Report: Minority Doctoral Recipients Gaining Momentum
Twenty percent of the U.S. citizens awarded research doctorates from American universities in 2006 were ethnic minorities, according to a recent report released by the National Science Foundation in conjunction with the National Opinion Research Center and an assortment of government agencies.
It was the largest percentage ever recorded for minority recipients in the annual Survey of Earned Doctorates. This data and other findings can be found in the 2006 summary report “Doctorate Recipients from United States Universities.”
During the 2005-06 academic year, U.S. universities awarded 46,596 research doctoral degrees, improving 5 percent from the year before. This total, which includes international students, represents the highest number of research doctorate recipients in U.S. history, researchers say.
A total of 5,211 minority students were awarded research doctorates, for a 2.6 percent increase over 2005. While minorities made up 20 percent of U.S. awardees, they made up 11 percent of all doctorate recipients, including international students.
Among minorities, Blacks earned the most doctorates at 1,659; Asian/Pacific Islanders earned 1,619, Hispanics 1,370 and American Indians 118.
“We have to take these results in context. While they are positive, the only thing that really solidifies how positive they are is if they continue. In the late ’70s, early ’80s, we saw a big jump in the numbers. Right after, there was a huge dip that took about 10 years to make up,” says Dr. Ansley Abraham, director of the Southern Regional Education Board’s Doctoral Scholars Program.
