September 2024

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) has released new profiles on research doctorate recipients from U.S. academic institutions by fields of science and engineering, including, but not limited to, STEM education (EDU) and the social, behavioral, and economic sciences (SBE). The new Directorate Profiles  provide visualizations on research doctorates by NSF Directorate. They offer details on graduate demographics, workforce participation, field of degree, and post-graduation salary and debt.

According to the NCSES data, women increasingly make up a larger percentage of EDU and SBE graduates (72 percent and 61 percent, respectively, in 2022). EDU and SBE graduates are also increasingly likely to find employment in business or industry at the expense of educational institutions. In addition, 49 percent of STEM education doctorate receipients and 61 percent of SBE research doctorate recipients report no graduate education–related debt after receiving their degrees.

The data will be useful to multiple audiences, including graduate deans and department chairs who can compare their programs against the education research field at large. The data come from NCSES’s 2022 Survey of Earned Doctorates and 2021 Survey of Doctorate Recipients.