americanacad americanacad

The Importance and Value of 

Discipline-Level Data in NSOPF

1

Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology

October 26, 2022
americanacad americanacad

Doctoral Degree Holders Sector of Employment,

by Field of Degree, 2019

Source: National Survey of College Graduates 2

Academia, 73%

Not-for-Profit, 

5%

Industry/ 

Business, 11%

Government, 

10%

Other, 0%

Humanities

Academia, 39%

Not-for-Profit, 

11%

Industry/ 

Business, 36%

Government, 

14% Other, 0%

All Fields 
americanacad americanacad

Job Openings Listed with Scholarly Societies, 

by Discipline, 2002–2020

Source: Scholarly Society Job Listings 3

History, 983

538

English, 1732

728

Lang. Other than English, 1369

683

Religion, 536

Classical Studies, 331

166

135

Philosophy, 780

642

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

2001–02 2004–05 2007–08 2010-11 2013-14 2016-17 2019-20
americanacad americanacad

Number of Postsecondary Teachers, by Subject Taught, 1999–2020

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics 4

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019

English Language and Literature

Communications Teachers, Postsecondary

Languages and Literatures other than

English

History

Philosophy and Religion

Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies
americanacad americanacad

Estimated Number of Faculty Employed in Field, by Employment Status, Fall 2003

5

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

Humanities Business Health Sciences Natural Sciences Social Sciences

Full-time Faculty

Part-time Faculty
americanacad americanacad

Average Number of Classes Taught for Credit, by Discipline and Employment Status 

at Institution, Fall 2003

6

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

 Political science History Physical sciences Biological sciences Mathematics

Full time Part time
americanacad americanacad

Average Hours Spent E-mailing Students, by Field, Fall 2003

7

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

 Political science History Physical sciences Biological sciences Mathematics

Full time Part time
americanacad americanacad

Age Distribution of Faculty Employed Full-time, by Field, Fall 2003

8

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Under 35 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or older

Humanities

All Fields
americanacad americanacad

Estimated Age at Which Faculty Member Plans to Stop Working, by Field, Fall 1998

Source: NSOPF, Fall 1999 9

30%

58%

12%

49%

45%

7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

54.5 to 64.5 64.5 to 74.5 74.5+

History

All Fields
americanacad americanacad

Average Income from Basic Salary from Academic Institution, 

by Employment Status, Fall 2003

10

$0.0

$10,000.0

$20,000.0

$30,000.0

$40,000.0

$50,000.0

$60,000.0

$70,000.0

$80,000.0

$90,000.0

$100,000.0

 Humanities Social sciences Natural sciences Business Health sciences

Full time Part time
americanacad americanacad

Share of Faculty Members “Very Satisfied” with Job, by Field and Employment Status, Fall 2003

11

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

 Political science History Physical sciences Biological sciences Mathematics

Full-time Part-time
americanacad americanacad

Share of Faculty Members Dissatisfied with Job, by Field and Employment Status, Fall 2003

12

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

 Political science History Physical sciences Biological sciences Mathematics

Full-time Part-time
americanacad americanacad

Visit us at 

www.HumanitiesIndicators.org

Contact us with specific questions at 

rtownsend@amacad.org or on Twitter 

@rbthisted

And sign up for email updates at 

http://bit.ly/IndicatorsUpdates 

13