Doctoral Graduates in Canada: Findings from the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2004/2005 - ARCHIVED

This report presents findings from the 2004/2005 Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED). The survey was administered to all students graduating from a doctoral program at a Canadian University. The 2004/2005 SED is the second edition of the annual survey.

In the 2004/2005 academic year there were approximately 4,000 new doctoral graduates, adding to the stock of highly specialized human capital in Canada. Over three quarters of Canada's PhD graduates are completing their studies in a science or engineering field, with the most popular field of study being biological sciences. Although PhD graduates accounted for roughly 0.4% of the population, Canada lags behind many other OECD countries in this regard.

Most graduates were finding success upon completion of their degrees as a large majority of graduates (73%) had firm plans to be working or continuing their studies by the time of graduation. The proportion of students who graduated without any graduate student debt decreased from the year before to reach 59%. Over three quarters of the graduates plan to stay in Canada to either work or continue their education.