Doctorate Recipients from United States Universities: Summary Report 2000. Survey of Earned Doctorates

This report presents data on recipients of research doctorates awarded by U.S. universities from July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000. The information is taken from the Survey of Earned Doctorates, an annual census of new doctoral recipients. The 406 universities in the United States that confer research doctorates awarded a total of 41,368 doctorates in the 1999-2000 academic year. This is an increase of 0.8% over the previous year, marking the seventh year that the total number of new research doctorates has exceeded 41,000. The greatest number of research doctorates were awarded in the life sciences, 8,529 Ph.D.s. Other broad areas were the social sciences, education, the physical sciences and mathematics, the humanities, engineering, and business and other professional fields. Women received 43.8% of all doctorates granted in 2000, the highest percentage ever. More than 16% of all doctorates awarded to U.S. citizens in 2000 were earned by members of racial and ethnic minority groups. U.S. citizens received 70.6% of all doctorates earned in 2000. The median time to degree since receipt of the baccalaureate was 10.3 years in 2000, slightly down from 1999. Most doctoral recipients in 2000 received the majority of their financial support for graduate education from program- or institution-based sources such as fellowships or teaching and research assistantships. About one-half of new Ph.D.s reported no educational indebtedness at the completion of the degree; about 71% had definite postgraduate commitments for employment or continued study. Five appendixes contain the survey questionnaire, basic and trend tables, and technical notes. (Contains 12 figures and 41 tables.) (SLD)