Survey shows annual decline in number of Ph.D.s awarded

Image:  The number of doctorate recipients declined slightly in 2020, to 55,283 Ph.D.s across fields, from 55,614 in 2019. This is the first drop since 2017, according to new data from the National Science Foundation’s annual Survey of Earned Doctorates. This year’s survey covers the 2020 academic year, from July 2019 to the end of the June 2020, so some but not all of the survey period covered the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s almost certain that COVID-19 played a role in how many students...