Sex
Field of study
Most of the growth in the number of doctorates earned by both men and women has been in S&E fields. From 1996 to 2016, the number of female doctorate recipients in S&E fields increased by 84%, far faster than the 27% growth in the number of male S&E doctorates. Women's share of S&E doctorates awarded increased from 33% in 1996 to 42% in 2009, and it has remained stable since then.
In non-S&E fields, 58% of doctorates were awarded to women in 2016, a share that has changed little since 2007. In fact, the number of female non-S&E doctorate recipients has slightly increased over the past 20 years, whereas the number of male doctorates in those fields has slightly declined.
Sex and field of study of U.S. doctorate recipients: 1996–2016
| Year | Male, S&E fields | Male, non-S&E fields | Female, S&E fields | Female, non-S&E fields |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 18,812 | 6,476 | 9,450 | 7,506 |
| 1997 | 18,452 | 6,490 | 9,806 | 7,436 |
| 1998 | 18,210 | 6,418 | 10,261 | 7,586 |
| 1999 | 17,118 | 6,320 | 9,904 | 7,581 |
| 2000 | 16,945 | 6,220 | 10,376 | 7,755 |
| 2001 | 16,622 | 6,158 | 10,220 | 7,667 |
| 2002 | 15,802 | 6,004 | 10,236 | 7,904 |
| 2003 | 16,196 | 6,060 | 10,517 | 7,989 |
| 2004 | 16,836 | 6,129 | 10,957 | 8,198 |
| 2005 | 17,869 | 5,868 | 11,665 | 7,917 |
| 2006 | 18,886 | 6,134 | 12,676 | 7,883 |
| 2007 | 20,120 | 6,082 | 13,622 | 8,282 |
| 2008 | 20,420 | 5,852 | 14,289 | 8,205 |
| 2009 | 20,346 | 5,985 | 14,937 | 8,250 |
| 2010 | 20,076 | 5,449 | 14,912 | 7,576 |
| 2011 | 20,902 | 5,287 | 15,412 | 7,288 |
| 2012 | 21,761 | 5,602 | 16,041 | 7,486 |
| 2013 | 22,448 | 5,878 | 16,574 | 7,792 |
| 2014 | 23,308 | 5,706 | 17,192 | 7,624 |
| 2015 | 23,714 | 5,830 | 17,478 | 7,880 |
| 2016 | 23,953 | 5,663 | 17,366 | 7,912 |
- S&E = science and engineering.
- NOTE: Excludes respondents who did not report sex.
- SOURCE: Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities 2016. Related detailed data: tables 14, 15, 16.
