This book is the seventh in a series published by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on doctorate cohorts and the baccalaureate and doctorate institutions of U.S. PhD's. The four chapters cover historical trends, characteristics of doctorate recipients, post-doctorate plans and activities, and institutional characteristics. The growth of PhD graduations from 1861 to 1974 is traced. Specifically described are: the number of PhD's, particularly with regard to education, citizenship, age, and migration; the plans of the PhD's at the time of graduation and how these plans were carried out in actuality, with regard to further education or employment; the number of schools, growth in numbers since 1920, and geographic distribution; and the undergraduate institutions in which the PhD's earned their bachelor's degrees. (Author/SPG)