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E.D. TABS

Degrees and Others Awards Conferred by Institutions of Higher Education: 1994-95

July 1997

(NCES 97-415)  Ordering information

Highlights

In the 1994-95 school year (July 1, 1994 to June 30, 1995), 2.2 million degrees were awarded by America's higher education institutions (Table A-1). Of the total number of degrees awarded, 24.3 percent were associate's degrees, 52.3 percent were bachelor's degrees, 17.9 percent were master's degrees, 2.0 percent were doctor's degrees and 3.4 percent were first-professional degrees (Table A-2).

Public institutions awarded the majority of degrees at all degree levels, except for first-professional degrees. Public institutions awarded 83.7 percent of associate's degrees, about two-thirds of bachelor's and doctor's degrees, and 56.4 percent of master's degrees. However, public institutions awarded only 39.4 percent of first-professional degrees (Table A-1).

The majority of degrees at the master's degree level and below were awarded to women. At the doctoral degree level only 39.4 percent were awarded to women and at the first professional level 40.8 percent of the degrees were awarded to women (Figure 1 and Table A-1).

Figure 1.-Percentage of degrees awarded to women and minorities, by level of degree: 50 states and District of Columbia, 1994-95


Source: U.S. Department of Education, , Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, "Completions" survey, 1994-95, and "Consolidated" survey, 1995.

Three-quarters of all degrees awarded in 1995 were awarded to white students, 17.2 percent were awarded to minority students and 7.8 percent were awarded to non-resident aliens or individuals whose race/ethnicity was unknown or unreported. These percentages, however, varied considerably by the level of the degree. For example, non-resident aliens received 12.3 percent of all master's degrees awarded and 25 percent of all doctor's degrees (Table A-1).

The share of degrees awarded to minorities was highest at the associate's degree level (19.7 percent) and dropped at each successive degree level through the doctor's degree; the minority shares at these levels were 17.6 percent of bachelor's degrees, 13.3 percent of master's degrees, and 11.7 percent of doctor's degrees. This drop was even more precipitous when blacks, Hispanics and American Indians are examined separately from Asian/Pacific Islanders. Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians received 16 percent of all associate's degrees in 1995, but only 12.5 percent of bachelor's degrees, 9.3 percent of master's degrees and 6 percent of doctor's degrees. Asian/Pacific Islanders, on the other hand, had a higher share of degrees at higher degree levels increasing from 3.7 percent of associate's degrees to 5.7 percent of doctor's degrees (Figure 1 and Table A-1).

Over 19 percent of first-professional degrees were awarded to minorities. Of these, 43.3 percent were awarded Asian/Pacific Islanders, 32.1 percent were awarded to blacks, and 21.8 percent were awarded to Hispanics (Figure 1 and Table A-1).

The total number of degrees awarded between 1993-94 and 1994-95 increased by .5 percent (Table A-1) although the number of associate's, master's and doctor's degrees awarded between these two years increased at a faster rate (a 1.7 percent increase in associate's degrees, 2.7 percent increase in master's degrees, and 2.9 percent increase in doctor's degrees). The number of first-professional degrees increased by .5 percent, while the number of bachelor's degrees awarded dropped by .8 percent.

At all degree levels, the number of degrees awarded to minorities increased between 1993-94 and 1994-95. Over all degrees, blacks had the smallest percentage increase (4.5 percent), while Asian/Pacific Islanders had the largest percentage increase (9.6 percent) (Table A-1).

The total number of degrees awarded to whites decreased by 1.4 percent during this same period with decreases at the associate's, bachelor's, and first-pofessional levels. The number of master's and doctor's degrees awarded to whites increased by 1.3 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively between 1993-94 and 1994-95 (Table A-1).

About 85 percent of all associate's degrees were awarded by 2-year schools, while the rest were awarded by 4-year institutions. Of the associates's degrees awarded by 2-year institutions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, one-third were awarded in liberal/general studies and humanities, a field which generally permits transfers to 4-year institutions. Another one-third were awarded in two occupational programs, business management/administrative services (16.5 percent) and the health professions/related sciences (17.6 percent). In 4-year schools, liberal/general studies/humanties comprised 20.3 percent of associate's degrees awarded, while the health professions/related sciences and business management/administrative services comprised 22.2 percent and 17.8 percent of associate's degrees, respectively.

Almost one-fifth (19.7 percent) of all bachelor's degrees were awarded in business management/administrative services. Another 11 percent were awarded in the social sciences and history, while 9.1 percent were awarded in education. Bachelor's degress in math and the physical sciences comprised only 2.8 percent of all bachelor's degrees awarded.

Almost one-half of all master's degrees were awarded in education (25.5 percent) or business management/administrative services (23.4 percent). The next largest fields of study at the master's level were the health professions (7.9 percent of all master's degrees) and engineering (7.2 percent).

At the doctoral level, business management and the health professions accounted for only about 7.8 percent of the doctor's degrees awarded in 1994-95. On the other hand, the physical and biological sciences accounted for 20.5 percent of the doctor's degrees (10.1 and 10.5 percent, respectively). The single field accounting for the highest percentage of doctor's degrees was education (15.5 percent), followed closely by engineering (13.7 percent).

Table A-1.--Degrees conferred by institutions of higher education, by level of degree, control of institution, race/ethnicity and sex of recipient: 50 states and the District of Columbia: 1993-94 and 1994-95

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                                             Associate's Degrees                                   Bachelor's Degrees                                      Master's Degrees
                                   ------------------------------------------------   ---------------------------------------------------      ---------------------------------------------------
                                       1993-94 *              1994-95                        1993-94               1994-95                          1993-94                1994-95
                                   -----------------     -----------------            -------------------   -------------------                -----------------      ----------------
                                                                            Percent                                               Percent                                                 Percent
                                    Number   Percent      Number   Percent   change      Number   Percent      Number   Percent    change       Number   Percent       Number  Percent     change
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      All institutions             530,632     100.0     539,691     100.0      1.7   1,169,275     100.0   1,160,134     100.0      -0.8      387,070     100.0      397,629    100.0        2.7
Public                             444,373      83.7     451,539      83.7      1.6     789,148      67.5     776,670      66.9      -1.6      221,428      57.2      224,152     56.4        1.2
Private                             86,259      16.3      88,152      16.3      2.2     380,127      32.5     383,464      33.1       0.9      165,642      42.8      173,477     43.6        4.7
Men                                215,261      40.6     218,352      40.5      1.4     532,422      45.5     526,131      45.4      -1.2      176,085      45.5      178,598     44.9        1.4
Women                              315,371      59.4     321,339      59.5      1.9     636,853      54.5     634,003      54.6      -0.4      210,985      54.5      219,031     55.1        3.8
White, non-Hispanic                410,187      77.3     408,087      75.6     -0.5     918,076      78.5     892,729      77.0      -2.8      273,897      70.8      277,412     69.8        1.3
Black, non-Hispanic                 44,577       8.4      45,887       8.5      2.9      82,183       7.0      85,161       7.3       3.6       20,892       5.4       22,907      5.8        9.6
Hispanic                            31,439       5.9      35,048       6.5     11.5      49,227       4.2      52,898       4.6       7.5       11,319       2.9       12,212      3.1        7.9
Asian or Pacific Islander           18,051       3.4      20,164       3.7     11.7      54,496       4.7      59,034       5.1       8.3       14,541       3.8       15,884      4.0        9.2
Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native          4,780       0.9       5,351       1.0     11.9       6,064       0.5       6,454       0.6       6.4        1,618       0.4        1,542      0.4       -4.7
Race/ethnicity unknown              10,656       2.0      13,192       2.4     23.8      23,602       2.0      26,602       2.3      12.7       17,730       4.6       18,930      4.8        6.8
Nonresident Alien                    9,977       1.9       9,847       1.8     -1.3      34,178       2.9      36,946       3.2       8.1       46,505      12.0       48,745     12.3        4.8
Unreported**                           965       0.2       2,115       0.4    119.2       1,449       0.1         310       0.0     -78.6          568       0.1           (3)     0.0     -100.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table A-1.--Degrees conferred by institutions of higher education, by level of degree, control of institution, race/ethnicity and sex of recipient:  50 states and the District,
continued
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Doctor's Degrees                                 First-professional Degrees                                  Total Degrees
                                    -----------------------------------------------      ------------------------------------------------    -----------------------------------------------------
                                        1993-94 *             1994-95                        1993-94               1994-95                         1993-94                1994-95
                                    ----------------      ----------------               ----------------      ----------------              -------------------    ------------------
                                                                            Percent                                               Percent                                                 Percent
                                    Number   Percent      Number   Percent   change      Number   Percent      Number   Percent    change       Number   Percent       Number  Percent     change
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      All institutions              43,185     100.0      44,446     100.0      2.9      75,418     100.0      75,800     100.0       0.5    2,205,580     100.0    2,217,700    100.0        0.5
Public                              28,524      66.1      28,917      65.1      1.4      29,842      39.6      29,871      39.4       0.1    1,513,315      68.6    1,511,149     68.1       -0.1
Private                             14,661      33.9      15,529      34.9      5.9      45,576      60.4      45,929      60.6       0.8      692,265      31.4      706,551     31.9        2.1
Men                                 26,552      61.5      26,916      60.6      1.4      44,707      59.3      44,853      59.2       0.3      995,027      45.1      994,850     44.9        0.0
Women                               16,633      38.5      17,530      39.4      5.4      30,711      40.7      30,947      40.8       0.8    1,210,553      54.9    1,222,850     55.1        1.0
White, non-Hispanic                 26,137      60.5      26,616      59.9      1.8      58,475      77.5      58,235      76.8      -0.4    1,686,772      76.5    1,663,079     75.0       -1.4
Black, non-Hispanic                  1,344       3.1       1,606       3.6     19.5       4,328       5.7       4,657       6.1       7.6      153,324       7.0      160,218      7.2        4.5
Hispanic                               870       2.0         943       2.1      8.4       3,044       4.0       3,165       4.2       4.0       95,899       4.3      104,266      4.7        8.7
Asian or Pacific Islander            1,943       4.5       2,555       5.7     31.5       5,758       7.6       6,275       8.3       9.0       94,789       4.3      103,912      4.7        9.6
Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native            132       0.3         129       0.3     -2.3         362       0.5         404       0.5      11.6       12,956       0.6       13,880      0.6        7.1
Race/ethnicity unknown               1,158       2.7       1,467       3.3     26.7       2,014       2.7       1,453       1.9     -27.9       55,160       2.5       61,644      2.8       11.8
Nonresident Alien                   11,530      26.7      11,130      25.0     -3.5       1,437       1.9       1,611       2.1      12.1      103,627       4.7      108,279      4.9        4.5
Unreported**                            71       0.2           0       0.0   -100.0           0       0.0           0       0.0       0.0        3,053       0.1        2,422      0.1      -20.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Associate's degrees for 1993-94 adjusted from previously published data.

** Includes data for institutions that could not report degrees by race/ethnicity and for which data were not imputed. The 1994-95 master's degrees resulted from the number of degrees by race/ethnicity being greater than the total number of degrees reported.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, , Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, "Completions" survey, 1993-94 and 1994-95 and "Consolidated" survey 1994 and 1995.


Table A-2.--Number and percent distribution of degrees conferred by institutions of higher education, by level of degree, control of institution, race/ethnicity and sex of recipient: 50 states and the District of Columbia, 1994-95

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Associate's Degree     Bachelor's Degree       Master's Degrees
                                     ------------------   --------------------     ------------------
                                                Percent                Percent                Percent
                                      Number   of total      Number   of total      Number   of total
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      All institutions               539,691       24.3   1,160,134       52.3     397,629       17.9
Public                               451,539       29.9     776,670       51.4     224,152       14.8
Private                               88,152       12.5     383,464       54.3     173,477       24.6
Men                                  218,352       21.9     526,131       52.9     178,598       18.0
Women                                321,339       26.3     634,003       51.8     219,031       17.9
White, non-Hispanic                  408,087       24.5     892,729       53.7     277,412       16.7
Black, non-Hispanic                   45,887       28.6      85,161       53.2      22,907       14.3
Hispanic                              35,048       33.6      52,898       50.7      12,212       11.7
Asian or Pacific Islander             20,164       19.4      59,034       56.8      15,884       15.3
Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native            5,351       38.6       6,454       46.5       1,542       11.1
Race/ethnicity unknown                13,192       21.4      26,602       43.2      18,930       30.7
Nonresident Alien                      9,847        9.1      36,946       34.1      48,745       45.0
Unreported*                            2,115       87.3         310       12.8          (3)      -0.1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table A-2.--Number and percent distribution of degrees conferred by institutions of higher education, by level of degree,
                      control of institution, race/ethnicity and sex of recipient:  50 states and the District of Columbia, 1994-95, continued
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Doctor's Degrees     First-professional       Total Degrees
                                      -----------------     ------------------   --------------------
                                                Percent                Percent                Percent
                                      Number   of total      Number   of total      Number   of total
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      All institutions                44,446        2.0      75,800        3.4   2,217,700      100.0
Public                                28,917        1.9      29,871        2.0   1,511,149      100.0
Private                               15,529        2.2      45,929        6.5     706,551      100.0
Men                                   26,916        2.7      44,853        4.5     994,850      100.0
Women                                 17,530        1.4      30,947        2.5   1,222,850      100.0
White, non-Hispanic                   26,616        1.6      58,235        3.5   1,663,079      100.0
Black, non-Hispanic                    1,606        1.0       4,657        2.9     160,218      100.0
Hispanic                                 943        0.9       3,165        3.0     104,266      100.0
Asian Amer./Pacific Islander           2,555        2.5       6,275        6.0     103,912      100.0
Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native              129        0.9         404        2.9      13,880      100.0
Race/ethnicity unknown                 1,467        2.4       1,453        2.4      61,644      100.0
Nonresident Alien                     11,130       10.3       1,611        1.5     108,279      100.0
Unreported*                                0        0.0           0        0.0       2,422      100.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Includes data for institutions that could not report degrees by race/ethnicity and for which data were master's degrees resulted from the number of degrees by race/ethnicity being greater than the total number of degrees reported.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, , Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, "Completions" survey 1994-95 and "Consolidated" survey 1995.


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