Number of Canadian PhDs set to grow: StatsCan

Statistics Canada says the number of doctorates earned in Canadian universities is set to grow because of rising enrolment.The agency says the number of sheepskins awarded annually has been relatively stable since the 1990s, with 4,000 awarded in 2004-2005. But enrolment in doctoral programs grew by about seven per cent a year between 2000 and 2004, suggesting there will soon be a jump in the number of PhDs awarded.

The agency says over three-quarters of the 2004-05 graduates completed studies in a science or engineering field; the most popular was biological sciences.

Survey data also shows a more equitable distribution between the sexes among doctoral grads that year with 46 per cent of the degrees going to women, up from 43 per cent the previous year.

-with a report from CP