Science Resources Studies Division

DATA BRIEF

Directorate for

Social, Behavioral

and Economic

Sciences

National Science Foundation

Immigrants with

science and

engineering

doctorates are more

likely to be engaged

in research and

development than

are native-born U.S.

citizens with

doctorates.

Vol. 1995, No. 15, November 14, 1995

Electronic

Dissemination

SRS data are available through

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www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm)

and also through STIS, NSF’s

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Information System, described

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Information and Publications.”

For a paper copy of the flyer,

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Guide, send an e-mail with the

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by Mark C.

Regets

Immigrants Are 23 Percent of U.S.

Residents With S&E Doctorates

1

 In this publication the terms “immigrant” and

“foreign-born” refer to those born outside of the

United States or U.S. territories to parents who were

not U.S. citizens at the time. Of immigrants with

doctoral degrees in science and engineering, 54.9

percent are U.S. citizens.

I

mmigrants make up a significant proportion of U.S. personnel trained in science

and engineering—9.8 percent of bachelor’s

degree holders and 23.0 percent of those with

doctorates in science or engineering. 1 Immigrants are even more important to research

and development—representing 28.0 percent

of doctoral scientists and engineers engaged

in R&D.

This Data Brief presents these and other

selected statistics on immigrant scientists and

engineers from data just released from the

1993 National Survey of College Graduates

(NSCG). The NSCG is a National Science

Foundation followup survey of the education

and labor market experiences of 215,000

individuals under age 76 who had any

college degree at the time of the 1990

census. A particular strength of this survey

in studying immigrants is its ability to

identify individuals with science or engineering degrees from foreign institutions. Tables

and micro records from the NSCG will be

available soon on the Division of Science

Resources Studies’ World Wide Web site

(http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm) or on

a public-use computer file on tape from NSF.

The highest proportion of foreign-born

scientists and engineers at each educational

level is in engineering, ranging from 13.9

percent of engineers with bachelor’s degrees

to 40.3 percent of those with doctoral

degrees, as shown in table 1. The lowest

proportion of the foreign-born in science and

engineering (S&E) occurs in the social

sciences (13.1 percent of doctorates), with

the exception of economics (23.6 percent of

doctorates), which has a slightly greater

proportion of foreign-born than does S&E as a

whole.

Although U.S. graduate schools are the most

important source of doctoral degrees for

immigrant scientists and engineers, many bring

foreign graduate training to the U.S. labor

Table 1. Foreign-born share of individuals 

trained in science and engineering, by 

highest degree, as of April 1993

[In percent]

Field of degree Bachelor's

Master's/ 

professional 

degree

Doctorates

Engineering........................... 13.9 28.4 40.3

 Chemical......................... 17.0 32.5 38.6

 Civil................................ 17.3 36.4 50.6

 Electrical/electronic........... 14.8 28.6 39.1

 Mechanical....................... 12.8 30.3 38.1

Life sciences......................... 8.0 15.0 21.3

 Agricultural....................... 5.6 16.0 20.7

 Biological......................... 9.4 15.5 21.5

Mathematical/comp. sci...... 11.3 21.9 33.6

 Computer......................... 13.6 29.0 39.4

 Mathematical................ 9.2 13.2 31.1

Physical sciences............... 11.3 17.1 25.9

 Chemistry......................... 14.8 23.6 25.7

 Geosciences................... 5.2 9.7 16.8

 Physics/astronomy........ 11.2 20.0 30.6

Social sciences................... 6.7 10.1 13.1

 Economics..................... 11.1 25.5 23.6

 Political science.....................6.9 12.4 14.9

 Psychology...................... 5.9 6.1 9.0

 Sociology/

 anthropology.............. 4.4 13.1 14.4

All S&E............................... 9.8 18.0 23.0

Non-science and 6.8 7.7 12.4

 engineering................

SOURCE: NSF/SRS, National Survey of College Graduates, 1993
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market and research community.

Chart 1 shows the proportion of

foreign-born doctorates by field and

source of most recent doctorate. Of all

immigrants with S&E doctorates, 34.1

percent received their most recent

doctorates from foreign schools.

remains above 20 percent of doctorates

for all age groups up to age 65.

Chart 1. Share of U.S. resident doctorates

who are foreign born: 1993

Percent

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

U.S. school

Foreign school

U.S. school

Foreign

school

Field of doctorate

All S&E Ph.D.s

Social

sciences

Life sciences

Engineering

Math/

Computer sci.

Physical

sciences

Non S&E

KEY: S&E = science and engineering

SOURCE: NSF/SRS, National Survey of College

Graduates, 1993

Foreign-school doctorates are particularly important in the life sciences and

physical sciences and are of less

importance in the social sciences and

among non-S&E doctoral fields.

KEY: S&E = science and engineering

SOURCE: NSF/SRS, National Survey of

College Graduates, 1993

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Native born

Foreign-U.S. education

Chart 2. S&E doctorates engaged in

research or development: 1993

Percent

Native born

Foreign/U.S. education

Life

sciences

Social

sciences

Engineering

All S&E

Field of degree

Foreign/foreign

education

Immigrant scientists and engineers are

more likely to engage in research and

development activities than are their

native-born counterparts. As shown in

chart 2, this pattern holds true for each

major S&E field, and it is particularly

the case for foreign-born graduates of

U.S. doctoral programs. For all S&E

fields, 58.4 percent of the foreign-born

doctorates are engaged in R&D, as

compared with 44.8 percent of the native-born doctorates. This difference

is driven by foreign-born doctorates

from U.S. schools, 62.4 percent of

whom are engaged in R&D. Foreignborn doctorates from foreign schools

have a smaller R&D differential to the

native born, with 50.6 percent being

engaged in R&D. By field, the foreign-born/native-born differential in

R&D activities is greatest in the physical sciences—73.6 percent for foreignborn doctorates and 62.1 percent for

native-born doctorates.

 The importance of foreign-born

scientists and engineers to the United

States is not a new phenomenon and is

not limited to the youngest scientists

and engineers. Although the percentage

foreign-born is greatest for doctorates

at the youngest age groups (28.4

percent of 31- to 35-year-olds), it

For free printed copies of SRS Data

Briefs, write to the above address, call

703-306-1773, or send e-mail to

databrief@nsf.gov.

Physical

sciences

Math/

Comp. sci.