National Science Foundation reveals US doctoral degree recipient data

The National Science Foundation recently released a report titled Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2012, unveiling important trends in U.S. doctoral education.

The American system of doctoral education is widely considered to be among the world's best, as evidenced by the large and growing number of international students who choose to pursue doctoral degrees at U.S. universities each year. Many of these students are among the top students in their respective countries.

The report calls attention to important trends in doctoral education organized around five key questions, among them: Who earns a U.S. doctorate? Which fields attract students? What influences the path to the doctorate?

Annual counts of doctorate recipients are a direct measure of the investment in human resources devoted to science, engineering, research and scholarship. These can serve as leading indicators of the capacity of knowledge-creation and innovation in various domains. Understanding the themes outlined in this report is critical to making informed improvements in this country's doctoral education system.

Trends in the report can be examined in greater depth through accompanying online resources, including an interactive version of the report and 70 detailed data tables available as PDF and Excel files.