New Factsheets Highlight 2023 NSF STEM Workforce Data

By: Nabila Riaz
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
FASEB recently updated its series of one-page factsheets highlighting key science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce data. These factsheets collate data from disparate National Science Foundation (NSF) sources into thematic insights for the community.

Monitoring characteristics of graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and doctorate recipients provides useful information about the supply of the nation’s science, engineering, and health trainees and labor force. NSF surveys capture essential data on the emerging workforce, including educational history, demographics, funding sources, educational debt, and postgraduation plans. This data helps evaluate trends in doctoral education and degrees, ensuring that policies are data-driven and aligned with the realities of the next generation of researchers.

FASEB has compiled data from NSF’s 2023 Survey of Earned Doctorates and 2022 Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering into themes of interest:

• Female Doctorate Recipient Representation, Funding, and Debt 
• Doctorate Recipient Debt in 2023 
• International PhDs 
• Master’s Degrees by Field Prior to Doctorate Degree in 2023 
• PhDs with Disability in 2023 
• Intersection of Citizenship, Race, and Other Identities for PhDs in 2023

These factsheets, available free for your use, highlight data on the skilled technical workforce in the United States in curated topics to aid ease of understanding. View these updated factsheets to learn more and use them in your policy and advocacy efforts.