Table 318.20.

Bachelor's, master's, and doctor's degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by field of study: Selected years, 1970-71 through 2017-18

Degree and year	Number of degrees conferred								Percentage distribution of degrees conferred
	Total degrees	Humani- ties1	Social and behavioral sciences2	Natural sciences and mathe- matics3	Computer sciences and engi- neering4	Educa- tion	Business	Other fields5	Total degrees	Humani- ties1	Social and behavioral sciences2	Natural sciences and mathe- matics3	Computer sciences and engi- neering4	Educa- tion	Busi- ness	Other fields5
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17
Bachelor's     degrees
1970-71	839,730	143,549	193,511	81,916	52,570	176,307	115,396	76,481	100.0	17.1	23.0	9.8	6.3	21.0	13.7	9.1
1975-76	925,746	150,736	176,674	91,596	52,328	154,437	143,171	156,804	100.0	16.3	19.1	9.9	5.7	16.7	15.5	16.9
1980-81	935,140	134,139	141,581	78,092	90,476	108,074	200,521	182,257	100.0	14.3	15.1	8.4	9.7	11.6	21.4	19.5
1985-86	987,823	132,891	134,468	76,228	139,459	87,147	236,700	180,930	100.0	13.5	13.6	7.7	14.1	8.8	24.0	18.3
1990-91	1,094,538	172,485	183,762	70,209	104,910	110,807	249,165	203,200	100.0	15.8	16.8	6.4	9.6	10.1	22.8	18.6
1995-96	1,164,792	193,404	199,895	93,443	102,503	105,384	226,623	243,540	100.0	16.6	17.2	8.0	8.8	9.0	19.5	20.9
2000-01	1,244,171	214,107	201,681	89,772	117,011	105,458	263,515	252,627	100.0	17.2	16.2	7.2	9.4	8.5	21.2	20.3
2005-06	1,485,104	261,666	249,600	105,883	129,108	107,235	318,043	313,569	100.0	17.6	16.8	7.1	8.7	7.2	21.4	21.1
2010-11	1,716,053	288,446	278,075	131,871	136,163	104,008	365,133	412,357	100.0	16.8	16.2	7.7	7.9	6.1	21.3	24.0
2014-15	1,894,969	280,956	284,544	161,800	174,691	91,596	363,741	537,641	100.0	14.8	15.0	8.5	9.2	4.8	19.2	28.4
2015-16	1,920,750	274,513	278,658	167,055	188,350	87,221	371,690	553,263	100.0	14.3	14.5	8.7	9.8	4.5	19.4	28.8
2016-17	1,956,114	270,931	275,956	172,115	205,206	85,130	381,109	565,667	100.0	13.9	14.1	8.8	10.5	4.4	19.5	28.9
2017-18	1,980,644	268,554	276,399	175,461	220,281	82,621	386,201	571,127	100.0	13.6	14.0	8.9	11.1	4.2	19.5	28.8
Master's     degrees
1970-71	235,564	34,510	22,256	17,152	18,535	87,666	26,490	28,955	100.0	14.6	9.4	7.3	7.9	37.2	11.2	12.3
1975-76	317,477	37,079	26,120	15,742	19,403	126,061	42,592	50,480	100.0	11.7	8.2	5.0	6.1	39.7	13.4	15.9
1980-81	302,637	35,130	22,168	13,579	21,434	96,713	57,888	55,725	100.0	11.6	7.3	4.5	7.1	32.0	19.1	18.4
1985-86	295,850	34,834	20,409	14,055	30,216	74,816	66,676	54,844	100.0	11.8	6.9	4.8	10.2	25.3	22.5	18.5
1990-91	342,863	35,984	23,582	13,664	34,774	87,352	78,255	69,252	100.0	10.5	6.9	4.0	10.1	25.5	22.8	20.2
1995-96	412,180	40,795	30,164	16,154	39,422	104,936	93,554	87,155	100.0	9.9	7.3	3.9	9.6	25.5	22.7	21.1
2000-01	473,502	40,625	30,330	15,360	44,098	127,829	115,602	99,658	100.0	8.6	6.4	3.2	9.3	27.0	24.4	21.0
2005-06	599,862	49,590	37,143	19,575	50,581	174,622	146,396	121,955	100.0	8.3	6.2	3.3	8.4	29.1	24.4	20.3
2010-11	730,922	57,160	46,147	23,576	62,695	185,127	187,178	169,039	100.0	7.8	6.3	3.2	8.6	25.3	25.6	23.1
2014-15	758,804	59,181	47,305	29,344	82,916	146,581	185,236	208,241	100.0	7.8	6.2	3.9	10.9	19.3	24.4	27.4
2015-16	785,757	59,067	47,506	31,299	97,843	145,792	186,835	217,415	100.0	7.5	6.0	4.0	12.5	18.6	23.8	27.7
2016-17	804,542	57,895	47,543	32,500	106,782	145,624	187,412	226,786	100.0	7.2	5.9	4.0	13.3	18.1	23.3	28.2
2017-18	820,102	59,088	47,725	34,819	105,436	146,367	192,184	234,483	100.0	7.2	5.8	4.2	12.9	17.8	23.4	28.6
Doctor's     degrees6
1970-71	64,998	4,402	5,804	9,126	3,816	6,041	774	35,035	100.0	6.8	8.9	14.0	5.9	9.3	1.2	53.9
1975-76	91,007	5,461	7,314	7,591	3,118	7,202	906	59,415	100.0	6.0	8.0	8.3	3.4	7.9	1.0	65.3
1980-81	98,016	4,827	6,698	7,473	2,860	7,279	808	68,071	100.0	4.9	6.8	7.6	2.9	7.4	0.8	69.4
1985-86	100,280	4,648	6,548	7,668	3,800	6,610	923	70,083	100.0	4.6	6.5	7.6	3.8	6.6	0.9	69.9
1990-91	105,547	4,858	6,944	9,378	6,006	6,189	1,185	70,987	100.0	4.6	6.6	8.9	5.7	5.9	1.1	67.3
1995-96	115,507	6,356	7,901	10,997	7,223	6,246	1,366	75,418	100.0	5.5	6.8	9.5	6.3	5.4	1.2	65.3
2000-01	119,585	6,466	9,021	10,190	6,315	6,284	1,180	80,129	100.0	5.4	7.5	8.5	5.3	5.3	1.0	67.0
2005-06	138,056	6,628	8,835	12,097	8,734	7,584	1,711	92,467	100.0	4.8	6.4	8.8	6.3	5.5	1.2	67.0
2010-11	163,827	8,359	10,241	14,574	10,013	9,642	2,286	108,712	100.0	5.1	6.3	8.9	6.1	5.9	1.4	66.4
2014-15	178,548	8,391	11,411	15,677	12,360	11,772	3,116	115,821	100.0	4.7	6.4	8.8	6.9	6.6	1.7	64.9
2015-16	178,134	8,324	11,246	15,851	12,387	11,838	3,325	115,163	100.0	4.7	6.3	8.9	7.0	6.6	1.9	64.6
2016-17	181,357	8,120	11,408	16,039	12,505	12,692	3,328	117,265	100.0	4.5	6.3	8.8	6.9	7.0	1.8	64.7
2017-18	184,074	8,336	10,951	16,413	13,046	12,780	3,338	119,210	100.0	4.5	5.9	8.9	7.1	6.9	1.8	64.8

1 Includes degrees in Area, ethnic, cultural, gender, and group studies; English language and literature/letters; Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics; Liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities; Multi/interdisciplinary studies; Philosophy and religious studies; Theology and religious vocations; and Visual and performing arts.

2 Includes Psychology; Social sciences; and History.

3 Includes Biological and biomedical sciences; Mathematics and statistics; and Physical sciences and science technologies.

4 Includes Computer and information sciences; Engineering; and Engineering technologies.

5 Includes Agriculture and natural resources; Architecture and related services; Communication, journalism, and related programs; Communications technologies; Family and consumer sciences/human sciences; Health professions and related programs; Homeland security, law enforcement, and firefighting; Legal professions and studies; Library science; Military technologies and applied sciences; Parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies; Precision production; Public administration and social services; Transportation and materials moving; and Not classified by field of study.

6 Includes Ph.D., Ed.D., and comparable degrees at the doctoral level. Includes most degrees that were classified as first-professional prior to 2010-11, such as M.D., D.D.S., and law degrees.

NOTE: Data are for postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Data in this table are based on the 2010 Classification of Instructional Programs. 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. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

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:91-96); and IPEDS Fall 2001 through Fall 2018, Completions component. (This table was prepared Februray 2020.)