.3 6.7 6.2 6.7 7.7 6.7 11.7 9.2 8.9
Percentage with bachelor’s degree in same field as doctorate 54.3% 49.4% 68.3% 60.8% 48.9% 76.4% 24.0% 52.9% 36.5%
Percentage with a master’s degree in any field 68.4% 48.8% 50.6% 71.5% 80.3% 70.6% 86.4% 82.7% 80.5%
Male 53.8% 44.6% 66.4% 75.3% 41.4% 76.8% 31.5% 49.4% 48.3%
Female 46.2% 55.4% 33.6% 24.7% 58.6% 23.2% 68.4% 50.6% 51.7%
U.S. citizen or permanent resident 63.8% 67.8% 58.8% 43.4% 73.6% 42.7% 82.3% 80.0% 62.1%
Temporary visa holder 29.4% 26.1% 35.5% 50.3% 17.9% 51.8% 10.5% 12.7% 28.6%
Citizenship status unknown 6.8% 6.2% 5.7% 6.3% 8.5% 5.6% 7.2% 7.3% 9.3%

Marital status

Reported status All fields Life sciences Physical sciences Mathematics and computer science Psychology and social sciences Engineering Education Humanities and arts Other
Never married 30.9% 31.9% 38.6% 37.3% 26.8% 39.0% 18.5% 24.0% 23.2%
Married 45.1% 45.3% 38.3% 42.0% 44.0% 41.5% 55.8% 48.2% 51.9%
Marriagelike relationship 8.2% 9.4% 9.9% 5.8% 10.3% 6.4% 5.1% 10.4% 4.5%
Separated, divorced, widowed 3.3% 3.1% 1.9% 1.7% 3.7% 1.5% 7.0% 4.7% 4.8%
Unknown 12.5% 10.4% 11.3% 13.1% 15.2% 11.5% 13.5% 12.7% 15.6%

Race/ethnicity of the 35,117 U.S. citizens and permanent residents

Identification All fields Life sciences Physical sciences Mathematics and computer science Psychology and social sciences Engineering Education Humanities and arts Other
American Indian or Alaska Native 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.1% 0.5% 0.2% 0.7% 0.6% 0.4%
Asian 8.7% 10.9% 7.8% 12.3% 6.6% 15.4% 4.6% 4.4% 10.3%
Black/African-American 6.5% 5.3% 2.9% 3.2% 8.0% 3.9% 15.1% 3.1% 10.6%
Hispanic 7.0% 7.4% 5.2% 4.5% 7.4% 7.0% 7.5% 8.1% 4.9%
White, non-Hispanic 72.3% 71.3% 79.1% 73.1% 71.9% 67.9% 67.9% 78.9% 69.8%
2 or more races 2.6% 2.8% 2.6% 2.1% 2.9% 2.6% 2.1% 2.5% 2.1%
Other/unknown 2.5% 2.0% 2.2% 4.7% 2.7% 3.1% 2.1% 2.4% 1.8%

Postdoctoral plans among the 46,440 people who reported definite plans

Expectations All fields Life sciences Physical sciences Mathematics and computer science Psychology and social sciences Engineering Education Humanities and arts Other
Definite postdoctoral study 23.8% 35.9% 38.4% 23.1% 24.9% 20.0% 5.4% 10.4% 6.0%
Definite employment 36.1% 20.8% 21.3% 45.1% 41.6% 36.2% 56.4% 41.3% 61.9%
Seeking employment or study 35.5% 36.1% 37.2% 27.3% 30.1% 39.6% 33.9% 44.7% 27.9%
Other 4.6% 7.3% 3.1% 4.4% 3.4% 4.2% 4.2% 3.7% 4.1%
For the 11,035 people planning definite postdoctoral study, what type

Type of study All fields Life sciences Physical sciences Mathematics and computer science Psychology and social sciences Engineering Education Humanities and arts Other
Postdoc fellowship 53.2% 55.6% 38.8% 50.7% 73.7% 35.2% 51.3% 82.2% 56.6%
Postdoc research associateship 44.2% 41.2% 60.5% 48.4% 22.1% 63.2% 43.5% 16.1% 37.1%
Other 2.5% 3.2% 0.8% 0.9% 4.2% 1.6% 5.2% 1.7% 6.3%
For the 16,752 people planning definite employment, what type

Sector All fields Life sciences Physical sciences Mathematics and computer science Psychology and social sciences Engineering Education Humanities and arts Other
Academe 49.8% 45.9% 24.1% 33.7% 61.0% 17.2% 60.5% 79.1% 80.0%
Government 7.6% 10.5% 6.9% 5.3% 12.2% 10.1% 3.7% 2.1% 4.7%
Industry/business 31.0% 31.7% 64.4% 56.7% 15.1% 68.7% 4.5% 5.6% 10.5%
Nonprofit organization 6.0% 9.5% 2.8% 2.9% 8.5% 3.1% 5.9% 8.7% 3.7%
Other/unknown 5.5% 2.4% 1.8% 1.4% 3.2% 0.9% 25.4% 4.5% 1.1%
Primary employment activity

Type All fields Life sciences Physical sciences Mathematics and computer science Psychology and social sciences Engineering Education Humanities and arts Other
Research and development 43.3% 46.3% 64.5% 66.7% 37.8% 74.6% 12.5% 10.8% 37.6%
Teaching 33.7% 26.6% 18.6% 23.0% 37.8% 8.3% 41.2% 73.2% 46.3%
Management or administration 11.0% 10.4% 5.2% 2.8% 9.0% 4.6% 33.8% 7.8% 9.9%
Professional services 9.4% 13.6% 7.3% 3.3% 13.7% 8.7% 11.0% 5.3% 5.3%
Other 2.7% 3.0% 4.4% 4.2% 1.7% 3.7% 1.4% 2.8% 0.9%
Median basic salary

Sector All fields Life sciences Physical sciences Mathematics and computer science Psychology and social sciences Engineering Education Humanities and arts Other
Academe $60,000 $63,000 $52,000 $65,000 $60,000 $75,000 $61,000 $50,000 $90,000
Government $85,000 $75,000 $75,000 $100,000 $85,000 $90,000 $78,500 $75,000 $92,000
Industry/business $100,000 $86,200 $97,000 $120,000 $90,000 $100,000 $81,000 $50,000 $105,000
Nonprofit organization $75,000 $85,000 $77,000 $101,501 $70,000 $100,000 $78,000 $55,000 $75,000
Other/unknown $70,000 $52,000 $49,950 $68,000 $75,500 — $75,000 $50,000 $74,000
All definite employment $75,000 $72,000 $82,500 $100,000 $67,000 $95,000 $65,000 $50,200 $90,000

Note: “Life sciences” includes agricultural sciences and natural resources, biological and biomedical sciences, and health sciences. “Psychology and social sciences” includes economics. The column labeled “Other” includes business management and administration and other nonscience and nonengineering fields not shown elsewhere. People who identified themselves as Hispanic may be of any race. Asians do not include Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders; they are reported in the race/ethnicity category “Other/unknown.” A bachelor’s degree is counted as being in the same field as the doctorate if both degrees are in the same major field categories. The employment sector “Industry/business” includes self-employment. The employment sector “Other/unknown” consists mainly of elementary and secondary schools. A dash indicates information that was omitted to protect confidentiality. Percentages may not add up to 100 because of rounding or because a small share of unknowns was excluded.

Source: Chronicle analysis of “Survey of Earned Doctorates” by National Science Foundation and five other federal agencies

A version of this article appeared in the August 18, 2017, issue.
Read other items in Students.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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