CIP Series 13 - Education CIP Codes

The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) was developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in 1979-80. This initial edition was subsequently revised in 1985, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. Throughout all of these revisions, Series 13 – Education has remained relatively stable (see Table 1).

However, because the CIP developed over time, some irregularities show up. The 13.1206 - Teacher Education, Multiple Levels CIP Code is a good example. On a recent Association for Institutional Research discussion board post, there was a question about what CIP Code should be assigned to programs leading to a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree.

The poster's university's website described the program as being "for students who have earned a bachelor's degree in a field other than education who want to change careers to become licensed K-12 teachers." It added that "...our curriculum will provide you with broad knowledge and deep insight into the practical, applied art of teaching."

This description fits perfectly with the definition for 13.1206:

"A program that prepares individuals to teach students at more than one educational level, such as a combined program in elementary/secondary, early childhood/elementary, elementary/middle school, or junior high/high school teacher education."

If this code was being added today, it would have been the first code of its 4-digit series. It would have been titled: "Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, General." Then more specific codes would have been listed after it. More specific codes that might have been considered in this case include:

13.1210) Early Childhood Education and Teaching.

13.1209) Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching.

13.1202) Elementary Education and Teaching.

13.1203) Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching.

13.1205) Secondary Education and Teaching.

13.1001) Special Education and Teaching, General.

The "Other" code, 13.1299, would be used for a brand-new kind of program that is too specific to be general, but that does not fit into any of the more specific CIP Codes. When reporting "Other" CIP Codes, there is a field for describing the program, which is used when researching future updates to the CIP. These are general guidelines, and assigning CIP Codes is ultimately the decision of the individual institution.

Many readers of this blog will be happy to see the return of a code focused on higher education research with the addition of 13.0608 - Institutional Research. The previous code related to higher education research, 13.0606, was deleted in 1990.

Eight additional CIP Codes were added to Series 13 in CIP 2020: 13.0412 - International School Administration/Leadership; 13.0413 - Education Entrepreneurship; 13.0414 - Early Childhood Program Administration; 13.1211 - Online Educator/Online Teaching; 13.1212 - International Teaching and Learning; 13.1213 - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Methods; 13.1214 - College/Postsecondary/University Teaching; and 13.1339 - Communication Arts and Literature Teacher Education.

Please remember that if there were no completions in a particular program/award level in a particular collection year but your institution offers the program at that level to enter a zero in at least one box on the data page for the Completions Survey. We are eager to know more about new and emerging programs of study in education. Suggestions for changes and additions to the next edition of the CIP can be emailed to CIPSPECIALIST@ed.gov.

Table 1: History of Changes to the Education CIP Code Series (Series 13)