New data show recent trends in U.S. doctoral STEM education

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) yesterday (Dec. 5) released a report titled Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2011 that unveils important trends in U.S. doctoral education.

The report calls attention to the changing characteristics of U.S. doctorate recipients over time, including the increased representation of women, minorities and foreign nationals; the emergence of new fields of study; the time it takes to complete doctoral study; the expansion of the postdoctoral pool; and employment opportunities after graduation.

Understanding connections among these characteristics is of paramount importance to improving U.S. doctoral education and helping the system maintain its leadership role.

NSF data serves as a leading indicator for knowledge creation and innovation for doctoral education. Photo Credit: Thinkstock

This annual count by the National Science Foundation (NSF) is a direct measure of the human resource pool that is on a path to careers in science, engineering, mathematics and research, and these data can serve as leading indicators of U.S. capacity for knowledge creation and innovation.

Trends in the report can be examined in greater depth through accompanying online resources including an interactive version of the report and 70 detailed data tables available as PDF and Excel files.

For more information on this report, contact Mark K. Fiegener.

Visit NSF's NCSES for access to more reports and other products.