Bachelor's degrees conferred by degree-granting institutions, by discipline division: Selected years, 1970-71 to 2002-03

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Table 250.

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Discipline division                               |1970-71 |1975-76 |1980-81 |1985-86 |  1990-91 |  1992-93 |  1993-94 |  1994-95 |  1995-96 |  1996-97 |  1997-98 |1998-99\1\|1999-2000 |  2000-01 |  2001-02 |   2002-03
__________________________________________________|________|________|________|________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________
1                                                 |      2 |      3 |      4 |      5 |         6|        7 |        8 |        9 |       10 |       11 |        12|        13|        14|        15|        16|        17
__________________________________________________|________|________|________|________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________
   Total .........................................| 839,730| 925,746| 935,140| 987,823| 1,094,538| 1,165,178| 1,169,275| 1,160,134| 1,164,792| 1,172,879| 1,184,406| 1,200,303| 1,237,875| 1,244,171| 1,291,900| 1,348,503
                                                  |________|________|________|________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________
Agriculture and natural resources ................|  12,672|  19,402|  21,886|  16,823|    13,124|    16,769|    18,056|    19,832|    21,425|    22,597|    23,276|    23,916|    24,238|    23,370|    23,331|    23,294
Architecture and related services ................|   5,570|   9,146|   9,455|   9,119|     9,781|     9,167|     8,975|     8,756|     8,352|     7,944|     7,652|     8,246|     8,462|     8,480|     8,808|     9,054
Area, ethnic, cultural, and gender studies .......|   2,579|   3,577|   2,887|   3,021|     4,776|     5,366|     5,435|     5,511|     5,633|     5,692|     5,976|     6,009|     6,212|     6,160|     6,390|     6,629
Biological and biomedical sciences ...............|  35,683|  54,085|  43,003|  38,320|    39,377|    46,868|    51,157|    55,790|    60,750|    63,679|    65,583|    64,608|    63,005|    59,865|    59,415|    60,072
Business .........................................| 115,396| 143,171| 200,521| 236,700|   249,165|   256,473|   246,265|   233,895|   226,623|   225,934|   232,079|   240,947|   256,070|   263,515|   278,217|   293,545
                                                  |        |        |        |        |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
Communication, journalism, and related programs ..|  10,324|  20,045|  29,428|  41,666|    51,650|    53,874|    51,164|    48,104|    47,320|    47,230|    49,385|    51,384|    55,760|    58,013|    62,791|    67,859
Communications technologies ......................|     478|   1,237|   1,854|   1,479|     1,397|     1,033|       869|       865|       853|       664|       878|     1,076|     1,298|     1,178|     1,245|     1,933
Computer and information sciences ................|   2,388|   5,652|  15,121|  42,337|    25,159|    24,519|    24,527|    24,737|    24,506|    25,422|    27,829|    30,574|    37,788|    44,142|    50,365|    57,439
Education ........................................| 176,307| 154,437| 108,074|  87,147|   110,807|   107,578|   107,440|   105,929|   105,384|   105,116|   105,833|   107,086|   108,034|   105,458|   106,295|   105,790
Engineering ......................................|  45,034|  38,733|  63,642|  77,391|    62,448|    62,223|    62,247|    62,331|    62,257|    61,418|    60,252|    58,260|    58,822|    58,315|    59,627|    62,611
                                                  |        |        |        |        |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
Engineering technologies .........................|   5,148|   7,943|  11,713|  19,731|    17,303|    16,439|    16,415|    16,238|    15,829|    14,339|    14,397|    14,405|    14,597|    14,660|    15,052|    14,656
English language and literature/letters ..........|  63,914|  41,452|  31,922|  34,083|    51,064|    55,289|    53,150|    51,170|    49,928|    48,641|    49,016|    49,800|    50,106|    50,569|    52,375|    53,670
Family and consumer sciences/human sciences ......|  11,167|  17,409|  18,370|  13,847|    13,920|    14,099|    14,432|    14,081|    14,353|    14,886|    15,654|    16,059|    16,321|    16,421|    16,938|    18,166
Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics ..|  20,988|  17,068|  11,638|  11,550|    13,937|    15,305|    15,242|    14,558|    14,832|    14,487|    15,279|    15,821|    15,886|    16,128|    16,258|    16,901
Health professions and related clinical sciences .|  25,223|  53,885|  63,665|  65,309|    59,875|    68,434|    75,890|    81,596|    86,087|    87,997|    86,843|    85,214|    80,863|    75,933|    72,887|    71,223
                                                  |        |        |        |        |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
Legal professions and studies ....................|     545|     531|     776|   1,223|     1,827|     2,106|     2,233|     2,127|     2,123|     2,083|     2,079|     1,960|     1,969|     1,991|     2,003|     2,466
Liberal arts and sciences,                        |        |        |        |        |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
   general studies, and humanities ...............|   7,481|  18,855|  21,643|  21,336|    30,526|    33,456|    33,397|    33,356|    33,997|    34,776|    33,202|    34,772|    36,104|    37,962|    39,333|    40,221
Library science ..................................|   1,013|     843|     375|     155|        90|        83|        62|        50|        58|        48|        73|        78|       154|        52|        74|        99
Mathematics and statistics .......................|  24,801|  15,984|  11,078|  16,122|    14,393|    14,384|    14,171|    13,494|    12,713|    12,401|    11,795|    11,966|    11,418|    11,171|    11,950|    12,493
Military technologies ............................|     357|     952|      42|     255|       183|        11|        19|        27|         7|         4|         3|         2|         7|        21|         3|         6
                                                  |        |        |        |        |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
Multi/interdisciplinary studies ..................|   6,346|  13,778|  13,061|  13,829|    17,879|    24,350|    25,652|    26,598|    27,149|    26,887|    26,960|    27,545|    28,561|    27,189|    28,943|    28,757
Parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies ...|   1,621|   5,182|   5,729|   4,623|     4,315|     9,288|    10,821|    12,037|    12,974|    14,246|    15,422|    16,532|    17,571|    17,948|    18,885|    21,428
Philosophy and religious studies .................|   8,149|   8,447|   6,776|   6,396|     7,423|     7,896|     7,684|     7,471|     7,541|     7,832|     8,384|     8,506|     8,535|     8,717|     9,473|    10,344
Physical sciences and science technologies .......|  21,410|  21,458|  23,936|  21,711|    16,334|    17,534|    18,392|    19,161|    19,627|    19,496|    19,362|    18,285|    18,331|    17,919|    17,799|    17,940
Precision production .............................|       0|       0|       0|       2|         2|         4|         2|         1|        12|        19|        52|        43|        33|        31|        47|        42
                                                  |        |        |        |        |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
Psychology .......................................|  38,187|  50,278|  41,068|  40,628|    58,655|    66,931|    69,419|    72,233|    73,416|    74,308|    74,107|    73,636|    74,194|    73,645|    76,775|    78,613
Public administration and social services ........|   5,466|  15,440|  16,707|  11,887|    14,350|    16,775|    17,815|    18,586|    19,849|    20,649|    20,408|    20,287|    20,185|    19,447|    19,392|    19,878
Security and protective services .................|   2,045|  12,507|  13,707|  12,704|    16,806|    20,902|    23,009|    24,157|    24,810|    25,165|    25,076|    24,601|    24,877|    25,211|    25,536|    26,189
Social sciences and history ......................| 155,324| 126,396| 100,513|  93,840|   125,107|   135,703|   133,680|   128,154|   126,479|   124,891|   125,040|   124,658|   127,101|   128,036|   132,874|   143,218
Theology and religious vocations .................|   3,720|   5,490|   5,808|   5,510|     4,799|     5,381|     5,377|     5,555|     5,292|     5,542|     5,855|     6,235|     6,789|     6,945|     7,762|     7,926
                                                  |        |        |        |        |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
Transportation and materials moving ..............|       0|     225|     263|   1,838|     2,622|     3,930|     3,923|     3,698|     3,561|     3,547|     3,206|     3,383|     3,395|     3,748|     4,020|     4,567
Visual and performing arts .......................|  30,394|  42,138|  40,479|  37,241|    42,186|    47,761|    49,053|    48,690|    49,296|    50,083|    52,077|    54,404|    58,791|    61,148|    66,773|    71,474
Not classified by field of study .................|       0|       0|       0|       0|    13,258|     5,247|     3,302|     1,346|     1,756|     4,856|     1,373|         5|     2,398|       783|       264|         0
__________________________________________________|________|________|________|________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________

\1\Data were imputed using alternative procedures. (See Guide to Sources for details.)

NOTE: The new Classification of Instructional Programs was initiated in 2002-03. 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 IPEDS "Completions Survey." "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/technicians, 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; and 1990-91 through 2002-03 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, "Completions Survey" (IPEDS-C:91-99), and Fall 2000 through Fall 2003. (This table was prepared April 2005.)

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