Figure

II-31a: Distribution of Graduate Education Debt among New Doctorate Recipients, By Field, Graduation Year 2020

Data Source and Other Information

* Life sciences includes agricultural sciences and natural resources; biological and biomedical sciences; and health sciences.

Source: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2020 (Data Tables), Table 38, https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/doctorates/ (accessed 2/15/2022). Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).

About the Data

The data on which this indicator is based are collected as part of the federal Survey of Earned Doctorates, a national census of recently graduated doctorate recipients.

This indicator looks only at graduate study debt, although the SED also collects data on debt from undergraduate study.

Related Indicators

For trends in the number of doctorate completions in the humanities, see “Advanced Degrees in the Humanities.”

For additional indicators pertaining to the challenges associated with the completion of a doctorate in the humanities, see “Paying for Doctoral Study in the Humanities,” “Years to Attainment of a Humanities Doctorate,” “The Age of New Humanities Ph.D.’s,” and “Attrition in Humanities Doctorate Programs.”

For other indicators dealing with the character and extent of funding for humanities education and other activities, see “Humanities Funding and Research.”

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The Humanities Indicators and Departmental Survey have been made possible in part by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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