U.S. higher education: doctoral degrees by field of research 2020

In the academic year of 2019/2020 in the United States, 82,492 doctoral degrees were earned in health professions and related programs - the most out of any field of study. A further 34,471 doctoral degrees were earned in legal professions and studies.

Number of doctoral degrees earned in the United States in 2019/20, by field of research

Characteristic	Number of degrees
Health professions and related programs	82,492
Legal professions and studies	34,471
Education	13,051
Engineering	11,141
Biological and biomedical sciences	7,885
Psychology	6,346
Physical sciences and science technologies	5,968
Agriculture and natural resources	4,886
Social sciences and history	4,436
Business	3,443
Computer and information sciences	2,414
Mathematics and statistics	2,020
Theology and religious vocations	1,981
Visual and performing arts	1,716
Public administration and social services	1,409
English language and literature/letters	1,285
Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics	1,162
Multi/interdisciplinary studies	990
Philosophy and religious studies	694
Communication, journalism, and related programs	602
Parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies	349
Area, ethnic, cultural, gender, and group studies	334
Family and consumer sciences/human sciences	281
Homeland security, law enforcement, and firefighting	263
Architecture and related services	252
Engineering technologies and engineering-related fields	143
Liberal arts and sciences, general studies,and humanities	114
Library science	29
Transportation and materials moving	20
Communications technologies	1

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Release date

September 2021

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

2019 to 2020

Supplementary notes

Includes Ph.D., E.D., and comparable degrees at the doctoral level, as well as such degrees as M.D., D.D.S., and law degrees that were formerly classified as first-professional degrees.

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