National Graduate Education Overview
Aggregate data from NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates, NSF Graduate Student Survey, and IPEDS
58,131
Doctorates Awarded (2024)
33.3%
Temporary Visa Holders (2024)
36.5%
S&E Foreign (Temp Visa, 2024)
314,569
NRA Grad Students (IPEDS 2022)
38.4%
Grad NRA Share (IPEDS 2022)
45,103
Chinese PhDs (2018-2024 Total)
Doctorate Trends, 1979-2024
Total doctorates awarded by citizenship status (NSF SED Table 1-6)
Source: NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates, Table 1-6
Foreign Share by STEM Field
% Non-Resident Alien enrollment (NSF GSS)
Source: NSF Graduate Students Survey, 2022
PhD Funding Sources
Primary financial support, all fields (NSF SED Table 4-1)
Source: NSF SED Table 4-1 (2024 doctorate recipients)
Top Source Countries for Temp Visa Doctorates
Total doctorates 2018-2024 and % intending to stay in U.S. (NSF SED Table 2-8)
Source: NSF SED Table 2-8
Work Authorization Pipeline: OPT, STEM OPT, and CPT
Annual authorizations with employment start dates. OPT grew 11x from 2007 to 2024. The 2016 STEM OPT 24-month extension rule dramatically expanded STEM work authorization. Source: ICE/SEVP SEVIS By the Numbers
269,323
Total OPT Authorizations (2024)
95,384
STEM OPT Extensions (2024)
130,586
CPT Authorizations (2024)
Source: ICE/SEVP — Total Number Annual OPT, STEM OPT, CPT Authorizations CY2007-2024
Top 50 Universities by NRA Graduate Enrollment
IPEDS Fall 2022 graduate enrollment. Click column headers to sort.
Source: IPEDS Fall 2022 Enrollment