Survey Overview (2025 Survey Cycle)

Purpose. The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) collects data on the number and characteristics of individuals receiving research doctoral degrees from U.S. academic institutions.

Data collection authority. The information collected by the SED is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, and the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. The Office of Management and Budget control number for the 2025 survey cycle is 3145-0019, expiration date 31 May 2026. The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) has reviewed this product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved its release (NCSES-DRN26-034).

Survey contractor. RTI International.

Survey sponsors. The SED is sponsored by NCSES within the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and by three other federal agencies: the National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, and National Endowment for the Humanities.

Key Survey Information

Frequency. Annual.

Initial survey year. Academic year 1958.

Reference period. Academic year 2025 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025).

Response unit. Individuals.

Sample or census. Census.

Population size. 59,015.

Sample size. Not applicable.

Survey Design

Target population. The population for the 2025 SED consists of all individuals receiving a research doctorate from a U.S. academic institution in the 12-month period beginning 1 July 2024 and ending 30 June 2025. A research doctorate is a doctoral degree that (1) requires completion of an original intellectual contribution in the form of a dissertation or an equivalent culminating project (e.g., musical composition) and (2) is not primarily intended as a degree for the practice of a profession.

The SED recognized 18 distinct types of research doctorates in 2025 (table A-1). Recipients of professional doctoral degrees, such as MD, DDS, DVM, JD, DPharm, DMin, and PsyD, are not included in the SED.

The doctor of philosophy (PhD) constitutes the vast majority of research doctoral degrees. Of the 59,015 new research doctorates granted in 2025, 98.6% were PhDs. The next most frequently occurring type of research doctorate was the doctor of education (EdD), which accounted for 0.9% of the total in 2025. No other type of doctoral degree accounted for more than 0.3% of the new research doctorates in 2025.

Sampling frame. The SED is a census of all recipients of U.S. research doctoral degrees. The frame of doctorate recipients is created by first identifying all institutions that confer research doctorates and then identifying all individuals receiving a research doctorate from those institutions in the 12-month period ending 30 June 2025. The list of institutions is based principally on the institutions in the prior survey cycle augmented by any new institutions in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and other higher education resource databases. The list of doctorate recipients is created from administrative sources, such as commencement lists provided by institutions, institution websites, and commercial databases of doctorate dissertations. For 2025, 470 research doctorate-granting institutions were identified; however, 10 of these institutions reported 0 graduates, thus there were 460 institutions in the SED universe that conferred research doctorates. Of the institutions that conferred research doctorates, 17 institutions refused to provide lists of graduates. For all of the 17 refusing institutions, the survey contractor was able to construct graduate lists using secondary data sources. Thus, the SED frame consisted of 59,015 persons in the 460 institutions that conferred research doctorates in 2025.

Sample design. The SED is a census.

Data Collection and Processing Methods

Data collection. SED collects data using two modes: self-administered Web survey and computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI).

The self-administered Web survey is the primary mode of SED completion. When students apply for graduation, institutional coordinators at the universities give students the link to the survey registration website. Students who sign up at the survey registration website receive PIN and password information via email, as well as the URL of the SED Web survey. The proportion of SED completions using the Web has increased steadily since it was introduced in 2001, and it was 99.2% in 2025.

Nonrespondents are contacted by email, mail, and text message to complete the Web survey. If the series of follow-up emails, mailings, and text messages is unsuccessful, the survey contractor attempts to reach nonrespondents to complete an abbreviated survey by CATI. Approximately 0.8% of SED completions were from CATI in 2025. At the end of the data collection phase, institutional coordinators were contacted to obtain information on a small number of critical SED data items for nonrespondents from their institution.

A small but growing number of research doctoral degrees awarded were part of joint doctoral programs (i.e., a research doctorate recipient studied at more than one institution in pursuit of the doctoral degree). In these instances, the survey contractor relies on information provided by the institutions to appropriately attribute the doctorate to one of the doctorate-granting institutions.

The survey collects complete college education history data. For degrees earned from most U.S. postsecondary degree-granting institutions, the institutions are coded to their unique identification number (UnitID) from IPEDS; non-IPEDS institutions are maintained in a supplementary database. To code the degree-granting institutions for postsecondary degrees earned from foreign countries, survey staff maintain a database of foreign institutions, updating it annually to include new entries for foreign institutions reported by SED respondents. About one-third of 2025 U.S. research doctorate recipients received an undergraduate degree from foreign institutions.

Mode. In 2025, 99.2% of survey responses were obtained via the Web survey and 0.8% via CATI.

Response rate. Of the 59,015 individuals who received a research doctorate in 2025, 91.0% completed the survey (table A-2). Additional information on response rate is below, under “Nonresponse error.”

Data editing. Approved automated edits are applied to the SED, a number of which pertain to the education history section.

Imputation. In producing the 2025 SED Doctorate Records File, limited imputation was performed to support derivation of age and time to degree. Imputation was applied when month data for calculating measures involving age and time was not reported. The missing month values described below were either randomly or logically imputed.

• Age at doctorate. Months (of birth and doctorate award) were included in the calculation of median age whenever available. If birth month was missing, the month value was randomly imputed.
• Time to degree from bachelor’s completion. Months (of bachelor’s completion and doctorate award) were included in the calculation of total time to degree. If month of bachelor’s completion was missing, the month value was logically imputed to the modal value for doctorate recipients who provided month of bachelor’s completion.
• Time to degree from graduate school entry. Months (of graduate school entry and doctorate award) were included in the calculation of graduate school time to degree. If month of graduate school entry was missing, the month value was logically imputed to the modal value for doctorate recipients who provided month of graduate entry.
• Time to degree from doctoral program entry. Doctoral program entry is based on master’s degree program entry if the master’s degree was at the doctoral institution in the same field of study or if it was a prerequisite to the doctorate; otherwise, it is based on doctoral program entry. Months were included in the calculation of doctoral program time to degree. If the month of entry used in the calculation (master’s degree program entry or doctoral program entry) was not reported, the entry month was logically imputed to the modal value for all cases that did report the entry month in the academic year the case was added to the Doctorate Records File (typically the academic year matching the graduation date of the case).

In certain cases, community college attendance was statistically imputed. See “Survey Quality Measures” for additional information.

Weighting. Survey data were not weighted.

Variance estimation. The SED is a census of all recipients of U.S. research doctoral degrees with no sampling variability.

Disclosure protection. To protect against the disclosure of confidential information provided by SED respondents, data values based on counts of respondents that fall below a predetermined threshold are suppressed in the data tables. Secondary or complementary suppressions are applied as needed to prevent reconstruction of the data values from primary suppressions. Beginning in 2021, the detailed fields in the data tables are based on the aggregation of SED Classified Instructional Program (CIP) fields. All suppressed values in the data tables are replaced with “D.”

Survey Quality Measures

Sampling error. Not applicable because the SED is a census.

Coverage error. Due to the availability of comprehensive lists of doctorate-granting institutions, coverage error of institutions is minimal. Because the graduate schools identify degree recipients at the time of doctorate completion, coverage error for individual doctorate recipients is also minimal. Comparisons of the institutions with research doctorate recipients covered by the SED that also report to the IPEDS Completions Survey, collected by the National Center for Education Statistics, confirm that there is minimal coverage error.

Institutions that begin to confer research doctorates are invited to join the SED. If a university that confers research doctorates does not wish to participate in the SED, slight undercounts may result. Graduation lists provided by institutions serve as the primary frame to determine eligible doctorate recipients. In 2025, 17 doctorate-granting universities declined to fully enumerate their doctorate recipients for academic year 2025. Information on the graduates for all but one of these institutions was found from other sources, such as ProQuest. Differences in counts of research doctorate recipients between SED and IPEDS are due to definitional differences.

Nonresponse error.

• Unit nonresponse. Of the 59,015 individuals who received a research doctorate in 2025, 91.0% completed the survey (table A-2). Skeletal records for nonrespondents appear on the data file and contain a limited number of SED critical data items (doctoral institution, year of doctorate, field of doctorate, type of doctorate, and, if available, baccalaureate institution, master’s degree institution, and sex) that are constructed for nonrespondents from administrative records of the university, such as commencement programs, graduation lists, and other public records.

Unit nonresponse was concentrated in a small number of institutions: 12 of the 460 doctorate-granting institutions accounted for about 40% of the total nonrespondents, with an additional 7 institutions accounting for another 10% of the total nonrespondents. Thus, about half of survey nonrespondents were from 19 institutions. 

• Item nonresponse. Due to data collected as part of nonrespondent skeletal records, item missing rates for the five key SED variables—sex, citizenship, country of citizenship, race and ethnicity, and location after graduation—were lower than the unit nonresponse rate and ranged from 0.0% for sex to 8.4% for postgraduation location. Table A-3 shows item response rates for all research doctorate recipients from 2019–25 for all variables used in the data tables (see clarifying notes in the table).

Measurement error. The primary source of measurement error in the SED is attributable to incomplete or updated information provided by respondents or degree-granting institutions and to educational history provided by respondents.

Data on doctorate recipients for previous years are updated with data received from institutions and respondents after the close of data collection for a given year. Updates and corrections to graduation dates can also change the overall counts for prior years. The published tables reflect these changes and thus may not match previously published data.

An instrument change made to reduce respondent burden resulted in substantial increase in nonresponse for the community college credit question. Response to a pop-up asking whether or not an associate’s degree was earned was made optional in 2025; however, 10,322 respondents declined to confirm they had not received an associate’s degree and therefore were not shown the community college question. To maintain data comparability, the 10,322 respondents were assumed to have no associate’s degree and their community college credit response was statistically imputed.

Data Comparability

Changes in survey coverage and population. For the 2025 cycle, two institutions were added and two institutions were removed from the SED universe.

Changes in questionnaire. The following changes were made to the questionnaire in 2025:

New questions.

None.

Revisions to existing questions.

Sex. During the 2025 data collection, a nonsubstantive change was made to the wording of the sex question in alignment with Executive Order 14168. The question was updated to read “What is your sex?” and the response options remained the same: “Male” and “Female.”

Of the 59,015 doctorate recipients in 2025, 32,216 responded to the survey with the original question wording in the 11 months of data collection before the change. The remaining respondents received the revised question. The 2025 SED data files and products derive sex data using the responses to both the original question wording and the revised wording. The resulting distribution of respondents on the sex item was similar to prior years.

Earned credits from a community college. In an effort to reduce respondent burden, answering whether an associate’s degree was earned became optional, reducing the number of responses. But as a result, the follow-up question about earning any credit at a community college was not asked for those who skipped confirming that they did not earn an associate’s degree, reducing response on this item as well. To keep these items comparable with prior years, those who did not answer the associate’s degree item were assumed to have no associate’s degree and their community college credit response was statistically imputed.

Changes in reporting procedures or classification.

• Carnegie classification. Since 2023, the 2021 Carnegie Classifications of the doctoral institutions have been used in the data tables.
• Field of study. The SED collects field of study data from doctoral recipients using SED-CIP codes and reports field data using two different aggregations: the current, SED-CIP-based taxonomy and a trend taxonomy that facilitates trend comparisons across time. The current, SED-CIP-based taxonomy (table A-4 and table A-5) is aligned with other NCSES surveys, optimized for the SED-CIP data, and used in table 3-1 through table 9-19. The trend taxonomy (table A-6) facilitates data comparisons between pre-2021 data and subsequent years and is used in table 1-3 through table 2-8. Therefore, the field-level counts of doctorates for 2021 and subsequent years in time series tables using the trend taxonomy do not match counts in tables that only use data from 2021 forward, presented in the current taxonomy. For a comparison between the two taxonomies, see table A-7.

As of 2021, SED collects field of study and doctorate dissertation field data using a modified version of the 2020 Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics. The SED-CIP modifications are as follows:

• The addition of over 80 degree fields not in the 2020 CIP, including codes collected in the SED prior to 2021 or identified in emerging field reviews since 2021. This includes 20 SED-CIP codes added in 2025 from an emerging doctorate field review based on doctorate field data collected in prior years. These SED-CIP codes are noted in table A-5 and table A-6 with a letter suffix.
• CIP fields not eligible for IPEDS reporting and selected other codes are excluded: 28 (Military science, leadership, and operational art), 32 (Basic skills and development/remedial education), 33 (Citizenship activities), 34 (Health-related knowledge and skills), 35 (Interpersonal and social skills), 36 (Leisure and recreational activities), 37 (Personal awareness and self-improvements), and 53 (High school/secondary diplomas and certificates).
• CIP series codes that are primarily used to report associate's degrees to IPEDS are limited in the SED to associate’s degree fields only, including: 12 (Culinary, entertainment, and personal services), 46 (Construction trade), 47 (Mechanic and repair technology/technicians), and 48 (Precision production).
• The conversion of the CIP 60 (Health professions residency/fellowship) and 61 (Medical residency/fellowship) series codes to SED-CIP 70 and 71 series codes, respectively, to capture the research fields for reporting of doctorate dissertation fields only.

The SED-CIP code list includes over 1,650 fields for reporting, compared to 334 field codes collected prior to 2021. The SED-CIP codes are aggregated into 315 detailed fields, 68 major fields, and 16 broad fields (table A-4). In 2025, minor revisions were made to the detailed field taxonomy to improve data utility. Specifically, seven detailed fields were added, one was removed due to low counts, and one was renamed (table A-4 and table A-5). This SED-CIP taxonomy includes multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary sciences and multidisciplinary /interdisciplinary studies to capture and track emerging fields aligned to the NCSES Taxonomy of Disciplines for comparison with other NCSES surveys. The complete SED-CIP list with corresponding detailed, major, and broad fields is in table A-5. All single-year and 2021–present data tables (table 3-1 through table 9-18) use the new SED-CIP taxonomy.

To facilitate the trend data comparison with prior years, the trend field taxonomy presents modified aggregation for multiyear data tables with data earlier than 2021 (table 1-1 through table 2-8). The trend broad and major fields are available from 1958 to the present. The trend field taxonomy was designed to align the historical field of study codes used to collect data in 2020 and earlier and the new broad and major fields in the SED-CIP taxonomy to the extent possible (table A-7). The trend field taxonomy aggregates historical field of study and SED-CIP data into 14 trend broad fields and 62 trend major fields as compared with 8 broad fields and 35 major fields in the historical field taxonomy. Table A-6 provides the alignment of the historical fine field codes to the new trend broad and major fields. The trend field taxonomy replaced the historical field taxonomy used in SED tables in 2020 and earlier, as well as trend tables prior to 2023. Table A-7 provides a comparison of the historical, trend, and current field taxonomies.

This results in generally comparable trend broad and major fields with some limitations. For example, it is not known how respondents who reported the SED-CIP field of “electrical engineering and computer science” in the current survey would have chosen their field under the historical SED-FOS list that included two separate fields “electrical engineering” and “computer science” only. For more information, see the working paper Survey of Earned Doctorates Field of Study Taxonomy Changes in 2021 and Impact on Trend Data.

• Salary. Median salary is calculated from exact salary values when provided by the respondent. Salary imputation was dropped as of 2015 due to the increase in exact salary response rate. From 2011 to 2014, if a respondent selected a salary range instead of providing an exact salary value, exact salary values were imputed for median salary calculation purposes by applying hot-deck imputation based on salary range and other relevant respondent characteristics. Prior to 2011, median salary was calculated directly from the salary range values via interpolation methods, and exact salary values were not used in the calculation of median salary. Only salary data from doctorate recipients reporting definite commitments for employment or for a postdoc position in the United States are included in median salary calculations.
• Functional limitations (previously “disability”). Questions pertaining to functional limitations have been asked in several different ways since the initial item was added in 1985. Changes to the question in 2010 coincided with a much higher proportion of respondents reporting functional limitations in all categories—more than double in some cases. The current functional limitations items were introduced in 2012; these ask for both the presence and severity of functional limitations in each of several domains which do not precisely overlap with the items from prior surveys. Due to the changes in this item, trend comparisons using data collected from 1985–2012 should be made with caution.
• Debt. Since 2001, respondents have been asked to indicate the amount of education-related debt they owe, with separate response categories for graduate and undergraduate education. To estimate overall debt, the midpoint of the chosen range for undergraduate and for graduate debt was selected and summed to yield a total debt amount. Where median debt levels are presented in this report (i.e., table 4-4 and table 4-5), the individual values for debt are assigned as the midpoint of the chosen range for graduate and undergraduate debt. Doctorate recipients who chose the lowest debt category (no debt) were assigned a value of $0 for the computation of median debt levels. Doctorate recipients who chose the uppermost category available prior to 2019 ($90,001 or more) were assigned a value of $95,000 for the computation of median debt levels. In 2019, additional response options were added at the upper range for graduate debt with the highest being $160,001 or more. Doctorate recipients who choose this uppermost category are assigned a value of $165,000 for the computation of median debt levels. All valid responses, including “no debt,” are included in the computation of all median debt data in the data tables.
• Citizenship. The citizenship status variable is used to identify the appropriate citizenship category of respondents, including the citizenship category of respondents who did not respond to the citizenship status survey item. The code framework for the citizenship status variable is outlined below.

Respondents who indicated a U.S. birthplace, regardless of what they reported for citizenship status, were assigned code 0.

In 1999, code 4 (non-U.S., visa status unknown) was introduced, and data were back-coded through 1997. Respondents who designated a non-U.S. country for the country of citizenship item but did not respond to the citizenship status item were assigned code 4 for citizenship status. From 1997 to 2003, foreign-born respondents who did not indicate their country of citizenship or citizenship status were assigned to code 4 if three out of four geographic variables—place of birth, place of high school, place of college entry, and postgraduation location—were non-U.S. locations. Beginning with the 2004 SED, the variable “place of baccalaureate institution” replaced “place of college entry” in the assignment of a citizenship code for respondents who did not indicate citizenship status.

For tabulations in this report, code 4 was combined with code 3—that is, counts of doctorate recipients in the temporary visa holder category include non-U.S. citizens with unknown visa status. This is consistent with coding procedures in previous data collections. However, the existence of code 4 allows the microdata user to exclude cases for which visa status is unknown. Prospective data users should note, however, that the number of cases in the code 4 group is not sufficient to warrant analysis as a separate citizenship category.

Non-U.S. citizens who did not report a country of citizenship but reported the same non-U.S. country for three out of four geographic variables—place of birth, place of high school, place of baccalaureate institution, and postgraduation location—were assigned that reported country as their country of citizenship.

• Median computation. Since 1994, medians have been computed as outlined below. When months are included, they are converted to the number of days corresponding to the first day of the month. In 2017, the method for accounting for leap days changed to reflect the actual number of leap days during the time period specified, rather than the prior method of adding 0.25 days to each year.
  • Median age. Months (of birth and doctorate award) are included in the calculation of median age whenever available. Beginning in 2015, if birth month is missing, the month value is randomly imputed. Prior to 2015, the missing month value was assigned to the month the doctorate was received.
  • Time to degree from bachelor’s completion. Months are included in the calculation of total time to degree. If months are missing, month values are assigned to the modal value for doctorate recipients who provide month of bachelor’s completion and converted to the number of days corresponding to that month.
  • Time to degree from graduate school entry. Months are included in the calculation of graduate school time to degree. If months are missing in the calculation of graduate school time to degree, month values are assigned to the modal value for doctorate recipients who provided month of graduate entry. Reports published before 2004 reported a different time-to-degree measure: registered time to degree. Comparisons of graduate school time-to-degree data with pre-2004 registered time-to-degree data should be interpreted cautiously. For an explanation of registered time to degree, see the technical notes of any Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities published before 2004.
  • Time to degree from doctoral program entry. This variable was first included in 2015. Doctoral program entry is based on master’s degree program entry if the master’s degree was at the doctoral institution in the same field of study or if it was a prerequisite to the doctorate; otherwise, it is based on doctoral program entry. Months are included in the calculation of doctoral program time to degree. If the month of entry used in the calculation (master’s degree program entry or doctoral program entry) was not reported, the entry month is assigned to the modal value for all cases that did report the entry month in the academic year the case was added to the Doctorate Records File (typically the academic year matching the graduation date of the case).
• Data Tables. The SED data tables were reorganized and renumbered in the 2021 cycle; see technical table B-1 for a crosswalk comparing the current data tables with those prior to 2021.

Definitions

Basic annual salary. Annual salary expected to be earned from the doctorate recipient’s principal job in the next year after receiving the doctorate, not including bonuses or additional compensation for summertime teaching or research.

Carnegie classification (institution categories). In this report, four types of doctorate-granting institutions identified in the figures and tabulations are defined according to the Carnegie classification scheme as updated in 2021: doctoral very high research, doctoral high research, doctoral/professional universities, and other universities (comprised of all other classifications). Institutions are classified according to their aggregate and per-capita levels of research activity, using indicators of research and development expenditures, staffing (including postdoctoral appointees and other nonfaculty research staff with doctorates), and doctoral conferrals in science and engineering and other fields.

Definite plans to stay in the United States. A respondent is coded as having definite plans to stay in the United States if the reported postgraduation location was in the United States and the reported postgraduation plans for employment or postdoc were coded “definite.”

Definite postgraduation plans. The status of postgraduation plans is coded using the values from item B2 of the survey questionnaire, which indicate whether the doctorate recipient’s postgraduation plans for employment or a postdoc position were definite at the time the survey was completed.

Ever attended community college. A respondent is coded as having attended community college if the respondent reported earning an associate’s degree or credit from a community college.

Field of study. The SED collects data on over 1,650 fields of study aggregated into 315 detailed fields, 68 major fields, and 16 broad fields. See table A-5 for a full listing of the SED-CIP codes and their alignment to the detailed, major, and broad fields of study and trend broad and major fields in 2025. See table A-6 for the pre-2021 historical field to trend field crosswalk. See table A-7 for a comparison of the taxonomies.

Doctorate recipients report their fields of study and doctorate dissertation. Their choices may differ from departmental names. Field groupings may differ from those in other reports published by federal sponsors of the SED. The “general” field categories (e.g., “chemistry, general”) include individuals who either received the doctorate in the general subject area or who did not indicate a particular specialty field. The “nec” or not elsewhere classified field categories (e.g., “chemistry nec”) include individuals whose specified doctoral discipline either did not fit into aggregation within major fields or who reported the “other” CIP code (i.e., “chemistry, other”) (table A-4).

Some respondents do not self-code their field of degree and instead provide a text string that must be manually coded by the survey contractor. When manual coding is required, a pair of trained reviewers independently code each text entry, and any discrepancies between the two coders are resolved by a third, more expert reviewer. All manual coding is subject to a final review by NCSES. Generally, the percentage of responses in these data requiring manual coding is low. In 2025, 0.2% of doctorate fields of study reported by respondents were manually coded, as well as 0.6% of associate’s degree fields, 0.2% of bachelor’s degree fields, and 0.4% of master’s degree fields.

Median age at doctorate. One-half of the respondents received the doctorate at or before this age. A recipient’s age is obtained by subtracting the month and year of birth from the month and year of doctorate.

Percentage with master’s. This variable is the percentage of doctorate recipients in a field who received a master’s degree in any field before earning the doctorate.

Research doctorate. A research doctoral degree is oriented toward preparing students to make original intellectual contributions in a field of study and is not primarily intended for the practice of a profession. Research doctorates require the completion of a dissertation or equivalent project.

Time to doctorate. The time it takes to complete a doctoral degree is measured in three ways: (1) the time elapsed from completion of the baccalaureate to completion of the doctorate (total time to degree), (2) the time elapsed from the start of any graduate school program to completion of the doctorate (graduate school time to degree), and (3) the time elapsed from the start of the doctoral program. Time-to-doctorate measures herein are reported as medians. In 2017, the method for accounting for leap days changed to reflect the actual number of leap days during the time period specified, rather than the prior method of adding 0.25 days to each year.

• Total time to degree. This variable is the total elapsed time between the baccalaureate and the doctorate, including time not enrolled in school. It can be computed only for individuals whose baccalaureate year is known. Baccalaureate year is often obtained from commencement programs or doctorate institutions when not reported by the recipient.
• Graduate school time to degree. This variable is the elapsed time from the initiation of graduate study, in any program or capacity at any university, and the award of the doctorate. This variable can be computed only for individuals who provided the year they started graduate school. If an individual did not respond to this question, which asks for the month and year of first entry into any graduate school, then values for graduate school month and year of entry are obtained from the earliest non-missing date available from a series of items associated with a graduate school entry. Months are included in the computation.
• Doctoral program time to degree. This variable is either (1) the elapsed time from the most recent master’s degree program entry, if the master’s degree was awarded at the doctoral institution and was in the same field as the doctorate or if the master’s degree was a prerequisite to the doctoral program until doctorate completion; otherwise, it is (2) the elapsed time from the doctoral program entry until doctorate completion. This variable is only computed for academic year 2015 and later doctorates.

U.S. regions of employment. This variable is used to classify the location of U.S. employment after award of the doctorate.