Number of Doctorate Recipients by Major Fields of Study, 1981 and 2011
The share of doctorates earned in education has shrunk by more than half over 30 years, while the share earned in engineering has doubled.
| 1981 | 2011 | |||
| Field of study | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage |
| All fields | 31,355 | 100.0% | 49,010 | 100.0% |
| Life sciences | 5,665 | 18.1% | 11,467 | 23.4% |
| Agricultural sciences, natural resources | 1,205 | 3.8% | 1,209 | 2.5% |
| Biological, biomedical sciences | 3,803 | 12.1% | 8,135 | 16.6% |
| Health sciences | 657 | 2.1% | 2,123 | 4.3% |
| Physical sciences | 4,116 | 13.1% | 8,678 | 17.7% |
| Chemistry | 1,612 | 5.1% | 2,439 | 5.0% |
| Computer and information sciences | 232 | 0.7% | 1,711 | 3.5% |
| Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences | 529 | 1.7% | 856 | 1.7% |
| Mathematics | 728 | 2.3% | 1,607 | 3.3% |
| Physics and astronomy | 1,015 | 3.2% | 2,065 | 4.2% |
| Social sciences | 6,317 | 20.1% | 8,120 | 16.6% |
| Anthropology | 369 | 1.2% | 555 | 1.1% |
| Economics | 824 | 2.6% | 1,124 | 2.3% |
| Political science | 445 | 1.4% | 686 | 1.4% |
| Psychology | 3,358 | 10.7% | 3,594 | 7.3% |
| Sociology | 605 | 1.9% | 656 | 1.3% |
| Other social sciences | 716 | 2.3% | 1,505 | 3.1% |
| Engineering | 2,528 | 8.1% | 8,004 | 16.3% |
| Aerospace/aeronautical engineering | 97 | 0.3% | 261 | 0.5% |
| Chemical engineering | 296 | 0.9% | 826 | 1.7% |
| Civil engineering | 287 | 0.9% | 636 | 1.3% |
| Electrical/electronics engineering | 0 | 0.0% | 1,891 | 3.9% |
| Industrial/manufacturing engineering | 66 | 0.2% | 263 | 0.5% |
| Materials-science engineering | 113 | 0.4% | 662 | 1.4% |
| Mechanical engineering | 282 | 0.9% | 1,084 | 2.2% |
| Other engineering | 1,387 | 4.4% | 2,381 | 4.9% |
| Education | 7,497 | 23.9% | 4,691 | 9.6% |
| Education administration | 1,659 | 5.3% | 926 | 1.9% |
| Education research | 3,168 | 10.1% | 2,453 | 5.0% |
| Teacher education | 639 | 2.0% | 205 | 0.4% |
| Teaching fields | 1,437 | 4.6% | 808 | 1.6% |
| Other education | 594 | 1.9% | 299 | 0.6% |
| Humanities | 3,575 | 11.4% | 5,214 | 10.6% |
| Foreign language and literature | 576 | 1.8% | 646 | 1.3% |
| History | 692 | 2.2% | 1,066 | 2.2% |
| Letters | 1,052 | 3.4% | 1,515 | 3.1% |
| Other humanities | 1,255 | 4.0% | 1,987 | 4.1% |
| Other | 1,657 | 5.3% | 2,836 | 5.8% |
| Business and management | 624 | 2.0% | 1,328 | 2.7% |
| Communication | 240 | 0.8% | 651 | 1.3% |
| Fields not elsewhere classified | 793 | 2.5% | 857 | 1.7% |
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 because of rounding.
Source: Survey of Earned Doctorates, National Science Foundation and five other federal agencies
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