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Table 19-1.  Number of first university degree recipients, by field of study and country: 2008

Country Total Field of study
Social sciences, business, and law1 Science, mathematics, and engineering2 Arts and humanities3 Education4 Other5
Canada 227,368 84,214 49,208 29,038 24,848 40,061
France 412,730 171,850 112,398 59,525 10,089 58,868
Germany 369,913 100,315 106,986 79,573 34,151 48,888
Italy 231,082 82,212 50,877 36,004 12,844 49,145
Japan 671,064 231,876 160,993 115,930 39,553 122,712
Russian Federation6 1,151,645 572,734 281,965 49,386 138,354 109,206
United Kingdom 536,723 180,031 121,269 94,016 51,784 89,623
United States 2,343,517 936,082 348,484 364,506 286,953 407,492
1 Includes social and behavioral sciences (ISCED97 31), journalism and information (ISCED97 32), business and administration (ISCED97 34), and law (ISCED97 38).
2 Includes life sciences (ISCED97 42), physical sciences (ISCED97 44), mathematics and statistics (ISCED97 46), computing (ISCED97 48), engineering and engineering trades (ISCED97 52), manufacturing and processing (ISCED97 54), and architecture and building (ISCED97 58).
3 Includes arts (ISCED97 21) and humanities (ISCED97 22).
4 Includes teacher training (ISCED97 141) and education science (ISCED97 142).
5 Includes agriculture, forestry, and fishery (ISCED97 62); veterinary (ISCED97 64); health (ISCED97 72); social services (ISCED97 76); personal services (ISCED97 81); transport services (ISCED97 84); environmental protection (ISCED97 85); security services (ISCED97 86); and fields of study not known or unspecified.
6 Reference year is 2006 rather than 2008.
NOTE: The fields of education shown follow the 1997 revision of the International Standard Classification of Education Major Field of Study (ISCED97 MFS) (UNESCO 1997). Programs that prepare students for advanced research and highly qualified professions are classified as first university degree programs, which correspond to ISCED97 level 5A. For more information on the ISCED97 levels, see appendix A in this report. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2010). Education Database. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=RGRADSTY.