Doctorates in S&E fields are a growing share of all doctorates awarded. Every broad S&E field except for psychology and social sciences increased both its number and share of all doctorates over the past 2 decades. Psychology and social sciences increased in the number of doctorate recipients, but its share of all doctorates declined. Engineering had the largest growth among S&E fields, from 13% of all doctorates in 1999 to 19% in 2019 (figure 7).

Within non-S&E fields, the number of doctorates awarded in education has declined over the past 2 decades, leading to a large, steady drop in the relative share of doctorates in that field. The number of humanities and arts doctorates increased during this period, but the field’s relative share fell 4 percentage points to 9% of all doctorates awarded in 2019. The number of doctorates in other non-S&E fields—such as business management and communication—increased, but their share remained fairly level (figure 8).

Women’s share of doctorates awarded has grown over the past 2 decades in all broad fields of study. In 2019, women earned half or more of the doctorates awarded in life sciences, psychology and social sciences, education, humanities and arts, and other non-S&E fields.

Women earned only between about a quarter and a third of the doctorates awarded in engineering, in mathematics and computer sciences, and in physical sciences and earth sciences in 2019. However, women’s shares of doctorates in these fields have grown over the past 20 years. From 2000 to 2019, the proportion of female doctorates grew considerably in life sciences (from 47% to 55%), in engineering (from 16% to 24%), and in physical sciences and earth sciences (from 25% to 34%). In psychology and social sciences and in mathematics and computer sciences women’s share grew by 5 percentage points during this period (figure 11).

The growth or decline in the share of women doctorate recipients in different fields does not always track with the overall growth of those fields.

From 2010 to 2019, the proportion of female doctorate recipients increased between 3 and 4 percentage points in three fields where the overall numbers of doctorates increased: mechanical engineering, materials science engineering, and agricultural sciences and natural resources (figure 12). Women’s share of doctorates also increased about 5 percentage points in teacher education and anthropology, fields that declined in the overall number of doctorates awarded.

Despite the growth in the number of doctorate recipients in civil engineering and in the health sciences in the past 10 years, women’s shares of doctorates in these fields declined. The proportion of female doctorate recipients also declined in education administration, history, and political science and government—three fields in which the numbers of doctorates have declined as well.