Report

Doctorates in S&E fields are a growing share of all doctorates awarded. Over the past 2 decades, doctorates in every broad S&E field increased in number. However, the fields of psychology, social sciences, and agricultural sciences and natural resources declined slightly in proportion to all doctorates awarded, despite their increase in number. Among S&E fields, engineering grew the most, from 13% of all doctorates in 2002 to 20% in 2022 (figure 1 and figure 7). Between 2021 and 2022, all S&E broad fields grew in the number of doctorate recipients. The S&E fields with the largest increases in doctorate recipients in 2022 were engineering (1,297 or 13% increase from 2021), biological and biomedical sciences (1,080 or 13% increase from 2021), and physical sciences (756 or 16% from 2021).^{​Beginning in 2021, field of doctorate data are collected using a modified version of the 2020 Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes and reported using a new SED-specific taxonomy (table A-4). For more details of data comparability, see the 2022 “Technical Notes” and the SED 2021 Taxonomy Changes Working Paper.}

Among non-S&E broad fields in the past 20 years, the number of doctorates awarded in humanities and arts declined while the number in business increased (figure 8). From 2012 to 2022, the number of doctorates declined by 293 in education and 1,097 in humanities and arts.^{​The drop in the number of doctorate recipients in the field of education between 2009 and 2011 is at least partly attributable to the reclassification of Doctor of Education (EdD) programs. For details, see “Time series data changes” in the “Data source” section.} Between 2021 and 2022, the number of doctorates increased in these three fields (humanities and arts by 330, education by 257, and business by 61). However, the increases were not large enough to bring the number of doctorate recipients in these three fields to pre-pandemic levels.

Women’s share of doctorates has grown over the past 2 decades in most S&E broad fields (figure 11). In 2022, women earned more than half of the doctorates in psychology, health sciences, biological and biomedical sciences, social sciences, agricultural sciences and natural resources, education, humanities and arts, and other non-S&E fields.^{​For additional data on the field of education, humanities and arts, and other non-S&E fields, see SED 2022 related detailed table 1-4.} Women earned between about 25% and 46% of the doctorates awarded in computer and information sciences; engineering; mathematics and statistics; physical sciences; and geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences in 2022. However, women’s shares of doctorates in most of these broad fields have grown over the past 20 years. From 2002 to 2022, the proportion of female doctorates grew between 9 and 20 percentage points in agricultural sciences and natural resources; geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences; biological and biomedical sciences; and engineering. In computer and information sciences, social sciences, physical sciences, and psychology, women’s share in each field grew between 4 and 7 percentage points during this period.

The growth or decline in the share of female doctorate recipients in different fields does not always track with the overall growth in those fields. Between 2012 and 2022, the number of doctorate recipients in all fields increased by 13% while the share of women increased by 0.8 percentage points (figure 12).^{​For detailed data by field, see SED 2022 related detailed table 1-5.} From 2012 to 2022, the proportion of female doctorate recipients increased between 4 and 12 percentage points in the seven top growing fields (fields that grew 30% or more during these 10 years): civil engineering, bioengineering and biomedical engineering, material sciences engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, computer and information sciences, and industrial and manufacturing engineering. Women’s share of doctorates also increased between 3 and 9 percentage points in teacher education, education administration, anthropology, and history—fields in which the overall number of doctorates awarded declined between 25% and 30% during this 10-year period. Despite the growth of doctorate recipients in health sciences by 7% in the past 10 years, women’s shares of doctorates declined by about 1 percentage point. The proportion of female doctorate recipients also declined in foreign languages and literature, political science and government, and sociology—fields in which the overall number of doctorates declined as well.