Parental education
By race and ethnicity
The pattern of rising parental educational attainment is visible among all races and ethnicities for doctorate recipients who are U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Nonetheless, doctorate recipients from underrepresented minority groups are less likely to have at least one parent with a bachelor's degree than are Asian or white doctorate recipients.
In 2016, over half of American Indian or Alaska Native and Hispanic or Latino doctorate recipients and about half of black or African American recipients belonged to families in which at least one parent had a bachelor's degree or higher. In comparison, over 70% of Asian and white doctorate recipients came from families having at least one parent who had a bachelor's degree or higher.
Parental educational attainment of U.S. citizen or permanent resident doctorate recipients, by ethnicity and race: 1996–2016
| Year | All races and ethnicities | Hispanic or Latino | Not Hispanic or Latino | Ethnicity not reported | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | Asian | Black or African American | White | Two or more races | Other race or race not reported | ||||
| 1996 | 59.3 | 48.9 | 52.9 | 59.3 | 34.5 | 61.2 | na | 62.6 | 63.1 |
| 1997 | 61.4 | 49.6 | 45.8 | 62.5 | 37.0 | 63.3 | na | 65.6 | 75.7 |
| 1998 | 62.3 | 48.0 | 50.0 | 65.0 | 36.3 | 64.4 | na | 66.8 | 65.3 |
| 1999 | 63.2 | 46.4 | 37.9 | 65.2 | 39.0 | 65.7 | na | 67.5 | 67.7 |
| 2000 | 63.6 | 48.7 | 44.3 | 65.7 | 38.1 | 66.0 | na | 70.4 | 73.4 |
| 2001 | 64.5 | 49.3 | 43.4 | 70.6 | 41.7 | 66.5 | 66.6 | 71.0 | 59.5 |
| 2002 | 65.0 | 49.4 | 43.9 | 70.5 | 42.1 | 67.4 | 66.5 | 65.5 | 62.6 |
| 2003 | 65.4 | 50.7 | 41.7 | 71.9 | 42.2 | 67.6 | 66.6 | 69.0 | 66.3 |
| 2004 | 65.8 | 50.7 | 40.3 | 71.8 | 42.9 | 68.2 | 66.7 | 72.9 | 62.4 |
| 2005 | 66.3 | 53.0 | 38.6 | 72.4 | 44.5 | 68.4 | 66.4 | 73.2 | 65.8 |
| 2006 | 67.0 | 49.4 | 37.1 | 72.1 | 45.3 | 69.3 | 69.6 | 70.9 | 69.4 |
| 2007 | 67.8 | 53.5 | 48.0 | 72.5 | 48.3 | 70.1 | 68.6 | 71.5 | 64.3 |
| 2008 | 68.2 | 51.8 | 47.2 | 72.6 | 44.8 | 70.9 | 70.6 | 71.5 | 64.9 |
| 2009 | 68.8 | 53.4 | 43.8 | 73.0 | 46.6 | 71.4 | 68.9 | 69.7 | 75.5 |
| 2010 | 70.4 | 56.4 | 54.5 | 70.8 | 49.1 | 73.2 | 70.9 | 71.4 | 73.0 |
| 2011 | 70.9 | 55.8 | 52.2 | 71.8 | 52.6 | 73.5 | 73.1 | 68.1 | 70.9 |
| 2012 | 71.6 | 57.0 | 42.4 | 72.8 | 47.9 | 74.7 | 73.8 | 77.9 | 73.6 |
| 2013 | 72.0 | 56.9 | 50.9 | 72.5 | 49.3 | 75.0 | 76.2 | 79.6 | 69.3 |
| 2014 | 72.5 | 58.4 | 47.9 | 72.8 | 50.7 | 75.6 | 73.2 | 77.6 | 74.3 |
| 2015 | 72.6 | 58.2 | 50.4 | 71.7 | 49.9 | 76.2 | 72.1 | 74.4 | 64.2 |
| 2016 | 72.5 | 57.3 | 54.9 | 72.3 | 49.4 | 76.0 | 73.0 | 73.3 | 71.1 |
- NOTE: Percentages are based on the number of doctorate recipients who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
- SOURCE: Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities 2016. Related detailed data: tables 33, 34.
