The National Science Foundation recently released its annual data on doctoral degree recipients in the United States. Data for the annual Survey of Earned Doctorates shows that universities in the United States awarded doctorates to 2,990 African Americans in 2025. This is the highest number ever recorded. African Americans earned 8.3 percent of all doctorates awarded to U.S. citizens or permanent residents of this country.
But not all the news is good. In 2025, 1,784 doctoral degrees were awarded in the fields of soil sciences, human genetics, evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience, environmental health engineering, electrical and electronic engineering technologies, geochemistry, geophysics and seismology, applied statistics, computer science and engineering, theoretical chemistry, atomic/molecular physics, elementary particle physics, plasma and high temperature physics, agricultural economics, environmental/natural resource economics, archeology, and Spanish.
None of these 1,784 doctorates were awarded to African Americans.
