Postgraduation Status for Social Science Doctoral Degree Recipients: 2011.
| All Social Science Fields | Anthropology | Economics | Political Science | Psychology | Sociology | Other Social Sciences | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | |||||||
| All doctoral degree recipients | 8,120 | 555 | 1,124 | 686 | 3,594 | 656 | 1,505 |
| Postgraduation status1 | |||||||
| Definite postgraduation study |
1,764 (25.3%) |
103 (20.7%) |
90 (9.1%) |
102 (17.0%) |
1,184 (39.4%) |
114 (19.3%) |
171 (13.2%) |
| Definite employment |
2,999 (43.0%) |
185 (37.2%) |
656 (66.5%) |
317 (52.7%) |
932 (31.0%) |
281 (47.5%) |
628 (48.4%) |
| Seeking employment or study |
2,028 (29.1%) |
191 (38.4%) |
218 (22.1%) |
163 (27.1%) |
807 (26.9%) |
183 (31.0%) |
466 (35.9%) |
| Other2 |
187 (2.7%) |
18 (3.6%) |
23 (2.3%) |
19 (3.2%) |
81 (2.7%) |
13 (2.2%) |
33 (2.5%) |
Notes: 1Only includes survey respondents who reported their postgraduation status;2Includes respondents who indicated that they did not plan to work or study, respondents who indicated some other type of postgraduation plans, and respondents who indicated definite plans for other full-time degree program.
Summary:
Among 2011 recipients of doctoral degrees in the social sciences who reported their postgraduation status, 43 percent reported having secured employment. Those who obtained doctoral degrees in economics reported the highest rate of employment, at 66.5 percent. Recipients of PhDs in psychology reported the lowest rate of employment (31 percent) but the highest rate (39.4 percent) of postgraduation study, which might reflect a requirement in that discipline for newly-minted PhDs to partake in further training in preparation for eventual employment as a clinician.
Related data:
- Labor Force Participation Rates for Doctorate Social and Behavioral Scientists, 1993-2006
- Unemployment Rates for Doctorate Social and Behavioral Scientists, 1993 - 2006
- Unemployment Rates in Social and Behavioral Science, 2003 - 2006
- Unemployment Rates in Science and Engineering by Level of Degree, 2003 - 2006
- Retirement Rates for Doctorate Social and Behavioral Scientists, 1993 - 2006
- Involuntarily Out-of-Field Rates for Doctorate Social and Behavioral Scientists, 1993 - 2003
- Replacement in the Social Sciences in Selected Social Science and Behavioral Disciplines, 1993 - 2003
- Employed Doctorate U.S. Social and Other Scientists by Employment Sector, (1997 - 2003)
Source
National Science Foundation/National Institutes of Health/USED/USDA/NEH/NASA, Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2011. Available at www.nsf.gov/statistics/sed/digest/2011. Accessed 7 December 2012.
Data: A tabular version of this data in Excel format is available here.