Chapter 5 | Academic Research and Development

Doctoral Scientists and Engineers in Academia

Related Content

• Related Content-
• Academic Employment in Postdoc Positions
• Academic Researchers
• Employer Size
• Employment Sectors
• Federal Research Support of S&E Doctorate Holders Employed in Academia
• Industry Employment
• Publication Output, by U.S. Sector
• Recent S&E Graduates

Academic employment of S&E doctorate holders grew over the past three decades and reached just under 400,000 in 2015. Of this total, the large majority—almost 330,000—were U.S. trained. Among these, about one-third (97,000) were born outside of the United States. This section will focus on the U.S.-trained segment because we have more detailed data available for this group. There was an increase of about 20,000 over the estimated employment numbers for the U.S.-trained segment in 2013 (Appendix Table 5-14). In recent decades, growth in the number of U.S.-trained doctoral scientists and engineers in the academic sector has been slower than the rate of growth in the business and government sectors, resulting in a decline in the academic sector’s share of all U.S.-trained S&E doctorates, from 55% in the early 1970s to just under 50% in the mid-1990s to about 45% in 2015.

The doctoral academic workforce discussed in this section includes doctorate holders in S&E who are employed at 2- and 4-year colleges and universities, including medical schools and university research institutes. This workforce includes full and associate professors (senior faculty); assistant professors (junior faculty); postdocs; individuals in other full-time positions, such as instructors, lecturers, adjunct faculty, research associates, and administrators; and those employed in part-time positions of all kinds.

When looking at broad trends by position title over the past 40 years, very different patterns emerge. The total number of U.S.-trained, academically employed doctorate holders in S&E almost tripled over the period from 1973 to 2015, rising from 118,000 to just under 330,000, while the number of full-time faculty more than doubled (from 103,000 to 228,000) (Appendix Table 5-14). By contrast, the number of other full-time positions increased by more than 700% from 1973 to 2015, rising rapidly from a low base of 7,600 (6% of the total) to 62,600 (19% of the total).

Full-time faculty positions as senior or junior faculty continue to be the norm in academic employment, but S&E doctorate holders are increasingly employed in other types of positions (Figure 5-9). The proportion of full-time faculty among all U.S.-trained, academically employed S&E doctorate holders fell from almost 90% (103,000 of 118,000 total) in the early 1970s to about 80% by the mid-1990s and then dropped further, to just under 70%, in 2015 (228,000 of 330,000 total). The decline in the proportion of full-time faculty was evident among doctorate holders in all S&E fields (Appendix Table 5-14). The proportion of part-time positions increased from 2% in 1973 (2,900) to 6% of all academic S&E doctorate holders in 2015 (19,800). However, an increase in the share of U.S.-trained postdoctoral positions in most years through 2006 has reversed.^​ From the early 1970s to 2015, the proportion of U.S.-trained postdocs increased from 4% in 1973 (4,200) to 9% in 2006 (23,300), then declined to 6% in 2015 (19,200). There has also been a decrease in the percentage of U.S.-trained doctorate holders in tenured positions.

From the early 1970s through 2015, growth in the academic employment of life scientists, psychologists, and engineers was greater than for doctorate holders in other S&E fields (Figure 5-10). Starting from a very small base around 1980, there was also consistent, rapid growth in the number of computer and information scientists. Growth in academic employment slowed in the early to mid-1990s for social sciences, physical sciences, and mathematics and statistics. It has increased since then in social sciences and mathematics and statistics and, recently, in the physical sciences (Appendix Table 5-14). Similar to spending patterns discussed in the first section of this chapter, Spending for Academic R&D, the most recent decade saw greater growth in the number of engineers in academic employment than their peers in most fields of science, while hiring of computer and information scientists continued to grow rapidly from a small base (Figure 5-10).

Among U.S.-trained S&E doctorate holders employed in academia, the proportion that has achieved tenure has diminished since 1995. In 1995, about 53% (118,000) of U.S.-trained S&E doctorate holders in academic employment held tenured positions; this decreased to 47% in 2015 (154,000) as nontenured positions of various types grew as a proportion of expanding overall doctoral academic employment (Figure 5-11).^​ Somewhat higher percentages of individuals in 1995 (17%; 37,000 individuals) as in 2015 (15%; 48,000 individuals) were untenured but on a tenure track.

In 1995 and 2015, the distribution of tenured and tenure-track status varied by S&E field (Table 5-11). For those with doctoral degrees in life sciences (113,000 individuals in 2015; 71,600 in 1995), mathematics and statistics (21,000 individuals in 2015; 14,600 in 1995), or psychology (38,800 individuals in 2015; 26,100 in 1995), the percentage of tenured positions decreased from 1995 to 2015 by about 7–8 percentage points. For those with doctoral degrees in physical sciences (48,400 in 2015; 35,700 in 1995), social sciences (59,700 in 2015; 42,500 in 1995), or engineering (39,700 in 2015; 23,800 in 1995), there was a somewhat smaller decrease in the percentage of tenured positions of about 4–5 percentage points over this period. For those with a degree in computer and information sciences (9,100 in 2015; 3,100 in 1995), the percentage in tenured positions was higher in 2015 (54%) than in 1995 (41%) (Table 5-11 and Appendix Table 5-14).

Comparing 1995 and 2015, the distribution of tenure-track positions by age group was fairly similar, but within each age group the tenured or nontenured status varied (Table 5-12). About the same proportion of doctorate holders in various age groups in 1995 and 2015 were in tenure-track positions. By contrast, in 2015, lower percentages of S&E doctorate holders at each age group were tenured, compared with 1995. For example, 19% of those 35–39 years of age held tenured positions in 2015 (9,100 individuals), compared with 25% in 1995 (9,200 individuals). For older cohorts, there were also large differences between 1995 and 2015 in tenured status. For example, 59% of those 50–54 years of age held tenured positions in 2015 (24,200 individuals), while 76% of those in that age range held tenured positions in 1995 (28,200 individuals). Reflecting the lifting of age restrictions on university faculty, there was a larger presence in the doctoral academic workforce of tenured faculty 65–75 years of age in 2015 (23,000; 7% of the total workforce) than in 1995 (6,000; 3% of the total workforce), making it difficult to compare changes in tenure status in this age range over time.

The reduction from 1995 to 2015 in tenured positions’ share of total positions occurred across most (but not all) Carnegie classifications (see Chapter 2 sidebar Carnegie Classification of Academic Institutions for a discussion of Carnegie classifications). In 1995, an estimated 47% of academically employed S&E doctorate holders at the most research-intensive institutions (research I institutions) held tenured positions (42,300 individuals); this percentage decreased to 40% in 2015 (46,400 individuals). Reductions in share also occurred at less research-intensive institutions (research II institutions). However, at medical schools and medical centers, largely similar percentages of academically employed doctorate holders occupied tenured positions in 1995 (30%; 10,800 individuals) as in 2015 (27%; 14,200 individuals).^​ A similar trend was seen at baccalaureate institutions (58%, or 12,800 individuals, in tenured positions in 2015, compared with 61%, or 9,700 individuals, in 1995).

Just over one-third of academically employed doctorate holders earned their degree before 1995 (119,000). The remainder (210,000) are here considered early- to mid-career doctorate holders in that they earned their degree in 1995 or later. This younger cohort was less likely than the older group to be employed in tenured positions and more likely to hold positions outside of the tenure system. Overall, more than two-thirds of those who earned their doctorate before 1995 held tenured positions (85,700 individuals), while only one-third of the more recently degreed were tenured (67,900). Tenure status for the two groups varied somewhat by field (Table 5-13).

The past 40 years have seen 10-fold growth in women’s participation in the academic doctoral S&E workforce. In 1973, only about 11,000 U.S.-trained female S&E doctorates were employed in academia, contrasting sharply with about 123,000 in 2015. Over the past two decades alone, academic employment of women with S&E doctorates rose from about 52,000 in 1995 to 123,000 in 2015. Over the four decades, the number of their male counterparts almost doubled, growing from 107,000 to about 206,000 (Appendix Table 5-15).

These differential rates of increase are reflected in the steadily rising proportion of women with S&E doctorates in the academic workforce. Despite the impressive gain, women with S&E doctorates still account for a minority of the people employed in academia. Women constituted 37% of all U.S.-trained, academic S&E doctoral employment and 31% of full-time senior faculty in 2015, up from 9% and 6%, respectively, in 1973 (Appendix Table 5-15). Women’s share of academic S&E employment increased markedly over time in all full-time position categories (Table 5-14). Until recently, women have held a noticeably larger proportion of junior faculty positions than senior ones, reflecting a trend over the past half-century in a rising proportion of doctoral degrees earned by women, coupled with their slightly greater propensity to enter academic employment. The proportion of women in all faculty ranks rose substantially between 1973 and 2015, reaching 25% of full professors, 40% of associate professors, and 43% of assistant professors (Figure 5-12). By contrast, women's share of part-time positions was similar in 1973 (48%) and 2015 (52%).

Also reflecting the long-term trend of a rising proportion of doctoral degrees earned by women is the fact that women constitute a much larger share of the younger cohort of academic doctorate holders degreed since 1995 (44%; 91,800) than their older counterparts degreed before 1995 (26%; 31,500). In 2015, the younger cohort of women constituted 34% of full professors and 43% of associate professors and assistant professors, while their older counterparts held 22% of full professorships, 32% of associate professorships, and 39% of assistant professorships (Figure 5-13).

Women’s presence varied across S&E fields. Women are relatively more concentrated in the life sciences, social sciences, and psychology, with correspondingly lower shares in engineering, physical sciences, mathematics and statistics, and computer and information sciences. Women’s share of doctorate holders in each of these fields, however, grew during the 1973–2015 period (Appendix Table 5-15). Although, as noted previously, there has been an overall reduction over the past 20 years in the proportion of U.S.-trained S&E doctorate holders who have achieved tenure, the experiences of men and women have differed (Table 5-15). There were reductions over this period in the proportion of men in tenured positions across most S&E fields; the proportion of women, on the contrary, rose or remained similar.

Although a smaller proportion of women than men held tenured positions, among the younger cohort (those degreed since 1995), women held the majority of full-time faculty positions in psychology (58%) and were at parity with men in full-time faculty positions in the life sciences (about 50%).

Similar to women, members of underrepresented minority groups (i.e., blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians or Alaska Natives) have increased their presence in academic employment over time, but to a much lesser degree (Appendix Table 5-16).^​ Combined, these groups constituted 8.9% of total doctoral academic S&E employment in 2015, up from about 7.9% in 2003.^​ Underrepresented minorities held 8.6% of full-time faculty positions in 2015, up from 7.0% in 2003 and 1.9% in 1973 (Table 5-16). Compared with white and Asian or Pacific Islander S&E doctorate holders employed in academia, underrepresented minorities in 2015 were somewhat more concentrated in psychology and the social sciences and somewhat less so in the physical sciences and mathematics and statistics (Appendix Table 5-16).

In 2003 and 2015, a slightly higher percentage of women (9.1% in 2003; 10.5% in 2015) than men (6.3% in 2003; 7.6% in 2015) who are underrepresented minorities held faculty positions in academic institutions.^​ Black and Hispanic women each held 4%–5% of full-time faculty positions held by women in both 2003 and 2015, while black and Hispanic men each held 3%–4% of such positions held by men (Figure 5-14). American Indian or Alaska Native men and women held about the same percentage of full-time faculty positions in 2003 and 2015 (less than 1%). Similar percentages (around 43%) of underrepresented minorities held tenured positions in 2003 and 2015; however, a smaller share held tenure-track positions in 2015 than in 2003 (Figure 5-15).

The proportion of Asians or Pacific Islanders employed in the S&E academic doctoral workforce grew dramatically over the past several decades, rising from 4% in 1973 to 13% in 2003 and 18% in 2015.^​Asians or Pacific Islanders were heavily represented among those with degrees in engineering and computer and information sciences, where they constituted 32% and 33%, respectively, of these segments of the doctoral workforce in 2015. They constituted far smaller employment proportions among social scientists (10%) and psychologists (7%) (Appendix Table 5-16).

Unlike blacks or Hispanics, a higher percentage of male Asians or Pacific Islanders held full-time faculty positions than their female counterparts in 2003 and 2015. Asian or Pacific Islander men were in about 12.0% of male-occupied full-time faculty positions in 2003 and about 17.5% of these positions in 2015. Asian or Pacific Islander women held about 9.3% of female-occupied faculty positions in 2003 and about 13.6% in 2015 (Figure 5-14).

Comparing early- to mid-career doctorate holders with their counterparts in later stages of their academic careers evidences real change over time for underrepresented minorities in faculty employment. Those who received their doctorate within the past two decades (in 1995 or later) are more diverse in race and ethnicity than their older counterparts (who received their doctorate in 1994 or earlier). As noted previously, some 19,600 underrepresented minorities together held 8.6% of full-time faculty positions in 2015 (Table 5-16). However, a larger proportion of the younger cohort (10.2%; 13,500 individuals) than the older cohort (6.5%; 6,200 individuals) held such positions. Also, a higher share of female (11.8%; 6,400) than male (9.1%; 7,100) early- to mid-career doctorate holders in full-time faculty employment were underrepresented minorities.

Academia has long employed foreign-born doctorate holders, many with doctorates from U.S. universities, as faculty and other staff. The following discussion focuses on foreign-born individuals who earned their S&E doctorate in the United States.

Academic employment of these foreign-born, U.S.-trained individuals has increased continuously since the 1970s, at a rate faster than that of their native-born counterparts, increasing the foreign-born proportion of academic S&E employment with U.S. doctorate training from 12% in 1973 to about 30% in 2015 (Figure 5-16).^​ Particularly high proportions are found in engineering (53%) and computer and information sciences (52%) (Appendix Table 5-17). Just over half (51%) of U.S.-trained postdocs were born overseas, compared with 28% of full-time faculty.^​

In 2015, about 59,000 U.S.-trained Asian or Pacific Islanders were employed in universities and colleges (Appendix Table 5-16). Of these, 10% were native-born U.S. citizens; the rest were foreign born, with roughly equal proportions of naturalized U.S. citizens (44%) and noncitizens (46%). In 2015, Asians or Pacific Islanders represented 49% of the foreign-born, U.S.-trained S&E faculty employed full-time in the United States and 65% of the foreign-born, U.S.-trained S&E doctorate holders with postdoc appointments.

The trend toward relatively fewer full-time faculty positions and relatively more other full-time and part-time positions is especially noteworthy because of the steady increase over the past 20 years in the proportion of full-time faculty positions that are held by those older than 60 years of age.

In 1995, individuals 60–75 years of age constituted about 11% of full-time faculty that year; this percentage increased to 25% in 2015.^​ In 1994, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) became fully applicable to universities and colleges, prohibiting the forced retirement of faculty at any age. From this point through 2015, as more individuals born during the period of high birth rates from 1946 to 1964 (the “Baby Boomers”) began to move through middle age into their 50s and 60s, the proportion of academically employed doctorate holders in the oldest age groups increased (Table 5-17; Appendix Table 5-18). (See Chapter 3 section Age and Retirement of the S&E Workforce for a discussion of the age profile and retirement patterns of the broader S&E workforce.)

Many of the oldest doctorate full-time faculty work at research-intensive universities, where those ages 60–75 years constituted about 11% of the total in 1995 and about 26% by 2015. Over the same period, there was a decline in the proportion of much younger doctorate holders (ages 30–44 years) employed as full-time faculty at research-intensive universities (from about 42% to about 34%). A comparison of the age distribution of full-time faculty positions at research universities and other universities and colleges shows that there has been a relatively sharp increase at both institution types since the mid-1990s—when ADEA became applicable to the professoriate—in the percentage of these positions held by those ages 65–75 years (Figure 5-17).

The interconnectedness of research, teaching, and public service activities in academia makes it difficult to assess the precise size and characteristics of the academic research workforce by examining the employment trends in academic positions. Individuals with the same academic job titles may be involved in research activities to differing degrees or not be involved in research. Therefore, self-reported research involvement is a somewhat better measure than position title for gauging research activity.^​ This section limits the analysis to two groups of academic S&E doctorate holders, including those who reported that research is their primary work activity (i.e., the activity that occupies the most hours of their work time during a typical workweek) and those who reported that research is their primary or secondary work activity (i.e., the activity that occupies the most or second most hours of their work time during a typical workweek). Separate breakouts are provided for all doctorate holders and for full-time faculty. Caution should be exercised in interpreting data about primary work activity because of potential subjectivity in estimating hours devoted to research versus other activities as one’s career progresses.^​

Since 1973, the number of academic researchers (based on primary or secondary work activity) grew from just over 80,000 to more than 220,000 (Appendix Table 5-19). In 2015, of those identified as such researchers, just under 160,000 were employed in full-time faculty positions.^​

Looking across all doctoral academic positions and across the past four decades, the proportion of researchers has fluctuated between about 60% and 75%. A similar pattern of fluctuation occurred among full-time faculty. In 2015, 67% of S&E doctorate holders in academia and 70% of full-time faculty classified research as their primary or secondary activity.

In 2015, researchers accounted for a larger proportion of the academic doctoral workforce in engineering (77%) than in other fields (between 55% and just under 70%; see Appendix Table 5-19). In physical sciences, life sciences, and psychology, the proportion of researchers declined slightly between the early to mid-1990s and 2015. Turning to the subset who identify research as their primary work activity, somewhat larger shares of doctorate holders reported this in 2015 than in 1993 (41% versus 38%). The same was true for full-time faculty (39% in 2015; 33% in 1993). Looking across the past four decades, the proportion of academically employed S&E doctorate holders who identified research as their primary activity has fluctuated from just below 25% to just over 40%. For full-time faculty, this proportion ranged from just under 20% to just under 40%. Among full-time doctoral S&E faculty, there was a shift in priority from teaching to research from 1973 to 2015, with the proportion of full-time faculty identifying research as their primary work activity climbing from 19% to 39% and the proportion of faculty with teaching as their primary activity falling from 68% to 45% (Figure 5-18).

The balance of emphasis between teaching and research varied across the disciplines. A higher share of faculty with doctorate degrees in life sciences and engineering identified research as their primary work activity, and a higher share of faculty with doctorate degrees in mathematics and statistics and in social sciences reported teaching as their primary activity. Since the early 1990s, the proportion of doctorate holders who reported research as a primary work activity declined among life scientists from a high base but grew among mathematicians and statisticians, engineers, and social scientists from much lower bases (Appendix Table 5-19).

Career stage plays a role in the reported primacy of research, teaching, or other activities. In 2015, among early- to mid-career doctorate holders—those who had earned their doctorate in 1995 or later—43% reported research as their primary work activity, 40% reported teaching, and the remainder (17%) reported some other activity as primary. Individuals in the older cohort (who earned their doctorate in 1994 or earlier) were slightly more likely to identify teaching as their primary activity (42%) and slightly less likely to report research (36%); they were also more likely to report that their primary activity was neither research nor teaching but some other activity such as management and administration or computer applications (22%).

In 2015, recently degreed S&E doctoral faculty—those who received their doctorate since 2012—were less likely than faculty with a doctorate from 2004 to 2011 to report research as their primary activity. Among those who had earned their degree since 2012, 35% identified research as their primary work activity, a lower proportion than that reported by faculty who had earned their S&E doctorate degree 4–7 years earlier (43%) or 8–11 years earlier (44%) (Table 5-18). A similar pattern across career stages prevailed in some, but not all, degree fields.^​

About 45,000 S&E doctorate holders were employed in academic postdoc positions in 2015 (see sidebar Postdoctoral Researchers).^​ The estimate comes from NSF’s Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, which reported a total of about 64,000 postdocs in 2015, with about two-thirds (more than 45,000) holding positions in S&E and almost one-third (just under 19,000) holding positions in clinical medicine or other health-related fields (Arbeit and Kang 2017).^​ The U.S.-trained component of academically employed postdocs with S&E degrees climbed from 4,200 in the early 1970s to 23,300 in 2006 and then declined to 19,200 in 2015 (Appendix Table 5-14). During that time, the proportion of postdocs varied, gradually increasing to just under 9% of all U.S.-trained, academically employed S&E doctorate holders in 2006 and then dropping to just under 6% in 2015. Postdocs were more prevalent in life sciences, physical sciences, and engineering than in social sciences, psychology, mathematics and statistics, and computer and information sciences. Looking over the dozen years from 2003 to 2015, there was growth in the proportion of U.S.-trained postdocs in engineering but not in other fields (Figure 5-19; Appendix Table 5-14). The demographic profile of U.S.-trained individuals employed in academic postdoc positions has changed dramatically over the past 40 years. In particular, the proportions of postdocs held by women, racial and ethnic minorities, and foreign-born individuals have climbed (Table 5-19).

A temporary postdoc appointment has become a common stop along the career path of S&E doctorate holders, particularly during their early career stages. In 2015, 35% of recently degreed, U.S.-trained S&E doctorate holders in academia were employed in postdoc positions, about the same percentage as those employed in full-time faculty positions (36%) (Appendix Table 5-20). For this discussion, recently degreed individuals are those who received their doctorate within 1–3 years before the 2015 Survey of Doctorate Recipients data collection. Among U.S.-trained, academically employed S&E doctorate holders 4–7 years beyond receipt of their doctoral degree, a smaller proportion (16%) was employed in academic postdoc positions, and 52% held full-time faculty positions (Appendix Table 5-20).

In 2015, more than three-fourths (76%) of recently degreed, U.S.-trained academic postdocs were employed at the most research-intensive universities (Table 5-20).

The federal government provides academic researchers with a substantial portion of overall research support. This support may include assistance in the form of fellowships, traineeships, and research grants. This section presents data for U.S.-trained S&E doctorate holders in academic employment who reported on the presence or absence (but not magnitude or type) of federal support for their work. Comparisons are made over the approximately 40-year period between the early 1970s and 2015 and between the roughly 25-year period between the very early 1990s and 2015.

The proportion of S&E doctorate holders and researchers in academia who receive federal research support has varied over time, according to reported primacy of research activity and type of academic position held (Appendix Table 5-21). In general, a larger share of doctorate holders and researchers received such support in the late 1980s and very early 1990s than in the early 1970s or in 2015.^​ In 2015, 41% of all U.S.-trained S&E doctorate holders in academia and 52% of those for whom research was a primary or secondary activity reported federal government support.^​ About the same percentage (52%) of those for whom research was a primary or secondary responsibility received federal support in 1973 and 2015. By contrast, the percentage in 1991 was somewhat higher (58%). The fraction of full-time faculty who received federal research support from 1973 to 2015 fluctuated similarly, with a somewhat higher percentage in 1991 (48%) than in 1973 (42%) or in 2015 (40%). By contrast, a larger proportion of academic doctorate holders employed in nonfaculty positions received federal support in 1973 (60%) and in the very early 1990s (59%) than in 2015 (42%).

Federal research support varied by doctoral field. Over the past 40 years, doctorate holders in engineering, physical sciences, and life sciences have been more likely to report receiving federal funding support than their counterparts in mathematics and statistics, psychology, or social sciences (Appendix Table 5-21). The pattern of funding support for individuals with a doctorate in engineering and physical sciences was quite similar overall, with percentages ranging from about 50% in the early 1970s to a peak of about 60% in 1991, followed by an eventual decline to around 53% in 2015. Federal funding for individuals with a doctorate in life sciences, with some dips in 1985 and 1993–97 that reflected changes to the survey question, generally remained around 60% in most years until the last decade, when it began to decline. In 2015, such funding stood at 51%. Federal support for academic R&D in the relatively small field of computer and information sciences has grown from about 35% to 45% since its first measurement in the late 1970s.

Federal research support is more prevalent in medical schools and in the most research-intensive universities (under Carnegie classification of very high research activity institutions) (Appendix Table 5-22). Just over 60% of S&E doctorate holders employed at the most research-intensive universities received federal support in 2015. At medical schools, about 62% of all doctorate holders and just over 60% of full-time faculty received federal research support in 2015. The percentage with federal support was just over 40% at high research activity institutions; at other universities and colleges, it ranged from about 16% to 33%.

Differences exist by sex, race, and ethnicity in doctorate holders’ success in receiving federal research support. Among S&E doctorate holders employed at the nation’s most research-intensive universities, white and Asian or Pacific Islander men were more likely than their female counterparts to be supported by federal grants or contracts in 2015 (Figure 5-20; Appendix Table 5-23).

Available data on the rate at which reviewed research grant applications are funded indicate that funding success rates have declined since 2001 at NIH and NSF (Table 5-21). There was an increase during most years in the number of research grant applications that NIH and NSF received.

The very recently degreed S&E doctorate holders—those who earned their doctorates within the previous 1–3 years—have received relatively less federal support in recent years than in past decades. This holds for those in full-time faculty positions (24% in 2015 versus 38% in 1991) and for postdocs (72% in 2015 versus 84% in 1991) (Appendix Table 5-24). In addition, the very recently degreed doctorate holders in full-time faculty positions were less likely to receive federal support than their counterparts who had received their doctorate 4–7 years earlier. This was not the case for those in postdoc positions, however, where similar percentages from each group received federal support.

As with recent doctorate recipients, the proportion of full-time faculty and postdocs 4–7 years beyond their doctorate who received federal support also declined from the early 1990s (Figure 5-21). Looking across the academic doctoral workforce without regard to faculty or postdoc position, the proportion of early career doctorate holders with federal support in 2015 was generally higher in some fields (life sciences, physical sciences, and engineering) than in others (mathematics and statistics, psychology, and social sciences), a long-standing pattern.