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Digest of Education Statistics
2013 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 322.10. Bachelor's degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by field of study: Selected years, 1970-71 through 2011-12
Field of study 1970-71 1975-76 1980-81 1985-86 1990-91 1995-96 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Total 839,730 925,746 935,140 987,823 1,094,538 1,164,792 1,244,171 1,291,900 1,348,811 1,399,542 1,439,264 1,485,242 1,524,092 1,563,069 1,601,368 1,650,014 1,715,913 1,791,046
Agriculture and natural resources 12,672 19,402 21,886 16,823 13,124 21,425 23,370 23,331 23,348 22,835 23,002 23,053 23,133 24,113 24,988 26,336 28,623 30,929
Architecture and related services 5,570 9,146 9,455 9,119 9,781 8,352 8,480 8,808 9,056 8,838 9,237 9,515 9,717 9,805 10,119 10,051 9,832 9,728
Area, ethnic, cultural, gender, and group studies 2,579 3,577 2,887 3,021 4,776 5,633 6,160 6,390 6,634 7,181 7,569 7,879 8,194 8,454 8,772 8,621 9,100 9,232
Biological and biomedical sciences 35,705 54,154 43,078 38,395 39,482 61,014 60,576 60,309 61,294 62,624 65,915 70,607 76,832 79,829 82,825 86,400 90,003 95,849
Business 115,396 143,171 200,521 236,700 249,165 226,623 263,515 278,217 293,391 307,149 311,574 318,042 327,531 335,254 347,985 358,293 365,093 366,815
                                     
Communication, journalism, and related programs 10,324 20,045 29,428 41,666 51,650 47,320 58,013 62,791 67,895 70,968 72,715 73,955 74,783 76,382 78,009 81,266 83,274 83,770
Communications technologies 478 1,237 1,854 1,479 1,397 853 1,178 1,245 1,933 2,034 2,523 2,981 3,637 4,666 5,100 4,782 4,858 4,982
Computer and information sciences 2,388 5,652 15,121 42,337 25,159 24,506 44,142 50,365 57,433 59,488 54,111 47,480 42,170 38,476 37,994 39,589 43,072 47,384
Education 176,307 154,437 108,074 87,147 110,807 105,384 105,458 106,295 105,845 106,278 105,451 107,238 105,641 102,582 101,708 101,265 103,992 105,785
Engineering 45,034 38,733 63,642 77,391 62,448 62,168 58,209 59,536 62,567 63,410 64,707 66,841 66,874 68,431 68,911 72,654 76,376 81,382
                                     
Engineering technologies 5,148 7,943 11,713 19,731 17,303 15,829 14,660 15,052 14,664 14,669 14,837 14,565 14,980 15,177 15,503 16,075 16,741 17,158
English language and literature/letters 63,914 41,452 31,922 34,083 51,064 49,928 50,569 52,375 53,699 53,984 54,379 55,096 55,122 55,038 55,462 53,231 52,744 53,767
Family and consumer sciences/human sciences 11,167 17,409 18,370 13,847 13,920 14,353 16,421 16,938 17,929 19,172 20,074 20,775 21,400 21,870 21,905 21,818 22,444 23,428
Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics 20,988 17,068 11,638 11,550 13,937 14,832 16,128 16,258 16,912 17,754 18,386 19,410 20,275 20,977 21,158 21,516 21,706 21,764
Health professions and related programs 25,223 53,885 63,665 65,309 59,875 86,087 75,933 72,887 71,261 73,934 80,685 91,973 101,810 111,478 120,488 129,634 143,430 163,440
                                     
Homeland security, law enforcement, and
   firefighting
2,045 12,507 13,707 12,704 16,806 24,810 25,211 25,536 26,200 28,175 30,723 35,319 39,206 40,235 41,800 43,667 47,602 53,767
Legal professions and studies 545 531 776 1,223 1,827 2,123 1,991 2,003 2,474 2,841 3,161 3,302 3,596 3,771 3,822 3,886 4,429 4,592
Liberal arts and sciences, general studies,
   and humanities
7,481 18,855 21,643 21,336 30,526 33,997 37,962 39,333 40,480 42,106 43,751 44,898 44,255 46,940 47,096 46,953 46,727 46,925
Library science 1,013 843 375 155 90 58 52 74 99 72 76 76 82 68 78 85 96 95
Mathematics and statistics 24,801 15,984 11,078 16,122 14,393 12,713 11,171 11,950 12,505 13,327 14,351 14,770 14,954 15,192 15,496 16,030 17,182 18,842
                                     
Military technologies and applied sciences 357 952 42 255 183 7 21 3 6 10 40 33 168 39 55 56 64 86
Multi/interdisciplinary studies 6,324 13,709 12,986 13,754 17,774 26,885 26,478 28,049 27,449 28,047 28,939 30,583 32,111 34,174 35,375 37,648 42,228 45,716
Parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies 1,621 5,182 5,729 4,623 4,315 12,974 17,948 18,885 21,432 22,164 22,888 25,490 27,430 29,931 31,667 33,318 35,924 38,993
Philosophy and religious studies 8,149 8,447 6,776 6,396 7,423 7,541 8,717 9,473 10,344 11,152 11,584 11,985 11,969 12,257 12,444 12,504 12,836 12,651
Physical sciences and science technologies 21,410 21,458 23,936 21,711 16,334 19,716 18,025 17,890 18,038 18,131 19,104 20,522 21,291 22,179 22,688 23,379 24,712 26,663
                                     
Precision production 0 0 0 2 2 12 31 47 42 61 64 55 23 33 29 29 43 37
Psychology 38,187 50,278 41,068 40,628 58,655 73,416 73,645 76,775 78,650 82,098 85,614 88,134 90,039 92,587 94,271 97,216 100,893 108,986
Public administration and social services 5,466 15,440 16,707 11,887 14,350 19,849 19,447 19,392 19,900 20,552 21,769 21,986 23,147 23,493 23,851 25,414 26,774 29,695
Social sciences and history 155,324 126,396 100,513 93,840 125,107 126,479 128,036 132,874 143,256 150,357 156,892 161,485 164,183 167,363 168,500 172,780 177,144 178,543
Theology and religious vocations 3,720 5,490 5,808 5,510 4,799 5,292 6,945 7,762 7,962 8,126 9,284 8,548 8,696 8,992 8,940 8,718 9,074 9,369
                                     
Transportation and materials moving 0 225 263 1,838 2,622 3,561 3,748 4,020 4,631 4,824 4,904 5,349 5,657 5,203 5,189 4,998 4,941 4,876
Visual and performing arts 30,394 42,138 40,479 37,241 42,186 49,296 61,148 66,773 71,482 77,181 80,955 83,297 85,186 87,703 89,140 91,802 93,956 95,797
Not classified by field of study 0 0 0 0 13,258 1,756 783 264 0 0 0 0 0 377 0 0 0 0
NOTE: Data through 1990-91 are for institutions of higher education, while later data are for postsecondary institutions that participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. The new Classification of Instructional Programs was initiated in 2009-10. The figures for earlier years have been reclassified when necessary to make them conform to the new taxonomy. To facilitate trend comparisons, certain aggregations have been made of the degree fields as reported in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS): "Agriculture and natural resources" includes Agriculture, agriculture operations, and related sciences and Natural resources and conservation; "Business" includes Business, management, marketing, and related support services and Personal and culinary services; and "Engineering technologies" includes Engineering technologies and engineering-related fields, Construction trades, and Mechanic and repair technologies/technicians.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), "Degrees and Other Formal Awards Conferred" surveys, 1970-71 through 1985-86; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Completions Survey" (IPEDS-C:91-99); and IPEDS Fall 2000 through Fall 2012, Completions component. (This table was prepared July 2013.)

2013 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest