The Large Gender Gap in Doctoral Awards in Specific Disciplines

As we reported last week, the National Science Foundation recently released its annual data on research doctoral degree recipients in the United States. Data for the annual Survey of Earned Doctorates shows that universities in the United States conferred 57,862 research doctorates in 2023, up slightly from the previous year. Of these, 27,499, or 47.5 percent, were earned by women.

But when we look at doctorate degree awards in specific disciplines, we find that the overall numbers hide a continuing wide gender gap in many specific disciplines.

Here are some of the academic fields in 2023 where women earned less than one third of all doctorates awarded:

Biblical studies, 14.1%
Aerospace, aeronautical, astronautical, and space engineering, 16.3%
Mechanical engineering, 17.7%
Computer networking and telecommunications, 18.7%
Materials and mining engineering, 18.8%
Electrical and computer engineering, 18.9%
Artificial intelligence, 20.4%
Mathematics, 20.9%
Engineering technologies, 21.1%
Physics, 21.2%
Nuclear engineering, 22.8%
Computer science, 23.1%
Finance, 26.9%
Chemical and petroleum engineering, 28.6%
Econometrics and quantitative economics, 28.7%
Nanotechnology, 29.8%
Biophysics, 29.9%
Applied mathematics, 30.0%
Industrial engineering, 30.5%
Music theory, 30.9%
Atmospheric science, 31.5%
Theoretical and computational chemistry, 31.7%
Astrophysics, 32.3%
Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering, 32.5%
Climatology, 32.8%

In contrast, here are fields in 2023 where women earned at least three quarters of all doctorates:

Nursing and nursing science, 89.2%
Human development, 89.0%
Special education, 82.9%
Bilingual education, 81.9%
Student counseling, 80.2%
Mental health counseling, 80.0%
Social work, 79.8%
Nutrition science, 79.7%
Family and consumer science, 79.5%
Public health, 78.8%
Art history, 78.4%
Curriculum and instruction, 78.0%
Psychology, 76.6%
Marriage and family therapy, 75.9%
Epidemiology, 75.1%