Report tracks Ph.D. trends since 1920

Over the past 25 years, the demographics of individuals earning doctoral degrees in the U.S. has changed significantly as the number of women and minorities earning degrees has increased, according to an NSF report. The report, "U.S. Doctorates in the 20th Century," uses data from the Doctorate Records File, a databank with information on 1.35 million doctoral recipients who have earned their degrees since 1920. Analysis of the data in the report shows, among other things, that nearly two-thirds of the individuals in the databank earned their Ph.D.s in science and engineering fields. From 1920 until the early 1960s, the report notes, physical sciences led all major fields in the number of Ph.D.s awarded. Since 1960, however, the percentage of doctoral degrees in physical sciences has dropped. The report attributes this drop directly to the decline of advanced degrees awarded in chemistry. The full report is available at www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf06319.