2026_27_SED_OMB_SS_Statement_A

Established within the NSF by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 § 505, codified in the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) serves as a central Federal clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, analysis, and dissemination of objective data on science, engineering, technology, and research and development for use by practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public. In addition, NCSES is mandated to collect, acquire, analyze, report, and disseminate statistical data related to the science and engineering enterprise in the United States and other nations that is relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public, including statistical data on the condition and progress of STEM education (§ 505 (a)(1)(D)).

The other Federal collaborating agencies also have statutory authority for the collection of information relevant to their mission. The following is a list of the applicable legislation:

National Institutes of Health (NIH): Title I of the National Research Act of 1974 (PL 93 348);
U.S. Department of Education (ED): Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002;

3. National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): Section 956(k) of the Arts, Humanities, and Museums Amendments of 1990, as enacted in Public Law 10 1 -512.

Attachment 3 provides the cited legislation for each collaborating agency.

This request is for a three-year renewal of the previously approved Office of Management and Budget clearance (OMB No. 3145-0019) for the 2026 and 2027 Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED). The only change to the 2026 and 2027 survey instruments is the inclusion of the new combined question on race and ethnicity to comply with the requirements of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) 2024 revisions to Statistical Policy Directive 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (see the draft 2026 SED questionnaire in Attachment 1). NCSES collects this data to ensure continued compliance with the statutory requirement to provide an accounting by sex, race, and ethnic group of individuals studying science and engineering fields.¹

Prior terms of clearance:

This collection is approved for the 2024 survey cycle, including the proposed testing of sexual orientation and gender identity measures in the context of the SED, a survey in which data are given back to the academic institution. Given the concerns raised by cognitive interview participants about adding such measures in the context of the SED as well as the public’s interest in understanding whether there are differences in the educational experience of sexual and gender minorities, we look forward to further discussions with NCSES on how to meet data needs while respecting privacy concerns of respondents, informed by the results of this study. This approval is consistent with the NCSES commitment to brief OMB on the results and their implications before submitting its request for clearance for the subsequent cycle of data collection.

The evaluation of the SED experiment collected in the 2024 survey cycle will begin once the 2024 SED official data is released in September 2025. The 2024 SED experiment data will be processed and finalized based on the NCSES data quality standards, and the data will be made available for research purposes under the NCSES restricted use file license to protect the confidentiality and privacy of individual respondents.

A.1. Why the Collection is Necessary

The SED is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF) in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Department of Education (ED), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Sponsoring agencies typically provide funding for the SED, obtain customized tabulations from the survey, and receive related reports. The representatives of each sponsoring agency are listed in Attachment 2. The participating federal agencies are subject to change, pending funding availability.

The SED began in academic year (AY) 1958 to collect data annually on the number and characteristics of individuals receiving research doctoral degrees from accredited U.S. institutions. Since then, all individuals receiving such doctorates are asked to complete the survey. A research doctorate is a doctoral degree that (1) requires the completion of an original intellectual contribution in the form of a dissertation or an equivalent culminating project (e.g., musical composition) and (2) is not primarily intended as a degree for the practice of a profession. The most common research doctorate degree is the PhD; in 2023, 98.6% of research doctorates awarded were PhDs. Doctorate recipients of professional doctorate degrees such as MD, DDS, JD, PharmD, and PsyD are not included in the survey, unless they also received a research doctorate.

The instrument is designed to collect information about recent doctorate recipients’ education histories, funding sources, and postdoctoral plans. (Attachment 1 contains a copy of the draft 2026 questionnaire.) The results of this annual survey are used to assess characteristics and trends in research doctorate education and degrees. This information is vital for education and labor force planners within the federal government and in academia.

The SED is also used to identify sample members for NCSES’s Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR). The SDR is designed to provide demographic and career history information about a sample of individuals with doctoral degrees in science and engineering (S&E) fields. Contact information obtained by the SED is used for locating the recently awarded doctorate recipients, who are added to the SDR sample every two years. The SDR results are used by all sectors (education, industry, and government) to understand trends in employment and salaries for S&E doctorate holders. Results are also used to evaluate the effectiveness of equal opportunity efforts. Additionally, the results are important for internal planning because most NSF grants and fellowships are awarded to individuals who have earned, or are in the process of earning, doctoral degrees.

A.2. Uses of the Information

The SED is an accurate, timely source of information on a critical portion of our nation’s science and engineering enterprise –individuals with research doctorates. The SED uniquely provides comprehensive information on the educational history and early career commitments of recent U.S.-educated doctorate recipients. The resulting information is a valuable resource for government agencies, universities, professional societies, academic researchers, policymakers, program evaluators, and individuals doing research in science policy, graduate education, economics, and human resource planning.

Each academic year, the results of the SED become part of the Doctorate Records File (DRF), a complete database of more than 2 million U.S.-educated doctorate recipients from 1920 to the present.

The collaborating agencies have made extensive use of the SED. Detailed tables, tabulations, and data are used by these agencies in program planning and evaluation, policy development, and dissemination. Similarly, detailed tables and data files are available to the doctorate-granting institutions that participate in the SED for their doctorate recipients.

There is no public-use SED data file available; however, selected SED data items are available to the public through the NCSES Interactive Data Tool (https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/builder/sed). In addition, to increase the utility of the publicly available SED data, a more comprehensive set of variables are available to the public through the SED Restricted Data Analysis System (RDAS; https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/rdas/). The SED RDAS uses statistical procedures to produce estimates that reflect the entire population of doctorate recipients from the 2017 through 2023 survey cycles while protecting confidentiality of individuals’ data.

NCSES publishes detailed statistical tables each December (12 months after the close of data collection for the previous academic year), followed by additional statistical reports. In addition, organizations and individuals can request special tabulations from NCSES or the survey contractor. Lastly, researchers at U.S. institutions may gain access to the DRF by completing an NCSES Restricted-Use Data Licensing Agreement (https://ncses.nsf.gov/licensing).

Current Uses of the SED at the Federal Level

The use of SED data and reports is widespread among collaborating federal agencies and other federal organizations. The data are used for policy development, program administration, and program evaluation. Some of the more important recent uses, organized by agency, are listed below.

a. The National Science Foundation

NCSES has conducted the SED since AY 1958. Special survey data tabulations constitute a key resource in meeting NCSES and NSF policy and program needs. Examples of SED uses include the following:

NSF’s Congressionally mandated biennial reports, Science and Engineering Indicators (https://ncses.nsf.gov/indicators), and Statistical Information on Individuals in Science and Engineering Positions (https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf21321), Academic Institution Profiles (https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/), and Science and Engineering State Profiles (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/states/) websites.
Programs within NSF, especially those addressing new doctorate recipients and demographics of doctorates, use data from the SED for program planning. For instance, NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) routinely uses aggregated SED information on those who complete a PhD to evaluate the effectiveness of the GRFP and its program requirements.
Participants of the NSF Engineering Research Centers (ERC) and the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) are linked to the SED to study the impact of these NSF programs in educational achievement and career outcomes.
The SED data are linked to the Universities Measuring the Effects of Research on Innovation, Competitiveness, and Science (UMETRICS) data to develop data science training programs offered to staffs of NSF and other Federal agencies and the broader research communities. The project-based training offers real data experiences in exploring the role of federal funding in doctoral career outcomes.
The universe frame for sample selection of doctoral scientists and engineers for NCSES’s Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR).

The SED-SDR samples are linked to bibliometrics data as part of ongoing research to produce novel data for studying scientific output and impact of the U.S.-trained doctorate recipients, and for supporting science policy research.
Presentations of data on doctorates awarded by demographic characteristics to the National Science Board (NSB) and the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE) for examining the participation in graduate education.
Information to outside users at the national level, including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Academy of Sciences.
Publication of SED detailed statistical tables and reports on science and engineering doctorate recipients. The first report to be released each year is available publicly in December, 12 months following the close of data collection from the previous academic year. The most recent report, 2023, can be found at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf25300/.
Aggregation of selected variables are publicly available through the NCSES Interactive Data Tool at https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/builder/sed and through the SED RDAS at https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/rdas/.

b. The National Institutes of Health

For more than 30 years, NIH has used the results of the SED to meet a variety of planning, evaluating, and reporting needs:

Planning for the medical research workforce. NIH relies on the results of the SED to monitor PhD production in the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical sciences. This information helps NIH determine the need for investigators in these fields and, in turn, the size and distribution of its research training programs. A subset of these data are published in the NIH Databook (https://www.report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/category/19).
Evaluating NIH research training programs. Because the SED has proven to be such a reliable and comprehensive source of information on new PhDs, NIH routinely uses SED results to monitor the educational outcomes of NIH predoctoral trainees and fellows and to assess its research training programs. By comparing its internal records with the results of the SED, NIH regularly monitors PhD completion rates for students participating in NIH-sponsored training programs, their time to degree, and their plans for postdoctoral study or employment. In evaluating its research training programs, NIH also uses the SED to identify comparison groups of non-NIH-sponsored students in the same fields of study.
Fulfilling reporting requirements. The SED is a critical tool for Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) reporting on the effectiveness of NIH predoctoral training grants. In addition, since 2008, NIH has used the SED results to report on the number and type of graduate degrees awarded with NIH support in its biennial report to Congress.

c. The Department of Education

ED has been a sponsor of the SED since inception in AY 1958 and provides funding for the survey and makes extensive use of a range of SED data. Reports have been published on a time-series analysis of doctorates in the field of education, as well as in other fields.

ED has also used data on the postgraduate plans of new doctorate recipients. Tables with trend data are annually presented in the Center’s publication Digest of Education Statistics. ED has also published tables using the DRF that compare education doctorate recipients to doctorate recipients in other fields, by selected characteristics.

ED’s programs, such as the Office of Student Financial Aid, the individual program offices, and the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development also use SED data for evaluation purposes.

d. The National Endowment for the Humanities

The authorizing legislation for NEH tasks the Endowment to “develop a practical system of national information and data collection on the humanities, scholars, educational and cultural groups, and their audiences.” The SED meets this mandate and gives university administrators, federal funding agencies, and private foundations an annual reading of a vital index of teaching and scholarship, the national output of humanities doctorate recipients. NEH is currently participating in an effort led by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to develop and regularly release via the web, a set of Humanities Indicators. SED data on doctorate production provides a key “indicator” of the health of the humanities workforce.

e. Other Federal Agencies and Congress

Other Federal agencies have used the SED in several ways – through requests for special tabulations and tables, data files, and licensing agreements. The Congressional Research Service and Congressional office staff members have contacted NCSES for information regarding several topics relevant to developing legislation, such as the percent of degrees awarded to temporary visa holders, debt levels of science doctorate recipients at graduation, and nuclear engineering doctorates awarded to foreign citizens.

Academic and Other Uses of the SED

The nation’s doctorate-granting institutions not only provide SED data but also use the data. Each year since 1997, NCSES has provided the dean of each graduate school a profile of their doctorate recipients’ demographic characteristics, debt status, postgraduation plans, employment, and other activities, compared with national and peer-institution data (see Attachment 4 for an example of an Institutional Profile).

Graduate and baccalaureate institutions use SED data for program planning and comparison with other institutions or with national figures. Specifically, academic institutions utilize SED data to understand their graduates’ experiences, improve doctoral program design, track postgraduate employment placement and career outcomes, understand graduate study funding sources and educational-related debts, and identify their graduates’ postgraduation plans by field of study, etc.

Additionally, doctorate-granting institutions participating in the SED may request cumulative microdata files going back to 1920 and preliminary data for the current academic year of their own institution’s doctorate recipients. During the 2023 and 2024 survey cycles, NCSES responded to over 150 requests for data by graduate deans, other academic administrative offices, and individual researchers. Requests were made for institutional datasets, bachelor’s and master’s degree origins data, and preliminary institution data files. Universities help administer the SED, and in return they have access to their data; it is a mutually beneficial data collection effort.

Researchers can apply for access to selected SED microdata under the NCSES Restricted-Use Data Licensing Agreement (https://ncses.nsf.gov/about/licensing) if publicly available data do not address their specific needs. The NCSES Licensing Agreement, executed between an institution and NCSES, requires implementing stringent security procedures to ensure the protection of confidential data against unlawful disclosure.

Some of the recent research published using the SED data are as follows:

Journal Articles

Knight, D. B., Grote, D. M., Kinoshita, T. J., et al. (2024). PhD student funding patterns: Placing biomedical, biological, and biosystems engineering in the context of engineering sub-disciplines, biological sciences, and other STEM disciplines. Biomedical Engineering Education, 4, 199–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43683-024-00142-w

Cheng, S. D. (2023) What’s another year? The lengthening training and career paths of scientists. PLoS ONE 18(5): e0285550. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285550

Edwards, K. A., Acheson-Field, H., Rennane, S., et al. (2023). Mapping scientists’ career trajectories in the survey of doctorate recipients using three statistical methods. Scientific Reports, 13, 8119. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34809-1

Holley, K. A. (2023). Perspectives on doctoral education in the United States: Challenges and paths forward. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 60(5), 775–783. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2237953

Denton, M., Borrego, M., & Knight, D. B. (2022). U.S. Postdoctoral Careers in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering: Government, industry, and academia. PLoS ONE 17(2): e0263185. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263185

Ong, A., Schultz, R., Sinozich, S., Sinibaldi, J., West, B., Wagner, J., & Finamore, J. (2022). A User-Driven Method for Using Research Products to Empirically Assess Item Importance in National Surveys. Journal of Official Statistics,38(4) 1235-1251. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11293792/

Taylor, T. (2022). Recommendations for Further Reading. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 36(4), 221–228. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27171138

Agbonlahor, O., Mendez, S., & Bingham, A. (2021). Examining post-graduation career plans of international doctoral students in the United States. Journal of Education and Practice, 12(20), 19-30. doi: 10.7176/JEP/12-20-03. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3916332

Hrabowski III, F. A., Henderson, P. H. (2021). Nothing Succeeds Like Success. Issues in Science and Technology, July 29, 2021. https://issues.org/nothing-succeeds-like-success-underrepresented-minorities-stem/

Kinoshita, T. J., Knight, D. B., Borrego, M., & Wall Bortz, W. E. (2020). Illuminating systematic differences in no job offers for STEM doctoral recipients. PLoS One, 15(4), e0231567. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231567

Laird, F. N. (2020). Sticky Policies, Dysfunctional Systems: Path Dependency and the Problems of Government Funding for Science in the United States. Minerva, 58:513–533.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-020-09409-2

Lebovitz, L., Swaan, P. W., & Eddington, N. D. (2020). Trends in Research and Graduate Affairs in Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy, Part 2 – Students. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 84 (5) 7642. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7642

Moore, N. A., & Burns, R. A. (2020). Economic Development as an Administrative Prerogative: An Event History Analysis of APLU Institutions. Economic Development Quarterly, 34(3), 242-268. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891242420924458

Randall, J., Riosb, J. A., & Junga, H. J. (2020). A Longitudinal Analysis of Doctoral Graduate Supply in the Educational Measurement Field. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1111/emip.12395

News Articles

Nietzel, M. T. (2024, December 6). Record number of research doctorates awarded; U of Michigan ranks #1. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2024/12/06/record-number-of-research-doctorates-awarded-u-of-michigan-ranks-1

Wosen, J. (2024, October 10). Fewer biomedical Ph.D. graduates heading to biotech industry, NSF data show. STAT News. https://www.statnews.com/2024/10/10/fewer-biomedial-phd-graduates-heading-to-biotech-industry-nsf-data-show

Gerber, D., & Jung, Y. (2024, June 11). Ph.D. doctorate academia jobs adjunct colleges universities. The Boston Globe. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/06/11/business/phd-doctorate-academia-jobs-adjunct-colleges-universities

Rao, R., & Sluder, T. (2024, April 8). Effectively preparing PhDs for the future of work [Opinion]. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/career-advice/carpe-careers/2024/04/08/effectively-preparing-phds-future-work-opinion

Angel, M. P. (2024, March 27). PhD students shouldn't focus only on the dissertation [Opinion]. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/career-advice/2024/03/27/phd-students-shouldnt-focus-only-dissertation-opinion

Diep, F. (2024, February 22). Does the SAT really help colleges find ‘diamonds in the rough’? The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/does-the-sat-really-help-colleges-find-diamonds-in-the-rough

Nietzel, M. T. (2024, February 5). Number of doctoral degrees awarded in U.S. rebounds to all-time high. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2024/02/05/number-of-doctoral-degrees-awarded-in-us-rebounds-to-all-time-high

June, A. W. (2024, February 2). This is where new Ph.D.s find jobs. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/this-is-where-new-ph-d-s-find-jobs

Rybarczyk, B. J., & Smith, C. (2023, October 16). Advice about resources and programs with potential [Opinion]. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/career-advice/carpe-careers/2023/10/16/advice-about-resources-and-programs-potential

Lange, P., & Olejniczak, A. J. (2023, January 18). The growth of assistant professorships is uneven [Opinion]. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2023/01/18/growth-assistant-professorships-uneven-opinion

Wosen, J. (2022, November 10). A tipping point is coming: An unprecedented exodus of young life scientists is shaking up academia. STAT News. https://www.statnews.com/2022/11/10/tipping-point-is-coming-unprecedented-exodus-of-young-life-scientists-shaking-up-academia

Flaherty, C., (2022, October 20) Ph.D.s Conferred Drop 5.4%. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/10/20/number-phds-conferred-dropped-54-2021

Jennings Dicey, C. (2022, October 19) What Happened to all the Philosophy PhDs? (SED edition). The APDA Blog. https://apda.ghost.io/survey-of-earned-doctorates-comparing-the-data

Williams June, A. (2022, October 19) America’s Ph.D. Production Experienced Its Steepest Drop on Record. The Chronicle of Higher Education, www.chronicle.com/article/americas-ph-d-production-experienced-its-steepest-drop-on-record. Accessed 30 Dec. 2022

Flaherty, C. (2021, December 3). Survey Shows Annual Decline in Number of Ph.D.s Awarded. www.insidehighered.com. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/12/03/survey-shows-annual-decline-number-phds-awarded

Nietzel, M. (2021, October 13). Ten Ways U.S. Doctoral Degrees Have Changed In The Past 20 Years. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2021/10/13/ten-ways-us-doctoral-degrees-have-changed-in-the-past-20-years/?sh=6eb8b7a82a71

Flaherty, C. (2020, December 9). Calm Before the Storm. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/12/09/nsf-data-doctorates-granted-show-slow-growth-some-exceptions

Reports and Books

National Science Board, National Science Foundation. (2024). Talent is the treasure: Who are we leaving behind?. NSB-2024-11. Alexandria, VA. https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2024/2024_policy_brief.pdf

National Science Board, National Science Foundation. (2024). The STEM Labor Force: Scientists, Engineers, and Technical Workers. Science and Engineering Indicators 2024. NSB-2024-5. Alexandria, VA. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20245

National Science Board, National Science Foundation. (2024). Science and Engineering Indicators 2024: The State of U.S. Science and Engineering. NSB-2024-3. Alexandria, VA. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20243

Richwine, J. (2024). Immigrants in U.S. doctoral programs. Center for Immigration Studies. https://cis.org/Report/Immigrants-US-Doctoral-Programs

Garner, M., Nunez, A., & Chang W-Y. (2023). Research Funding for U.S. Doctorate Recipients at Research-Intensive Institutions. NSF 23-349. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23349

Garner, M., Levitskaya, E., Owen-Smith, J., Lane, J., & Chang, W-Y. (2023). SED-UMETRICS Linkage Technical Report. Working Paper NCSES 23-215. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. http://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/ncses23215

Heuer, R., Einaudi, P., & Kang. K. (2023). Research Doctorate Conferrals Rebound, Leading to Record Number of U.S. Doctorate Recipients in 2022. NSF 23-353. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23353

National Science Board, National Science Foundation. (2023). Academic Research and Development. Science and Engineering Indicators 2024. NSB-2023-26. Alexandria, VA. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb202326

American Academy of Arts & Sciences. (2022). The age of new humanities Ph.D.’s. Somerville, MA. https://www.amacad.org/humanities-indicators/higher-education/age-new-humanities-phds

Auerbach, J., & DeLazzero, C. E. (2022). Linked data detail a gender gap in STEM that persists across time and place. Harvard Data Science Review, 4(2)

Gordon, J., Einaudi, P., & Kang, K. (2022). Baccalaureate Origins of U.S. Research Doctorate Recipients. NSF 22-321. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf22321

Kinney, S. K., Looby, C. B., & Yu, F. (2020). Advantages of imputation vs. data swapping for statistical disclosure control. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 12276, 281–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57521-2_20

National Communication Association. (2020). A profile of the communication doctorate VII: The 2018 National Science Foundation's Survey of Earned Doctorates. Washington, DC. https://www.natcom.org/reports-discipline/profile-communication-doctorate-vii-2018-national-science-foundations-survey

Yudkevich, M., Altbach, P. G., & de Wit, H. (Eds.). (2020). Trends and issues in doctoral education: A global perspective. New Delhi, India: SAGE Publishing India

Zwetsloot, R., Feldgoise. J., & Dunham, J. (2020). Trends in U.S. intention-to-stay rates of international Ph.D. graduates across nationality and STEM fields. Washington, DC: Center for Security and Emerging Technology. https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/trends-in-u-s-intention-to-stay-rates-of-international-ph-d-graduates-across-nationality-and-stem-fields

University Publications

Nabors, J. (2022, April 6). ASU improves to No. 21 in latest Survey of Earned Doctorates. ASU News. https://news.asu.edu/20220405-asu-improves-rank-21-latest-survey-earned-doctorates

Poindexter, E. (2022, February 9). UNC-Chapel Hill Ranked Highly in Doctoral Degrees to Underrepresented Graduates. Carolina Graduate School Magazine. https://gradschoolmagazine.unc.edu/2022/02/unc-chapel-hill-ranked-highly-in-doctoral-degrees-to-underrepresented-graduates

A.3. Use of Automated, Electronic, Mechanical or Other Technological Collection Techniques

Planning for a web-based SED started in late 1999 and has been implemented, refined, and expanded since that time. The web-based survey eases the burden on students, helps to ensure continued high response rates, improves data quality through built-in quality control processes, and provides a convenient option for institutions that provide their doctoral candidates’ graduation instructions online.

NCSES discontinued the use of paper questionnaires after the 2020 survey cycle. Since the 2021 cycle, all participants have completed the survey through the SED web instrument or computer assisted telephone interview (CATI). The vast majority of respondents complete the SED online, and the proportion of all survey completions online has increased each cycle from 97.6% in 2021, to 98.4% in 2022, and to 98.7% in 2023.

The SED’s electronic procedures consist of three major survey components: a web survey; nonrespondent follow-up (via email, text, and CATI); and a web interface used by institutions for survey administration purposes. When a student applies for graduation, the Institutional Coordinator (IC) at their university provides them with the link to the survey registration website. The student then accesses the web survey directly after registering. Upon registering, students are sent an email containing a PIN and temporary password. For security purposes, students are prompted to create a password of their choosing upon entering the survey. This PIN and password may be used to complete the survey later, including after graduation.

The IC, typically located in the graduate dean’s office, is the main SED interface with the doctorate recipient. In addition to administering the survey, ICs track the status of student surveys and submit graduation lists to the SED survey contractor via the Institution Contact Administrative Tool (ICAT) on the web. At institutions where the List Coordinator (LC) role is assigned, the LC typically submits the graduation lists and other documentation to the SED survey contractor. The SED survey contractor works with the IC and LC to adjust administrative tasks as needed to fit with each institution’s procedures for processing and awarding doctoral degrees.

The ICAT allows for two levels of interaction: Level 1, a publicly accessible webpage, which includes general information and communications, such as important survey dates, general SED informational materials, and data products, and Level 2, which is school-specific, requires a username and password to access. Once logged in, ICs and LCs can monitor survey completion status of their graduates, upload graduation lists, review the graduation roster, track the response rate for their institution or school, and send emails to non-responders. ICs and LCs have equivalent access privileges in the ICAT.

An additional benefit of the web option is that institutions can link the SED survey to their institution-specific exit survey administered to upcoming graduates, eliminating the need for institutions to send out a separate survey invitation for the SED and reducing the students’ and institutions’ burden.

A.4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

During collaborations with other agencies and organizations, NCSES has confirmed that no other government survey gathers identical information to the SED. NCSES also continuously engages in efforts to learn about other survey efforts and potential duplication through contacts with professional societies and groups (such as the Council of Graduate Schools and Association for Institutional Research) within both the higher education and data collection communities.

SED survey content is coordinated with NCSES’s Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR), Early Career Doctorates Survey (ECDS), and National Survey of College Graduates to assure relevant uniform approaches on similar items such as race/ethnicity and specific functional limitations.

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) also provides information on doctoral degrees. Differences between the SED and IPEDS are outlined below. While SED collects data from individuals, the IPEDS Completions survey, conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the Department of Education, collects aggregate data from institutions on numbers of degrees at each level by discipline and on recipients (including race/ethnicity and sex). The SED collects detailed information from individual doctorate recipients that are not collected by the IPEDS survey and used widely by federal agencies, academic institutions, and researchers.

There are four duplicative data items collected on both the SED and IPEDS: field of degree and the demographic variables of citizenship, sex, and race/ethnicity. However, important purposes are served by including these variables in both surveys:

In the SED, field of degree, citizenship, sex, and race/ethnicity are frequently used in analyses with other key SED variables, such as the length of time spent pursuing the degree and the amount of debt accumulated during graduate education. The other key variables cannot be collected from the IPEDS institutions. The field of degree and demographic variables are also used to identify individuals in “rare subgroups” for oversampling in the SDR.
IPEDS’ inclusion of field of degree, citizenship, sex, and race/ethnicity permits comparative analyses of trends in degree production at different degree levels. SED data cannot be substituted for IPEDS in such comparisons because of the inevitable differences in responses from institutional and demographic surveys. For example, individuals’ racial/ethnic self-identification on these variables may differ from those maintained by the institutions. Also, IPEDS collects data on types of doctoral degrees that are explicitly excluded from the SED (i.e., doctorate degrees intended for the practice of a profession, such as an MD). Hence, eliminating doctoral degrees from the IPEDS data collection would result in a loss of information about these other important types of doctoral degrees.
Including field of degree, citizenship, sex, and race/ethnicity questions on both surveys provides important validity checks for both surveys at the aggregate level.

A.5. Impacts on Small Businesses or Entities

Not applicable. The SED does not impact small businesses or entities.

A.6. Consequences of Less Frequent Collection

The SED is an important source for monitoring changes in participation in the various fields of study by demographic groups of interest (including U.S. and non-U.S. citizens on permanent or temporary visas). The SED data pertaining to respondents’ postgraduation plans provide an annual barometer of the market conditions encountered by new doctoral degree recipients and therefore, are an integral component in policy implementation and program design.

Less frequent data collection would require a more complicated survey administration for the institutions. Currently, the Institution Coordinator (IC) at each institution requests a completed survey during the final semester prior to graduation from each person receiving a research doctorate. ICs include the link to the web survey with other electronic documents related to graduation into the package of materials for doctorate recipients. Any less frequent collection of the SED would yield far lower response rates because institutions would be uncertain about the timing and distribution of the survey to prospective doctoral graduates, a process which now occurs continuously throughout the survey year. Discussions with the Council of Graduate Schools and several universities confirm that graduate schools would face extreme difficulty if the survey were operated on a non-annual basis. Stability of both the survey content and the survey collection process is imperative for data usefulness and ease of administration.

If the SED were conducted less frequently, there would also be significant repercussions for the SDR sample selection. Locating information obtained from the SED is necessary for contacting the new research doctorate recipients who are added to the SDR sample. The coordination of timing, content, and procedures of these two studies is critical to the success of both the SED and SDR.

A.7. Special Circumstances

Not applicable. This data collection does not require any of the reporting requirements listed.

A.8. Federal Register Announcement and Consultations Outside the Agency

The Federal Register announcement for the SED (89 FR 92177) appeared on November 21, 2024 (see Attachment 5). NCSES did not receive any comments to this notice.

Consultations Outside the Agency

NCSES often invites others to comment on the SED. Comments have come from the SED-collaborating federal agencies, legislators, and other policy makers. NCSES has also received comments from respondents, university staff (including faculty advisors, graduate deans, and others), and professional researchers by telephone, email, mail, and in-person contacts. NCSES seeks input from university representatives at venues such as professional conferences, meetings, and site visits with institutions. These consultations have identified problems with survey administration or in the interpretation of certain data items. NCSES often discusses identified issues with ICs and assesses next steps based on needs and respondent and institutional burden.

NCSES meets with the collaborating agencies periodically to discuss the SED design, operation and dissemination activities and to plan future data-collection activities. They review recent trends in the number of doctorate recipients receiving degrees in emerging fields of study – that is, fields of study not currently coded within the SED taxonomy – and in fields of study for which there are few graduates.

In the 2021 cycle, the SED moved to collecting data using a modified version of the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes used for reporting in the Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Prior to 2021, SED collected 334 doctoral fields. The modified CIP list includes more than 1,900 fields for respondents to choose from.² This change led to a 1 percentage point increase in respondents who provided a doctoral field of study and a 5 percentage point increase in field of study self-coding rates, with 97% of field of study responses being self-coded.³

NCSES meets with participating institutions to improve response rates, resolve data collection problems, and discuss uses of SED data. Virtual meetings were held with seven institutions between December 2023 and November 2024 to discuss low response rates, and NCSES anticipates holding similar meetings during the upcoming cycle. Virtual meetings with several other institutions were held to discuss how they use the annual, SED institutional-profile and institutional-DRF data. These meetings will inform the development of an online SED Institutional Profile Dashboard that will facilitate the use of SED data for program evaluation, responding to accreditation reviews, and other reporting activities.

Other Consultations

NCSES has numerous other contacts with the user community, including staff of organizations such as the National Postdoctoral Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Association for Institutional Research, the Council of Graduate Schools, the American Association of Universities, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Routine information requests also provide insight into the interests of the public.

A.9. Payment or Gifts to Respondents

No incentives in the form of payment or gifts to the doctoral graduates are used in the SED.

A.10. Assurance of Confidentiality

The SED is collected in conformance with the strict confidentiality requirements found in the NSF Act of 1950, as amended. The SED is also collected in conformance with the Privacy Act of 1974, including the section of the Privacy Act requiring notification of the respondent concerning the data uses and the voluntary nature of their responses. As the confidentiality statement indicates, information collected in the questionnaire will be kept confidential and used for statistical purposes only. The confidentiality pledge to SED respondents follows:

This information is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. All information you provide is protected under the NSF Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 and will be used only for research or statistical purposes by your doctoral institution, the survey sponsors, their contractors and collaborating researchers for the purpose of analyzing data, preparing scientific reports and articles and selecting samples for a limited number of carefully defined follow-up studies. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the federal information systems that transmit your data. The last four digits of your Social Security Number are also solicited under the NSF Act of 1950, as amended; provision of it is voluntary. It will be kept confidential. It is used for quality control, to assure that we identify the correct persons, especially when data are used for statistical purposes in Federal program evaluation. Any information publicly released (such as statistical summaries) will be in a form that does not personally identify you or other respondents. Your response is voluntary and failure to provide some or all of the requested information will not in any way adversely affect you.

The time needed to complete this form varies according to individual circumstances, but the average time is estimated to be 20 minutes. If you have comments regarding this time estimate, you may write to the National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, Attention: NSF Reports Clearance Officer. A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Specific procedures for protecting the data are established by NCSES and used by the survey contractor. All project staff are required to complete confidentiality training and sign data-use agreements before they first access any SED data, and on a yearly basis thereafter (see Attachment 6). Data files with personal identifiers are provided to NIH and its contractors through an NCSES Restricted-Use Data Licensing agreement, with all contractors signing data-use agreements. As indicated explicitly in the confidentiality statement, a doctoral institution may request data for their graduates’ responses with or without personal identifier of respondents from that institution only with a written agreement to use such data for statistical and program evaluation purposes only. Lastly, SED data files with personal identifiers are provided to the SDR contractor under a signed data use agreement, to locate the SDR’s selected sample members. No one outside of these groups can obtain data files with direct identifiers such as email addresses, phone numbers and mailing addresses. Qualifying researchers can obtain SED microdata, without direct identifiers, only by executing a Restricted-Use Data Licensing Agreement with NCSES.

A.11. Justification for Asking Sensitive Questions

The SED recognizes the growing sensitivity towards requesting respondents’ Social Security numbers. The SED is provided authority to collect respondent Social Security numbers under the NSF Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.), as amended, and in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974. However, the SED collects only the last four digits of the Social Security number to be used to verify identity of survey respondents for survey operations and evaluation purposes and to match SED data to data related to federal funding support for graduate education.

A.12. Burden Estimate

The SED is a census of all individuals receiving a research doctorate in the United States in an academic year. Based on historical trends in the number of doctorate recipients in the U.S. (https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf24336/table/1-1) and the growth of doctoral students in science and engineering (https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf24319/table/1-1), NCSES expects continued, slow growth in the total number of doctorates awarded by U.S. institutions. For the purposes of this burden estimate, NCSES assumes that approximately 58,000 research doctorates will be awarded by U.S. institutions in 2026, and 58,500 research doctorates awarded in 2027.

Using the target response rate of 92%, the number of SED respondents in 2026 is estimated to be 53,360 (58,000 estimated doctorate recipients × 0.92). Similarly, the number of respondents in 2027 is estimated to be 53,820 (58,500 estimated doctorate recipients × 0.92).

The current average response time for the 2025 web survey is 19.5 minutes and we expect similar response time for the 2026 and 2027 SED. The table below presents our estimates for respondent burden.

Estimated Annual Response Burden for Doctorate Recipients: 2026 and 2027

Year

Doctorates

Respondents

Average Response Time

Total Burden Hours

Estimated

Hourly Wage

Total Cost*

2026

58,000

53,360

19.5 minutes

17,342

$40.38

$ 700,000

2027

58,500

53,820

19.5 minutes

17,492

$41.39

$ 724,000

* Rounded to the nearest $1,000

The estimated annual cost for the respondents to complete the 2026 SED is $700,000. This is based on the estimated 17,342 hours of response burden at an hourly wage of $40.38. The hour wage estimate is derived from the 2023 SED data, which indicated the median income for doctorate recipients with known postgraduation commitments was $75,000. Assuming a 40-hour work week and 50 weeks of work per year, an annual salary of $75,000 equates to $37.50 per hour. Further assuming wage growth at 2.5% per year yields estimated hourly wages of $40.38 in 2026 and $41.39 in 2027. Using the same methodology, the estimated annual cost for the respondents to complete the 2027 SED is $724,000.

In addition to having students complete the SED, NCSES also requires that institutions collect administrative data. The IC at each school or institution distributes the survey registration URL, monitors survey completion status, and submits graduation lists to the SED survey contractor. To fulfill their role, ICs must complete the following forms (see Attachment 7 for examples of the institution contact materials):

Graduation List requests the names, fields, and contact information for eligible graduates
Address Roster Form requests a physical mailing address, phone number, and/or e-mail address for nonresponding graduates (requested only if information has not been supplied on the Graduation List)
Missing Information Roster requests critical items for nonrespondents. This includes birthdate, sex, citizenship, race, ethnicity, bachelor’s institution, doctoral field of study, and post-degree location.

Estimated Annual Burden for Institutional Contacts: 2026 and 2027

Year

Institutional Contacts

Average Response Time

Total Annual

Burden Hours

Estimated Hourly Wage

Total

Annual Cost*

2026

650

20 hours

13,000

$35.07

$ 456,000

2027

650

20 hours

13,000

$35.95

$ 467,000

* Rounded to the nearest $1,000

The total estimated annual cost for the institutional contacts (ICs) to administer the 2026 and 2027 SED are $456,000 and $467,000, respectively. These estimates assume that 650 unique schools will participate in each cycle (currently there are 624) and that the ICs for each school will spend 20 hours administering the SED. This time estimate is based on focus groups conducted with ICs who indicated that the SED requires no more than 1% of their time each year, which computes to 20 hours per year (40 hours per week x 50 weeks per year x .01). IC hourly wages are estimated using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates” (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#43-0000) and are derived as a prorated combination of Office and Administrative Support Occupations median hourly wages ($21.39, representing 60% of ICs) and Education Administrators, Postsecondary median hourly wages ($49.33, representing 40% of ICs). This figure is then adjusted to reflect 2.5% annual wage growth from 2023 to 2026 and 2027.

The table below summarizes the average annual burden anticipated for all the tasks involved with conducting the SED:

Total Estimated Burden: 2026 and 2027

Year	Description	Responses		Average Response Time	Total Burden Hours	Estimated Hourly Wage	Total Cost
2026	Doctorate recipients	53,360		19.5 minutes	17,342	$40.38	$ 700,000
	Institutional Contacts	650		20 hours	13,000	$35.07	$ 456,000
2027	Doctorate recipients	53,820		19.5 minutes	17,492	$41.39	$ 724,000
	Institutional Contacts	650		20 hours	13,000	$35.95	$ 467,000
Total Burden in 3 Years			108,480		60,834		$2,347,000
Total Annual Burden			36,160		20,278		$ 782,333

NCSES estimates that the average annual burden for the 2026 and 2027 survey cycles over the course of the three-year OMB clearance period will be no more than 20,278 hours at a cost of $782,333 per year.

A.13. Costs to Respondents

Respondents need not purchase, operate, or maintain capital equipment, software, or storage facilities. There is no actual cost to the SED respondents other than the burden hour cost noted in A.12.

A.14. Costs to the Federal Government

The cost to the Federal Government for this annual data collection is approximately $1.9 million per year. This amount is based on the actual contract administration cost for the past 2021–23 SED survey cycles, which includes conducting annual cycles of data collection from each academic year graduates, data processing and file preparation, updating and maintaining the frame of doctorate institutions and eligible doctoral degree programs, and providing data dissemination support.

A.15. Changes from the Prior Cycle

For the purposes of this submission, NCSES estimates that the SED universe size will remain stable for 2026 and 2027 cycles. Therefore, NCSES also estimates the total burden and cost for the 2026 and 2027 cycle will remain at a level similar to the 2025 cycle. The only change in the 2026 and 2027 SED are inclusion of the new SPD15 combined race and ethnicity question.

A.16. Plans for Tabulation and Publication

The results of the SED will be disseminated in several ways. To release the data, NCSES will publish a set of 96 data tables and an annual special Digest report “Doctorate Recipients from U.S Universities” which includes with approximately 17 figures and 4 tables highlighting findings from key survey themes. The data tables are descriptive in nature and provide extensive information on the education and employment plans of doctoral graduates by field of study, doctorate granting institution, and demographic characteristics such as race/ethnicity, citizenship, sex, and disability. The Digest report is published annually and will be available in both print and electronic formats. The printed Digest report is provided to participating SED institutions and to individuals and institutions who have requested past survey results.

The SED data will also be used in the development of key NCSES reports, including the Congressionally mandated reports Science and Engineering Indicators plus additional detailed tables, will be available on the NCSES website.

Aggregated data on selected SED variables are publicly available through the NCSES Interactive Data Tool (https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/builder/sed). NCSES has also developed the SED RDAS (https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/rdas/) to allow users greater access to the SED data without compromising the confidentiality of respondents. This system, based on the NCES DataLab, makes more SED data available for aggregate analytic purposes beginning with the 2017 survey. Additionally, SED data will be available to licensed researchers by submitting an application requesting access through the standard application process portal (via ResearchDataGov.org) and for approved applications, access of that data via the NCSES’s data enclave, a secure data access facility, a virtual environment that provides approved researchers with remote access to microdata while still protecting respondent confidentiality.

The 2026 SED includes doctoral graduates from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. The 2026 Web instrument will be uploaded upon OMB approval for continuous distribution to doctoral students as they complete their doctorate requirements. After the survey close-out, data variables will be constructed, edited, evaluated, and reviewed for trend consistency in January 2027. In February 2027, the file will be further evaluated, and quality control checks will be made. Data will be tabulated in April 2027 and prepared for publication by September 2027. Aggregate data will be made available to the public in December 2027 on the NCSES website.

Project Schedule

The 2026 SED survey schedule follows. The 2027 SED survey schedule is expected to be identical, except lagging by one year.

Phase Time

Receive OMB clearance approval June 2025

Survey instrument available to doctoral students June 2025

Data collection close-out December 2026

Preparation of data file February 2027

Production of publications April 2027

Release of data by NCSES September 2027

A.17. Exception to Displaying of OMB Expiration Date

Not applicable. The OMB Control Number and expiration date will be displayed.

A.18. Exception to the Certification Statement

Not applicable. No exceptions to the certification statement are being sought.

1 42 U.S. Code § 1885(d)

2 Arbeit CA, Smith WZ, Hsieh YP & Kang K (2022) Survey of Earned Doctorates Field of Study Taxonomy Changes in 2021 and Impact on Trend Data. NCSES 23-200. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/ncses23200/

3 National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (2022) Survey of Earned Doctorates Field of Study Taxonomy Changes in 2021 and Impact on Trend Data

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