Survey: Doctorates becoming widespread

The number of doctorate degrees awarded last year in the United States set a record for the 13th consecutive year with 42,683 dispersed, according to the Survey of Earned Doctorates recently released by the National Opinion and Research Center at the University of Chicago.

"It's a natural phenomenon," said Jack Schuster, professor of education and public policy at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif. "Before 1985 there was about a decade when the number of doctorates was flat. Now, we are in a natural rise."

Schuster cited three main reasons that helped to spark the increasing number of doctorates - population growth, more doctoral programs offered and the concurrent trend of international students coming to the United States for higher education.

But despite the increasing number of doctorates, experts said they expect the Ph.D. to maintain its value.

"I don't think we'll ever get to the point where Ph.D.'s are too common," said University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School Dean Earl Lewis. "While we may be meeting our demand for academic jobs that require Ph.D.s in the United States, those with doctorates are expanding around the world and advancing the frontiers of knowledge. Graduate education is our most valuable export."

Schuster echoed Lewis' comments.

"There's a very tight academic labor market," he said. "There's a serious imbalance in that area. In almost all fields, there's more supply than demand. But more and more jobs are becoming available outside of the academy for Ph.D. candidates. I certainly don't foresee any cheapening of the currency, so to speak."

The report ranked the graduate schools according to the number of doctorates they awarded. Nine of the top 10 ranked institutions are public universities, with the University of Texas at Austin listed at the top of the list, awarding 834 degrees last year and the University of Michigan ranked sixth, with 687 Ph.D's distributed.

Both Lewis and Schuster said that the numbers don't convey anything significant about the difference between private and public education - it's only a case of sheer numbers.

"Large flagship public universities are simply larger than any private university, with few exceptions," Schuster said. "But when you adjust the numbers, the private universities are proportionally turning out more graduates, relative to its undergraduate population."

At the University, Lewis said, about 80 percent of enrolled graduate students come from outside the state of Michigan.

"Very few people remain at the same institution for their higher education," Lewis said. "Most believe that a different institution will broaden their experience and perspective."

Other statistics showed that more minority and women students received doctorate degrees in 1998 than in any other year women took 42 percent of the Ph.D.'s and minorities earned 14 percent.

NORC spokesperson Tom Hoffer said in a written statement that minorities in the survey were defined as those of "Asian, Hispanic, black and American Indian" ethnicity. He emphasized that for both women and minorities the percentages refer only to U.S. citizens.

Schuster said that this fact was complimented by his own research, in which he reported that 41 percent of college faculty appointed to full time positions were women.

"It's a slow moving pipeline," he said, "It takes a long time to improve the doctoral situation for minorities and women. But I believe we've improved significantly and I see no reason as to why we won't continue to improve."

Continuing a trend, the report also stated that most degrees were awarded in the science and engineering fields - at 27,272, these degrees made up about half of the total doctorates dispersed.

Lewis said that this reflects how the nation is prioritizing graduate education.

"The government has made it a priority to push the science and engineering fields. These numbers are the peoples response," he said.

Hoffer said that the NORC survey is conducted annually for five federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education.

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