Of every 100 doctorates in computer science, 6 went to Black people.
Four figures to start
Each one leads to its chart, its source and its limits.
Guess before you look
Of every 100 U.S. doctorates earned in 2024 in a discipline, how many went to Black people? Place your estimate, then compare with reality.
The journey, from access to studies to employment
Five steps, five questions. For each one, the Index presents what an official source measures, with a link to that source.
U.S. doctorates, discipline by discipline
Share of Black people among 2024 doctorate holders, citizens and permanent residents. Click a discipline to see its full card and breakdown.
Canada: students and graduates, field by field
Statistics Canada cross-tabulates visible minority group with field of study. Choose a dataset: the dotted bar shows the share of Black people across all fields, so you can see which fields are above or below it.
2021 Census benchmarks and trend
Employment: who holds the jobs?
In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the share of Black people in each occupation. In Canada, Statistics Canada tracks graduates’ income two years after graduation.
Income two years after a STEM bachelor’s degree, Canada
How to read these numbers
Each published indicator states its value, year, territory, numerator and denominator, source and review date. An indicator without a source is not published.
To avoid misreadings
Why only citizens and permanent residents?
The survey publishes race and ethnicity only for these two groups. Temporary visa holders earn the majority of U.S. doctorates in computer science (61% in 2024), engineering (54%) and mathematics and statistics (51%): they are therefore outside the calculation.
What does “Black” mean in these tables?
The survey’s “Black or African American” category, for people who do not identify as Hispanic. A Black person who identifies as Hispanic is counted under “Hispanic”. People who report more than one race form a separate category.
What do the Canadian tables measure?
Statistics Canada links its institutional files to the long-form questionnaires of the 2016 and 2021 censuses, which cover only a sample of the population, then weights the result. Only citizens and permanent residents are counted. All counts are randomly rounded: totals may differ slightly and very small counts (mathematics doctorates, for example) are unreliable. “Black” is a visible minority category; people who report several groups are classified separately.
And the U.S. employment figures?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics draws them from a household survey. Its “Black or African American” category includes Hispanic people who identify as Black, unlike the doctorate survey: the two series cannot be compared directly.
Why compare with the population with caution?
The 11.7% benchmark covers the entire U.S. population, all ages combined. Doctorate holders form a narrower group. The gap is a point of reference, not a verdict.