What percentage of U.S. PhD candidates complete their dissertation?
Doctor of Philosophy
Depending on the specific field of study, completion of a Ph.D. program usually takes four to eight years of study after the Bachelor's Degree; those students who begin a Ph.D. program with a master's degree may complete their Ph.D. degree a year or two sooner. As Ph.D. programs typically lack the formal structure of undergraduate education, there are significant individual differences in the time taken to complete the degree. Overall, 57% of students who begin a Ph.D. program in the US will complete their degree within ten years, approximately 30% will drop out or be dismissed, and the remaining 13% of students will continue on past ten years.
Immigration to the United States
55% of Ph.D. students in engineering in the United States are foreign born (2004). Between 1980 and 2000, the percentage of Ph.D. scientists and engineers employed in the United States who were born abroad has increased from 24% to 37%. 45% of Ph.D. physicists working in the United States are foreign born in 2004. 80% of total post-doctoral chemical and materials engineering in the United States are foreign-born (1988).