Upsurge in US PhDs Mostly Due to Non-US Citizens. (December 5, 2008)

Data published in the Survey of Earned Doctorates by the U.S. National Science Foundation shows that U.S. institutions awarded 31,801 science and engineering doctorates in 2007. That's an increase of  6.5% over 2006.

Credit: Science; data source the National Science Foundation

The data show more non-U.S. citizens earning science and engineering doctorates (up 6%), than US citizens, although they too increased (up 3.6%).

Daryl Chubin, the director of the AAAS Center for Advancing Science & Engineering Capacity says: "Fears about the U.S. slipping as a destination for academic talent were overblown." However he cautions that although the number of women and minorities receiving doctorates are increasing that isn't translating into a comparably diverse science and engineering faculty. "The achievement of the Ph.D. credential is not the end game."