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National Association of
Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS)
209 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
• Washington, DC 20003-1107 • 888-88-NAGPS
Kimberly Suedkamp Wells, (573) 884-8535
NAGPS President <president@nagps.org>
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Adam P. Fagen, (617) 970-4971
National Doctoral Program Survey Chair |
Fact Sheet: Doctoral Students
Who are doctoral students?
- In 1999, an estimated 45,900 doctoral degrees will be awarded in the
United States1.
- Of those Ph.D. recipients, approximately 59% will be awarded to males
and 41% awarded to females.
- In 1999, 73% of doctoral recipients were U.S. citizens or permanent
residents and 27% were non-U.S. citizens2.
- In 1999, 53% of doctoral recipients were White or non-Hispanic, 6.7%
were Asian or Pacific Islander, 4.9% were Black or non-Hispanic, 4% were
Hispanic, and less than 1% were American Indian or Alaskan Natives.
- In 1999, the majority (76%) of doctoral recipients were between the
ages of 40 and 753.
What are the primary mechanisms of support for doctoral students and
what are their debt burdens?
- The primary mechanisms of support for graduate students may change
annually throughout the career of graduate and professional students.
- In 1996, 33.3% of doctoral students in science and engineering were
self-supported, 26.7% were supported by research assistantships (RA's),
20% by teaching assistantships (TA's), 8.8% by fellowships, and 4.7% by
traineeships4.
- For 1996 recipients of doctoral degrees, 48% reported no debt, 19%
reported debt less than $10,000, and 25% reported debt greater than
$10,0005.
- For recipients of doctoral degrees between 1993 and 1996, teaching
assistantships (TA's), followed by traineeships, and research
assistantships (RA's) reported some level of debt.
- During the same period, psychology doctoral recipients reported the
highest proportion of debt greater than $30,000, followed by business,
law, and architecture doctoral recipients.
What fields are doctoral students in and where are they employed?
- In 1999, the largest proportion (37%) of doctoral recipients were in
non-science and engineering fields including Health, Humanities,
Education, and Professional fields followed by Biological and Agricultural
Sciences (16%), Social Sciences (10%), and Psychology
(9%)3.
- In 1999, the majority of doctoral recipients were employed in the
South Atlantic (18.9%), followed by the Pacific (18.2%), and the Middle
Atlantic (16.2%).
- Within fields, the majority of doctoral recipients in the Biological
and Agricultural Sciences were employed in the South Atlantic (20.4%) and
the majority of those employed in the Physical and Related Sciences were
employed in the Pacific (19.1%).
1 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics, Earned Degrees Conferred, Projections of Education
Statistics to 2010; Higher Education General Information Survey
(HEGIS), 'Degrees and Other Formal Awards Conferred' surveys; and
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), 'Completions'
surveys.
2 National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources
Studies. Graduate Enrollment in Science and Engineering Increases for the
First Time Since 1993. NSF 01-312. January 11, 2001.
3 National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources
Studies. 1999. Survey of Doctorate Recipients.
4 National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources
Studies. Have Primary Financial Support for S& E Graduate Students
Changed During the Past Two Decades? NSF 99-313. December 4, 1998.
5 National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resource
Studies. What is the Debt Burden of New Science and Engineering
Ph.D.s? NSF 98-318. July 8, 1998.
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