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Survey of Earned Doctorates
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The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) began in 1957-58 to collect data continuously on the number and characteristics of individuals receiving research doctoral degrees from all accredited U.S. institutions. Information from this survey becomes part of the Doctorate Records File (DRF). The DRF contains data on all earned doctorates granted by U.S. universities, in all fields from 1920 to the present. The results of this annual survey are used to assess characteristics and trends in doctorate education and degrees. This information is vital for educational and labor force planners within the federal government and in academia.
NCSES is updating their data linkage policy to better meet the data linkage needs of NCSES and external researchers. Currently, NCSES does not support researcher access to direct Personally Identifiable Information (PII). NCSES encourages researchers interested in developing an SAP application that includes linking NCSES restricted data to non-NCSES data sources to contact NCSES at NCSES_Licensing@nsf.gov to assess feasibility and appropriateness.
This dataset is available through the NCSES Secure Data Access Facility (SDAF), a virtual enclave that can only be accessed within the United States.
Detailed Methodology
The survey is a census. The total universe in 2023 included 57,862 persons from 459 U.S. academic institutions that conferred research doctorates.
Two modes of data collection are used in the SED: self-administered Web survey and computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI). The self-administered Web survey is the primary mode of SED completion. The proportion of SED completions using the Web has increased steadily since it was introduced in 2001, and it reached 98.7% in 2023. Nonrespondents are contacted by e-mail, mail, and text messages to complete the Web survey. If the series of follow-up e-mails, mailings, and text messages is unsuccessful, the survey contractor attempts to reach nonrespondents to complete an abbreviated survey by CATI. Approximately 1.3% of SED completions were from CATI in 2023. At the end of the data collection phase, institutional coordinators were contacted to obtain information on a small number of critical SED data items for nonrespondents from their institution. Due to the availability of comprehensive lists of doctorate-granting institutions, coverage error of institutions is minimal. Because the graduate schools identify degree recipients at the time of doctorate completion, coverage error for individual doctorate recipients is also minimal. In 2023, 11 doctorate-granting institutions declined to fully enumerate their doctorate recipients for academic year 2023. Information on the graduates for all of these institutions was found from other sources, such as ProQuest. Comparisons of the institutions with research doctorate recipients covered by the SED that also report to the IPEDS Completions Survey confirm that there is minimal coverage error. Each year’s survey data are added to the Doctorate Records File (DRF), which includes cumulative SED data dating back to 1958; more limited information (sex, institution, field, and year of doctorate) is contained on the DRF for PhDs who graduated in 1920–56.
The SED has the ability to link with other data sources such as the IPEDS Completions Survey postsecondary institutions, ProQuest doctoral dissertation abstract, etc.