Women Comprised 47 Percent of 2005-2006 Doctoral Recipients in the Statistical Sciences, 34 Percent of Math Sciences Recipients

Alexandria, VA (PRWeb) February 22, 2007 -- For the second year in a row, the statistical sciences produced the highest percentage of female new doctoral recipients, according to the First Report of the 2006 Annual Survey of the Mathematical Sciences in the U.S. For 2005-2006, female recipients in the statistical sciences made up 47 percent of the total new statistical doctoral degrees reported in the survey, compared to 44 percent for 2004-2005.

This 50th annual survey is under the direction of the Data Committee, a joint committee of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), the American Statistical Association (ASA), the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and the Mathematical Association of America. The report presents a profile of recipients of doctoral degrees from mathematical sciences departments at U.S. universities from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006. The statistical group contains U.S. departments or programs of statistics, biostatistics, and biometrics that responded to the survey and reported a doctoral program.

"These figures support a conclusion that the statistics profession is not only diverse but also extremely interesting and welcoming to women," said ASA Executive Director William Smith. "Statisticians rely on skills in the mathematical sciences, finding applications to problems of wide interest, but they also must communicate with scientists of all stripes, as well as to the general public."

The current survey is based on information about 1,245 new doctoral recipients in the mathematical sciences, the highest number ever reported in the history of the survey. Of the total, 394 (32 percent) are females, and 287 are new doctorates in the statistical sciences. Of those, 134, or 47 percent, are females. In addition to the 287 doctoral recipients, 118 students receiving doctorates in other mathematical sciences wrote theses on statistics/biostatistics or probability.

The unemployment rate among recent statistics graduates is extremely low at 1.6 percent, even relative to the very healthy, overall recent-graduate rate of 4.4 percent for the mathematical sciences. Employment opportunities for statisticians range from academia to various levels of government, with as many as 32 percent finding positions in government, business and industry.

The complete First Report can be viewed and/or downloaded on the AMS web site at http://www.ams.org/notices/200702/06first-report.pdf.

A brochure on "Careers in Statistics" is available for download via the ASA web site at http://www.amstat.org/Careers/careerkit.pdf.

About the American Statistical Association
The American Statistical Association (ASA), a scientific and educational society founded in Boston in 1839, is the second oldest professional society in the United States. For more than 160 years, ASA has been providing its 18,000 members serving in academia, government, and industry and the public with up-to-date, useful information about statistics. The ASA has a proud tradition of service to statisticians, quantitative scientists, and users of statistics across a wealth of academic areas and applications. For additional information about the American Statistical Association, please visit the association's web site at http://www.amstat.org or call 703.684.1221.

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