Graduate education is not one market or one path. These figures provide useful context for conversations about program choice, research training, and the changing shape of doctoral study in the United States.
Key figures
The graduate education landscape, in six figures
Graduate students enrolled in fall 2023
U.S. graduate enrollment reached 3,213,887 students, up 1.0% from fall 2022.
National Center for Education Statistics, 2023 ↗Increase in graduate applications
Applications to graduate school rose from fall 2022 to fall 2023, the second consecutive annual increase reported in the survey.
Council of Graduate Schools, 2024 ↗Research doctorates awarded in 2024
U.S. institutions awarded 58,131 research doctorates in the academic year ending June 2024, up from 57,806 the year before.
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2024 ↗Science and engineering research doctorates
Science and engineering fields accounted for 45,929 research doctorates awarded by U.S. institutions in 2024.
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2024 ↗Computer science doctorates earned by temporary visa holders
Temporary visa holders earned the majority of 2024 research doctorates in computer and information sciences, engineering, and mathematics and statistics.
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2024 ↗How to read these figures
A few boundaries matter.
Enrollment figures count graduate students broadly. Research doctorate figures are narrower: they cover doctorate recipients whose degree required an original contribution such as a dissertation, rather than professional-practice doctorates. The sources use different populations and reporting periods, so their totals should be read as complementary views of graduate education, not as parts of one calculation.
Sources and method
Where the figures come from
This page uses the most recent public releases available on September 24, 2026. Each statistic links to its underlying publication. The page will be reviewed when the next major federal or graduate-enrollment releases are available.
- National Center for Education Statistics, “Postsecondary Enrollment Rises in Fall 2023”, published 2024.
- Council of Graduate Schools, Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2013 to 2023, published December 2024.
- National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates: 2024, released August 2025, with featured analysis released March 2026.
Cite this page
A suggested citation
Grad Strategist. (2026, September 24). U.S. Graduate Education Statistics: Enrollment, Doctorates, and Trends. Retrieved from https://gradstrategist.com/graduate-education-statistics