The number of doctorates awarded by American universities fell 5.4 percent in 2021, according to a recent survey of doctorates earned. making it the steepest decline in Ph.D. production over the 65-year history of the study.
Data for Ph.D. from the annual census. recipients, was released on Tuesday The National Science Foundation and three other federal agencies are providing an overview of how doctoral degrees were affected in the 2020-2021 academic year, when the pandemic changed much of higher education.
According to the study, 52,250 PhDs were awarded in 2021. This is almost 3,000 PhDs less than in 2020, when the number of PhD students was in 2020. the number of recipients, 55,224, had decreased by 0.7 percent compared to the previous year.
Here are five trends contributing to the biggest drop in Ph.D.s in 2021:
