Introduction

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Knowledge creation and innovation through research and the development of highly qualified personnel is becoming increasingly important in the global economy. The Government of Canada has stated that the country must improve its "Knowledge Advantage" in order to compete globally and to promote economic growth. A key strategy to achieve this goal is the education of doctoral graduates.

Doctoral graduates form the new generation of professors that teach advanced courses at colleges and universities, playing a key role in the transmission of up to date knowledge to students, particularly graduate students. Since doctoral studies include the design, implementation and the interpretation of research, they also are important additions to the pool of researchers in the education, market and public sectors. Through research they contribute to knowledge creation in a variety of fields as well as product and process innovation.

Each cohort of doctoral students also raises the level of national human capital. The education level of the workforce determines the degree to which new technologies can be adopted and the amount of capital that is utilized in production. One study found that improvements in the education of the US workforce accounted for one third of all growth in the US economy over the last 50 years.¹ The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has noted that Canada has a low proportion of people with advanced degrees in the population, particularly those with advanced Science degrees.

Given this, it is important to understand the educational pathways that lead students to doctoral studies, the barriers they face, and the returns to the investment made in the additional years required for such an advanced degree.

The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) is a key source of national data for better understanding the development of the supply of doctoral graduates in Canada. SED is an annual survey of PhD graduates, which was conducted for the first time in the 2003/2004 academic year. It captures data on the length of time it took to complete the degree, how the students financed their education, and demographic characteristics of the graduates. The survey also provides information regarding the future plans of doctoral graduates, including their employment prospects and plans for further studies. Additionally, there is labour market information in the survey regarding the stock of these highly specialized graduates across various fields, the proportion of international students and the migration of Canadian and foreign graduates.

The United States has been conducting a similar study (also named the Survey of Earned Doctorates) since 1958. Since many of the questions in the Canadian SED have been modeled on the American doctoral survey it is easy and useful to draw comparisons to the American data to put the Canadian figures into perspective.

Notes on the data

The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) consists of a questionnaire given to all graduates completing a doctorate degree from each of the doctorate granting institutions in Canada, thus SED intends to be a census of doctoral graduates. The 2004/2005 survey results represent 3979 graduates who received a questionnaire. Of those who received a questionnaire, 54% responded to the survey, which compares to a response rate of 60% from the previous year. It is estimated that approximately 1% of PhD graduates (or 44 graduates) were excluded from the survey frame due to a non-response from the PhD granting institutions. This is a large improvement over the previous year when approximately 9% of doctorate graduates were excluded from the survey. Thus direct comparisons of the number of graduates between years will not be entirely accurate.

Survey responses in SED have been weighted to adjust for non-response in order to better reflect the population characteristics as reported by doctorate granting institutions. One limitation of SED is that it does not cover Canadians who graduate from a PhD program in a foreign country. Therefore, while the survey does represent graduates from Canadian programs it does not represent all Canadians who have earned a doctoral degree.

In order to meet conditions of confidentiality the fields of study have been compressed in some tables in order to provide samples that are large enough to be reported. Even with these compressed fields there are occasions when there are still insufficient numbers of graduates in a category to report the proportions. The fields are compressed as follows:

Detailed list	Compressed list
Agricultural sciences	Life sciences
Biological sciences
Health sciences
Engineering	Engineering
Computer science and Mathematics	Physical sciences
Chemistry
Other Physical sciences
Psychology	Social sciences
Social sciences
Humanities	Humanities
Education	Other programs
Professional fields/Other

Trends in the number of doctoral graduates

The number of doctoral students graduating from Canadian Universities has remained steady in recent years, at around 4,000 graduates². The 2004/2005 academic year was no different with approximately 4,000 students graduating with a doctoral degree from a Canadian institution. As of the 2001 census, doctoral graduates accounted for 0.41% of the Canadian population. However, this is below the level of 0.72% in the United States for the same year.

Chart 1
Proportion of earned doctorates in the population, United States and Canada

Although the number of PhD graduates in recent years remained stable at 4,000, enrolment in doctoral programs has increased substantially. Between 2000 and 2004 enrolment in doctoral programs has grown at an average rate of almost 7% a year. In the 2004/2005 academic year there were over 34,000 students enrolled in all years of doctoral programs. The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) attributes the growth in enrolment to two factors. The first is an increase in the number of faculty at Canadian institutions, which has increased the institutional capacity for training graduate students. The second is an increase in the level of funding for graduate students through student financial assistance and research grants from both governments and universities. The increase in enrolment means that there should be a commensurate increase in the number of earned doctorates in the near future.³

Despite recent growth in enrolment, Canada ranks quite low in international comparisons of doctoral graduates. The OECD reports on the proportion of the population at the typical graduating age who had graduated from an Advanced Research Program. The OECD uses the typical graduating age in the country of question in order to make the proportions comparable across countries that have diverse education systems, particularly at the graduate level. While these figures do not accurately reflect the entire population, they are useful for comparisons. At 0.8% of the population Canada is well below the OECD average of 1.3%.⁴

Chart 2
Proportion of PhD graduates in the population at graduating age

Field of study of doctoral graduates

About one fifth of the 2004/2005 graduates (21%) were enrolled in biological sciences. Engineering and humanities each account for over 10% of graduates. As was the case in 2003/2004, similar proportions graduated from psychology (9%), social sciences (8%), and education (9%).

Physical sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and engineering, which together constitute the broad category of "science and engineering," accounted for over 75% of Canadian doctoral graduates. In the United States this category accounted for 68% of doctoral graduates. There were more doctoral graduates in education in the United States compared to Canada (14% compared to 9% in Canada). Appendix Table 1 contains a complete list of graduates in Canada by field of study.

Chart 3
Distribution of doctoral graduates by field of study in Canada and the United States

Gender differences of doctoral graduates

There was a slightly more equitable distribution of male and female graduates in the 2004/2005 academic year than in the previous year. In 2004/2005 almost 46% of graduates were women compared to almost 43% the year before. While gender differences were less pronounced overall, there remained large differences within fields of study. Engineering remained the most male dominated field, while psychology had become the most female dominated field of study.

Some of the increase in the proportion of women came from substantial gains in fields that have traditionally been male dominated. In computer and information sciences and mathematics, as well as in physical sciences, the numbers of female graduates grew much faster than the number of male graduates. Between the 2003/2004⁵ and the 2004/2005 academic year, the proportion of women graduating from computer and information sciences and mathematics grew by almost 49%. Likewise, the proportion of women graduating from physical sciences grew by over 23%.⁶

Foreign students in Canadian universities are disproportionately male. When foreign and visa students were excluded from the population, the proportion of women graduating from Canadian doctoral programs was just over 50%. This compares to 47% of Canadian graduates from the 2003/2004 academic year who were women.

In the United States women accounted for 45% of doctoral graduates in the 2004/2005 academic year (compared to 46% in Canada). This marks the tenth straight year that the proportion of female doctorate recipients in the United States has been greater than 40%.

Chart 4
Proportion of doctoral graduates who are women by field of study

Almost one-quarter of PhD graduates in Canada were foreign or visa students

In the 2004/2005 academic year, approximately 23% of all graduates were foreign or visa students. Foreign graduates were disproportionately represented in engineering and the physical sciences. Over 42% of engineering graduates and more than 32% of physical science graduates were foreign or visa students. Conversely, less than 12% of social science graduates and less than 17% of humanities graduates were foreign or visa students. Perhaps this indicates that foreign students were interested in the more technical fields that have greater job prospects in their country of origin and which have a smaller language barrier to overcome. It may also be that foreign students were less interested in Canadian programs that have regional content, as in the humanities.

A notable proportion of Canadians pursued their doctoral studies as foreign students at American institutions. Canada was the fifth largest country of origin for foreign doctoral graduates in American universities. Canadians accounted for 556 graduates in the 2004/2005 academic year, or 1.3% of all students who earned a doctorate degree in the United States in that year. Over 61% of Canadian students in US universities reported that they intended to stay in the United States upon completion of their degree. This represents a loss of about 340 doctoral graduates from Canada.

The United States is a desired destination for many foreign students, particularly for students from emerging economies. Approximately 35% of all doctoral graduates in the United States were foreign or visa students.⁷ Canada had a smaller proportion of foreign graduate students (12 percentage points lower) than the US in 2004/2005.

Doctoral degrees can be a lengthy investment

The age of graduation is a reflection of the student's age at enrolment and the length of time required to complete the degree. The average age of graduation for doctoral students was 36 years old and the average time for completion of a doctoral degree was 5 years and 9 months, although there was considerable variation among fields of study. Degrees in social sciences took the longest time to complete, a full year longer than the overall average. Humanities and psychology also had longer average times for completion. On the other hand, engineering required an average of only 5 years of study. Chemistry, computer and information sciences and mathematics, and health sciences were also relatively short.

Students in certain fields appeared to enroll only after gaining work experience. The average age at enrolment was over 30 years for fields such as agriculture, education, health sciences, humanities, and professional fields/other. Those in scientific fields such as chemistry appeared to complete doctoral degrees as part of their initial education.

When examined by field of study there was a high degree of correlation between the time to completion and the average age at graduation, with some notable exceptions. Education students were the oldest graduates at 45 years despite having an average length program. Similarly, professional fields/other and agricultural sciences graduates were above the average age upon completion even though these programs were of average length. In contrast, biological science students were among the youngest graduates despite having an average length program.

Chart 5
Average age of graduates at start and completio

Universities were the main contributors to doctoral students' financial support

Graduates reported using multiple sources to finance their education. The majority of students received funding from the university or institution where they did their graduate studies. About 65% of students said they received a fellowship or scholarship through their university, 63% reported receiving a teaching assistantship, and 32% reported receiving a research assistantship. Fellowships and scholarships were also received from national research councils, provincial governments and other sources. Smaller proportions of students (25% to 40%) also reported using loans, personal savings, employment earnings, and savings or earnings from family (spouse, partner or other family members) to finance their education.

Graduates were also asked about their primary financial source to pay for their studies (Chart 6). Fellowships and scholarships from all sources were reported as the primary source of financial support for 56% of graduates, while research and teaching assistantships were reported as the primary financial support for nearly 18% of graduates. Other sources cited as the primary source of financial support include personal earnings during graduate school, personal savings or family earnings or savings, loans, and employer reimbursement and assistance.

Chart 6
Primary source of financial support for graduate studies

Some differences were observed in the reported primary source of financial support across genders. Women were more likely to report fellowships and scholarships than men were, however, men were more likely to report receiving a research or teaching assistantship. Women were also more likely to use money from personal earnings and savings or family earnings or savings as their primary source of financing. But given the uneven distribution of genders between fields of study it is difficult to draw conclusions about genders without first controlling for program choice.

Fewer doctoral students were graduating with debt

The 2004/2005 graduates were less likely to have student debt than were the graduates from the previous year. In 2004/2005, 59% of students reported having no debt from their graduate studies and 50% reported having no debt from either their graduate or undergraduate studies upon completion. This compares to 56% and 46% respectively for the doctoral graduates from a year earlier.

While the proportion of graduates holding education debt had decreased from the previous year, the proportion of graduates owing greater than $20,000 from their graduate or undergraduate degrees remained constant. Fifteen percent of the 2004/2005 graduates reported owing over $20,000 from their graduate studies.

Among fields of study, physical sciences and engineering had the greatest proportion (70%) of graduates without any graduate student debt, while social sciences and humanities had the fewest graduates with no graduate student debt. Additionally, about one fifth of graduates from social sciences and humanities had amassed debt over $20,000.

Chart 7
Doctoral graduate debt by field of study

A greater proportion of doctoral students in the United States, 67% of graduates, reported no debt accruing from their graduate studies (compared to 59% in Canada). However, a similar proportion of graduates (51% compared with 50% in Canada) reported no debt from both their graduate and undergraduate degrees. A larger proportion of students in the United States (20% compared to Canada's 15%) reported graduate debt of over $20,000.

Many doctoral graduates had firm plans by the time of graduation

Almost three quarters of doctoral graduates (73%) in 2004/2005 reported having firm plans for either employment or for further studies by the time of their graduation. About 20% of graduates reported that they would return to a position held prior to the completion of their degree, and almost 53% of graduates had made a definite commitment to begin work or further studies in a new situation. The remaining graduates (27%) had no firm plans by the time of graduation: 7% were in negotiations with an employer, 18% were seeking a position but did not have any specific prospects, and a further 1% had no plans for either work or further studies.

Graduates of social sciences, life sciences, and physical sciences were the most likely to have firm plans, with about 75% of these graduates having firm plans for after graduation. Graduates of humanities were the least likely to have firm plans with less than 57% either returning to an employer or having made a definite commitment for other work or study.

There was a similar proportion of graduates from the previous year who reported having firm plans upon graduation. In the 2003/2004 academic year, 74% of all graduates had firm plans with an additional 7% in negotiations.

In the United States a comparable proportion of graduates (71% compared to Canada's 73%) had firm plans for work or study upon graduation.

The majority of doctoral graduates will be employed in research and development or in teaching

Graduates with firm plans for employment were asked about their primary activities for the coming year. Nearly 38% of graduates reported that they would be conducting research and development and one third of graduates would be employed in teaching. Over 22% of graduates were going to be employed in professional services. There were large differences in activities across fields of study with the sciences more directed to research and development (50% to 60%) and the humanities more inclined to teaching (72%).

Chart 8
Primary activity of employment of doctoral graduates by field of study

Graduates were also asked about the sector of the economy in which they would be employed. The service industries were reported most often as an employer of doctoral graduates with 54% of graduates employed in educational services, 16% in professional, scientific and technical services, 13% in health care and social assistance, 8% in public administration, and 6% in all other service industries. Only 4% of graduates had firm plans to be employed in a goods producing industry. Engineering was the only exception to this pattern, with 23% of graduates having firm plans for employment in a goods producing industry.

The expected income of doctoral graduates increased

Among graduates with firm plans for employment, almost 64% expected that their annual wage or salary would be $55,000 or greater. This was an increase over the previous year of almost 4 percentage points⁸. The number of those expecting to earn less than $35,000 remained unchanged from the previous year at 12%. Large differences in expected earnings existed between fields of study. The category "other fields of study" (which includes education, professional fields and others) had the greatest proportion of graduates expecting to earn more than $55,000, followed by engineering. The smallest proportion of graduates expecting to be in the higher income range came from humanities.

Chart 9
Expected income of doctoral graduates with firm plans by field of study – proportion by income range

Doctoral graduates further training and study

Almost three quarters of all graduates pursuing further education reported that they would be doing so in a postdoctoral fellowship. The proportion of postdoctoral fellowships was greatest for graduates in humanities (92%).

Over 90% of graduates in all fields, except the social sciences, reported that their primary activity during their continued studies would be related to research and development. Of the graduates in social sciences pursuing further studies, 14% would be doing so in the area of professional services, while 83% would be in research and development. Overall, only 4% of graduates pursuing further studies would be doing so in professional services with an additional 4% in other areas.

Graduates reported obtaining funding from a variety of sources to finance their postdoctoral studies. Sources included funding agencies (47%), industry and business (8%), colleges and universities (24%), private foundations and non-profits (5%). Significant differences were observed for the source of funding across fields of study. Engineering graduates were more likely to use funding from industry or business as their primary source than were other fields of study.

Graduates pursuing further studies were most likely to be involved in an academic environment. Eighty-six percent of graduates reported plans to continue studies at an educational institution, 7% would be doing so within the government sector, and a further 6% would be continuing their studies in the private sector.

Intended country of residence of doctoral graduates

The international mobility of graduates is important due to the international nature of academic research. About 23% of doctoral graduates in 2004/2005 planned to live outside of Canada upon the completion of their degree. This was about the same as the proportion from the 2003/2004 academic year when 21% of doctoral graduates reported intentions to leave the country.

While about 46% of graduates intending to leave were born in Canada, this represents only 18% of Canadian born doctoral graduates. Conversely, while American born graduates make up a small percentage of all those intending to remain in Canada, this group accounts for 60% of all US born graduates studying in Canada. An even greater proportion of graduates born outside Canada or the United States, over 72%, intended to remain in Canada upon completion of their doctoral studies.

Compared to those who intended to stay in Canada, graduates who were planning on living outside of Canada were more likely to have had firm plans for work. Over half of those leaving reported firm plans for employment in their intended country, while only 29% of those planning to stay in Canada had firm plans to work. On the other hand, graduates who were planning on continuing their studies were more likely to do so in Canada. Only 27% of those who were intending to leave planned on post-doctoral studies, while almost 46% of those who were staying said they will continue their education.

Graduates who had a spouse or a partner were less likely to have had plans to leave, as were graduates with dependents. Over 27% of graduates without dependents had plans to leave while just 13% of graduates with dependents expected to leave Canada. Men were also more likely to leave than were women.

Graduates from life sciences and from physical sciences were more likely to have had plans to leave Canada than were graduates from other fields, particularly the "other" category where graduates were the least likely to leave. About 27% of graduates from life sciences and 34% of graduates from physical sciences had plans to live outside Canada, while only 15% of social science graduates and 13% of "other" fields had plans to leave. No doubt this is partially influenced by the number of foreign and visa students enrolled in the various fields, however, life sciences had a relatively low proportion of foreign students, while engineering graduates, which included by far the largest proportion of foreign students, were below average in the proportion with plans to leave Canada.

Chart 10
Foreign born doctoral graduates and the proportion planning to leave Canada by field of study

Table 1
Proportion of doctoral graduates planning to stay in Canada or leave