Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS), United States, 1972-2023

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics/National Science Foundation

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
graduate_students_postdocs_1972.zip application/zip 1.6 MB 07/16/2025 05:05:AM
graduate_students_postdocs_1973.zip application/zip 2 MB 07/16/2025 05:05:AM
graduate_students_postdocs_1974.zip application/zip 2.2 MB 07/16/2025 05:05:AM
graduate_students_postdocs_1975.zip application/zip 2.6 MB 07/16/2025 05:05:AM
graduate_students_postdocs_1976.zip application/zip 2.7 MB 07/16/2025 05:05:AM
graduate_students_postdocs_1977.zip application/zip 2.9 MB 07/16/2025 05:06:AM
graduate_students_postdocs_1978.zip application/zip 1.6 MB 07/16/2025 05:06:AM
graduate_students_postdocs_1979.zip application/zip 3.3 MB 07/16/2025 05:06:AM
graduate_students_postdocs_1980.zip application/zip 3.7 MB 07/16/2025 05:34:AM
graduate_students_postdocs_1981.zip application/zip 3.7 MB 07/16/2025 05:06:AM
    Total of 59 records. Records per page
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Project Citation: 

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics/National Science Foundation. Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS), United States, 1972-2023. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-08-04. https://doi.org/10.3886/E236221V1

Project Description

Project Title:  View help for Project Title Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS), United States, 1972-2023
Summary:  View help for Summary The Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS) is an annual census of all academic institutions in the United States and its territories (Guam and Puerto Rico) granting research-based master’s degrees or doctorates in science, engineering, and selected health (SEH) fields as of the fall of the survey year. Sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the U.S. National Science Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health, the GSS collects counts of enrolled graduate students, postdoctoral researchers (postdocs), and doctorate-holding nonfaculty researchers (NFRs) at these institutions by field of study, demographic characteristics, and other characteristics, such as source and mechanism of financial support. Results are used to assess shifts in graduate enrollment, shifts in postdoc and NFR appointments, and trends in financial support.
Funding Sources:  View help for Funding Sources National Science Foundation/National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
Original Distribution URL:  View help for Original Distribution URL https://ncses.nsf.gov/explore-data/microdata/graduate-students-postdoctorates-s-e

Scope of Project

Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 1972 – 2023
Universe:  View help for Universe Census
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) survey data

Methodology

Response Rate:  View help for Response Rate Nonresponse error
The GSS typically has high response rates. In 2023, 97.8% of units provided complete or partial data and the overall institutional response rate was 95.5%.

Response rates. Response rates are calculated based on responses to the survey’s various data collection grids (graduate student and postdoc counts, by ethnicity and race; full-time graduate student and postdoc counts, by primary source or mechanism of support; counts of postdocs, by type of doctoral degree and primary mechanism of support; counts of postdocs, by type of doctoral degree and citizenship; counts of postdocs, by origin of doctoral degree; and counts of NFRs, by type of doctoral degree and sex).
  • Unit response. In 2023, the GSS received complete responses from 18,891 of the 22,802 eligible organizational units (82.8%). An additional 3,417 organizational units (15.0%) were partial respondents. The remaining 494 organizational units (2.2%) were nonrespondents.
  • School response. Of the 770 eligible schools, 726 schools (94.3%) were complete respondents, 10 schools (1.3%) were partial respondents, and 34 schools (4.4%) were nonrespondents.
  • Institutional response. Institutional response rates were calculated using the same criteria for schools. Of the 687 eligible institutions, 651 institutions (94.8%) were complete respondents, 5 institutions (0.7%) were partial respondents, and 31 institutions (4.5%) were nonrespondents.
Sampling:  View help for Sampling Estimation techniques
The survey is a census of eligible units; therefore, weighting for sampling is not applicable. Imputation rather than weighting is used to adjust for unit nonresponse; imputation is also used for item nonresponse

Sampling error   
Not applicable because the GSS is a census.
Collection Mode(s):  View help for Collection Mode(s) web-based survey
Geographic Unit:  View help for Geographic Unit United States

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Published Versions

V1 [2025-08-04]

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