For the first time in 14 years, the number of doctorates awarded by American research universities decreased.
The National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago announced the drop in Ph.D.s Monday after releasing the findings of its 1999 data.
According to the released report, the decline in the number of Ph.D.s awarded affected almost every discipline at colleges and universities around the nation.
The largest drop occurred in engineering, which experienced a 9.8 percent decrease, followed by the physical sciences, which showed a 6.2 percent drop.
Social sciences, humanities and education were affected least.
But the University did not experience the decreasing trend.
The number of students who received Ph.D.s from the Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science actually increased. Sixty students were awarded Ph.D.s last year, compared to 52 in the previous year.
Despite the rise in Engineering Ph.D. candidates at the University, Kathy Thornton, assistant dean of graduate programs at the Engineering School, said she is not surprised about the nationwide decline.
"The economy is so good, many people are going to work instead of grad school," Thornton said.
But the research program at the University is growing and creating more chances to bring in new Ph.D. students, she said.
"We have a need for students and a need for Ph.D. students," she added.
But the increase in the number of Ph.D.s awarded did not occur in every discipline at the University.
In 1999, the Darden School did not award any Ph.D.s. Only five Ph.D.s had been awarded the previous year.
"Historically, [Darden has] graduated very few Ph.D.s in general, especially compared to other business schools," Darden School Communications Specialist Margaret Haas said.
The "demand for business Ph.D.s is still relatively stable, but Darden wouldn't give you the best example," Haas added.
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Eight years ago, when many Ph.D. candidates would have entered graduate school "prospects in academics were pretty grim compared to what [students] could have gotten in other fields such as law, investment banking or commercial research," said Sarah Turner, assistant professor of education and economics.
Turner said she believes the declines in federal support of fellowships and graduate education could explain the shrinking pool of the Ph.D. candidates.
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