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Graduate School

Study confirms lengthening time to science PhD

Economist examined NSF data starting in the 1960s

by Andrea Widener
October 31, 2021 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 99, Issue 40
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A paper from Stephanie Cheng, an economist at the firm Edgeworth Economics, confirms that those seeking a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics PhD, including chemists, are spending more time in graduate school than they did several decades ago. The data also show that postdoc positions are becoming more common for PhD chemists. Overall, fewer PhD chemists are going on to tenure-track academic positions. Cheng, who presented the research at a National Bureau of Economic Research conference, provided this analysis of chemistry PhDs to C&EN.

  • 5.0

    Mean years in chemistry graduate school, 1960s

  • 6.7

    Mean years in chemistry graduate school, 2000s

  • 32.3%

    Proportion of chemistry PhDs going on to a postdoc, 1960s

  • 49.9%

    Proportion of chemistry PhDs going on to a postdoc, 2000s

  • 34.8%

    Proportion of chemistry PhDs who got a tenure-track position, 1960s

  • 21.6%

    Proportion of chemistry PhDs who got a tenure-track position, 2000s.

CORRECTION

This story was updated on Nov. 3, 2021, to correct the name of the firm where Stephanie Cheng works. It is Edgeworth Economics, not Edgeworth Analytics. Also, a link to Cheng’s paper was added.

Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2024 American Chemical Society

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