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Figure D-1. Female share of S&E graduate students, by field: 1996 and 2006

Figure Updated: December 2008

Figure D-1. Female share of S&E graduate students, by field: 1996 and 2006.

SOURCE: National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, 1996 and 2006.

Women constituted a greater percentage of graduate students in S&E in 2006 (43%) than in 1996 (39%).

  • Women accounted for more than half of all graduate students in some science fields. In 2006, women made up 76% of the graduate students in psychology, 56% in biological sciences, and 54% in social sciences.
  • Women accounted for 23% of graduate students in engineering and 25% in computer sciences in 2006.
  • Roughly 30%–45% of the graduate students in most other science fields were female.
  • From 1996 to 2006, women's share of S&E graduate students increased in every field but computer sciences.

Related Information

Table D-1. S&E graduate students, by field, citizenship, and race/ethnicity: 1999–2006

Table D-2. Female S&E graduate students, by field, citizenship, and race/ethnicity: 1999–2006