Number of Blacks Earning Doctorates in 2007 Increases by 10 Percent From the Previous Year and Nears an All-Time High

Using data from the National Science Foundation, the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago reports that 1,821 African Americans earned doctoral degrees at U.S. universities in 2007. This is an increase of 10 percent from 2006 and reverses two years of declines in the number of blacks earning doctorates.

The number of blacks earning doctorates in 2007 was close to the all-time high of 1,869 achieved in 2004.

In 2007 African Americans earned 6.6 percent of all doctorates awarded to U.S. citizens. This was up from 6.2 percent in 2006.