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| 2021 Tables and Figures | All Years of Tables and Figures | Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest |
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| Table 311.60. | Enrollment in postsecondary education, by level of enrollment, level of institution, student age, and major field of study: 2017-18 |
| [Standard errors appear in parentheses] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major field of study1 | Undergraduate | Postbac-calaureate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All students | 2-year and less-than-2-year institutions2 | 4-year institutions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total (in thou-sands) | Percentage distribution, by age | Total (in thou-sands) | Percentage distribution, by age | Total (in thou-sands) | Percentage distribution, by age | Total (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Under 25 | 25 to 35 | Over 35 | Under 25 | 25 to 35 | Over 35 | Under 25 | 25 to 35 | Over 35 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 16,420 | 66.2 | (0.26) | 21.6 | (0.27) | 12.2 | (0.21) | 7,354 | 59.8 | (0.43) | 25.4 | (0.33) | 14.7 | (0.33) | 9,066 | 71.4 | (0.37) | 18.4 | (0.42) | 10.2 | (0.28) | 3,519 | |||||||||
Agriculture and related sciences |
127 | 79.9 | (2.13) | 12.1 | (1.70) | 8.0 | (1.42) | 53 | 69.4 | (4.92) | 15.0 | (3.46) | 15.6 | (3.53) | 73 | 87.7 | (2.01) | 10.0 | (1.95) | 2.4 | (0.54) | 10 | |||||||||
| Anthropology | 39 | 75.0 | (5.04) | 15.3 | (3.47) | 9.7 | ! | (4.15) | 8 | 53.7 | (15.71) | 26.0 | ! | (12.94) | ‡ | (†) | 31 | 80.4 | (3.85) | 12.7 | (2.96) | 7.0 | ! | (2.16) | 9 | ||||||
| Architecture and related services | 47 | 89.1 | (4.21) | 5.3 | (1.33) | ‡ | (†) | 12 | 95.1 | (2.37) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | 34 | 87.0 | (5.50) | 6.0 | (1.59) | ‡ | (†) | 23 | |||||||||
| Area, ethnic, and gender studies | 30 | 77.5 | (6.94) | ‡ | (†) | 11.2 | ! | (3.47) | 5 | 56.1 | ! | (17.22) | ‡ | (†) | 35.1 | ! | (17.41) | 24 | 82.2 | (8.91) | ‡ | (†) | 5.9 | ! | (2.37) | ‡ | |||||
| Biological and biomedical sciences | 624 | 88.7 | (0.83) | 9.9 | (0.80) | 1.4 | (0.20) | 148 | 81.9 | (2.09) | 15.5 | (2.09) | 2.6 | (0.45) | 476 | 90.8 | (0.81) | 8.2 | (0.79) | 1.0 | (0.22) | 92 | |||||||||
Business, management, and marketing |
2,296 | 61.3 | (0.91) | 24.1 | (0.71) | 14.7 | (0.61) | 822 | 56.2 | (1.16) | 27.1 | (0.91) | 16.7 | (0.78) | 1,475 | 64.1 | (1.20) | 22.4 | (0.99) | 13.5 | (0.80) | 524 | |||||||||
| Communication and journalism | 340 | 85.5 | (1.55) | 10.1 | (1.43) | 4.4 | (0.69) | 63 | 77.5 | (3.27) | 13.9 | (2.41) | 8.6 | (2.39) | 277 | 87.4 | (1.92) | 9.2 | (1.74) | 3.4 | (0.76) | 34 | |||||||||
| Communications technologies/technicians | 56 | 61.2 | (7.19) | 31.4 | (7.35) | 7.4 | (1.81) | 28 | 57.6 | (6.06) | 33.2 | (5.74) | 8.6 | ! | (2.90) | 28 | 64.8 | (13.60) | 29.7 | ! | (13.05) | 5.5 | ! | (1.69) | ‡ | ||||||
| Computer and information sciences | 737 | 60.5 | (1.41) | 26.4 | (1.38) | 13.1 | (0.82) | 293 | 56.0 | (2.39) | 28.6 | (2.46) | 15.4 | (1.60) | 443 | 63.6 | (1.69) | 24.9 | (1.52) | 11.5 | (1.10) | 163 | |||||||||
| Construction trades | 68 | 42.8 | (3.01) | 35.9 | (2.82) | 21.3 | (2.84) | 60 | 42.7 | (3.36) | 34.2 | (3.01) | 23.1 | (3.18) | 8 | 44.0 | (9.44) | 47.7 | (10.24) | 8.4 | ! | (2.56) | ‡ | ||||||||
Criminology |
31 | 73.6 | (5.90) | 17.1 | (3.85) | ‡ | (†) | 3 | 78.0 | (10.10) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | 27 | 73.1 | (6.26) | 17.3 | (4.14) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | |||||||||
| Economics | 109 | 90.9 | (2.23) | 8.3 | (2.23) | 0.7 | ! | (0.29) | 9 | 78.0 | (11.54) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | 101 | 92.1 | (2.09) | 7.3 | (2.08) | ‡ | (†) | 17 | ||||||||
| Education | 563 | 69.6 | (1.29) | 16.3 | (1.07) | 14.1 | (1.23) | 147 | 65.0 | (2.20) | 19.5 | (1.91) | 15.5 | (1.67) | 416 | 71.2 | (1.48) | 15.1 | (1.36) | 13.7 | (1.65) | 512 | |||||||||
| Engineering | 604 | 86.3 | (0.91) | 11.7 | (0.91) | 2.0 | (0.28) | 128 | 77.4 | (2.29) | 18.3 | (2.21) | 4.3 | (0.80) | 477 | 88.7 | (1.01) | 9.9 | (1.00) | 1.4 | (0.29) | 194 | |||||||||
| Engineering technologies/technicians | 246 | 55.3 | (1.78) | 27.7 | (1.58) | 17.0 | (1.55) | 147 | 49.1 | (2.33) | 30.6 | (2.27) | 20.2 | (2.20) | 100 | 64.4 | (2.92) | 23.4 | (2.04) | 12.1 | (1.86) | 21 | |||||||||
English language and literature/letters |
199 | 72.9 | (3.47) | 20.2 | (3.22) | 6.9 | ! | (2.33) | 49 | 59.2 | (9.19) | 23.2 | (5.38) | ‡ | (†) | 150 | 77.4 | (3.52) | 19.2 | (3.66) | 3.4 | (0.69) | 27 | ||||||||
| Family and consumer/human sciences | 167 | 58.8 | (2.44) | 22.2 | (2.46) | 19.0 | (2.88) | 102 | 47.1 | (3.26) | 27.3 | (3.28) | 25.7 | (4.45) | 64 | 77.5 | (3.30) | 14.1 | (3.18) | 8.3 | (1.45) | ‡ | |||||||||
| Foreign languages and literatures | 67 | 74.3 | (3.46) | 15.2 | (3.37) | 10.5 | (2.37) | 21 | 55.2 | (6.93) | 23.0 | ! | (8.76) | 21.8 | (5.36) | 46 | 83.0 | (3.38) | 11.6 | (2.65) | 5.4 | ! | (2.01) | 16 | |||||||
| Geography | 13 | 73.1 | (5.94) | 21.4 | (6.00) | 5.5 | ! | (2.47) | 4 | 69.1 | (17.40) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | 9 | 74.7 | (5.72) | 20.6 | (5.60) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | ||||||||
| Health professions and related sciences | 2,309 | 49.8 | (0.82) | 31.4 | (0.67) | 18.8 | (0.69) | 1,261 | 46.8 | (1.21) | 34.6 | (1.04) | 18.6 | (1.01) | 1,048 | 53.4 | (1.19) | 27.6 | (1.12) | 19.1 | (0.88) | 877 | |||||||||
History |
96 | 69.8 | (5.16) | 21.2 | (4.48) | 9.0 | (1.74) | 16 | 65.0 | (8.14) | 16.6 | (4.30) | 18.3 | ! | (8.76) | 81 | 70.7 | (5.16) | 22.0 | (5.49) | 7.2 | (1.45) | 15 | ||||||||
| International relations and affairs | 33 | 87.0 | (4.96) | 11.5 | ! | (4.54) | ‡ | (†) | 2 | 85.2 | (9.41) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | 31 | 87.2 | (5.02) | 11.4 | ! | (4.59) | ‡ | (†) | 8 | |||||||
| Legal professions and studies | 61 | 42.6 | (3.57) | 32.8 | (3.43) | 24.6 | (2.99) | 37 | 33.8 | (4.31) | 37.8 | (4.05) | 28.4 | (4.43) | 24 | 56.6 | (7.08) | 25.0 | (6.39) | 18.4 | (4.24) | 108 | |||||||||
| Liberal arts, sciences and humanities | 2,444 | 68.7 | (0.62) | 20.7 | (0.51) | 10.6 | (0.37) | 1,657 | 68.2 | (0.68) | 21.2 | (0.55) | 10.6 | (0.38) | 787 | 69.9 | (1.30) | 19.6 | (1.11) | 10.5 | (0.81) | 20 | |||||||||
| Library science | ‡ | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | |||||||||
Mathematics and statistics |
119 | 82.3 | (2.76) | 12.9 | (2.30) | 4.8 | ! | (1.74) | 28 | 70.9 | (6.28) | 14.8 | (4.02) | 14.4 | ! | (6.31) | 90 | 85.8 | (2.95) | 12.3 | (2.93) | 1.8 | ! | (0.75) | 28 | ||||||
| Mechanic and repair technologies | 185 | 64.4 | (3.03) | 23.5 | (2.82) | 12.0 | (1.97) | 162 | 62.8 | (3.10) | 25.2 | (2.96) | 12.0 | (2.20) | 23 | 75.9 | (6.45) | 11.7 | ! | (3.65) | 12.4 | ! | (4.34) | ‡ | |||||||
| Military technologies | 5 | 48.9 | (9.60) | 48.3 | (8.66) | ‡ | (†) | 4 | 37.5 | (7.02) | 58.8 | (5.34) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | |||||||||
| Multi/interdisciplinary studies | 328 | 67.8 | (2.37) | 20.6 | (2.67) | 11.6 | (2.03) | 156 | 68.6 | (2.43) | 20.7 | (2.01) | 10.7 | (1.57) | 172 | 67.1 | (3.62) | 20.5 | (4.53) | 12.5 | (3.39) | 36 | |||||||||
| Natural resources and conservation | 89 | 78.3 | (2.15) | 16.3 | (2.22) | 5.4 | (0.94) | 12 | 67.5 | (5.41) | 23.0 | (5.10) | 9.5 | ! | (3.55) | 77 | 80.0 | (2.42) | 15.3 | (2.46) | 4.7 | (0.98) | 8 | ||||||||
Parks, recreation, and fitness studies |
272 | 83.4 | (2.05) | 14.0 | (2.05) | 2.6 | (0.71) | 71 | 78.3 | (3.74) | 16.1 | (3.73) | 5.6 | ! | (2.03) | 200 | 85.2 | (2.24) | 13.3 | (2.18) | 1.5 | ! | (0.55) | 30 | |||||||
| Personal and culinary services | 315 | 57.1 | (3.04) | 30.9 | (2.27) | 11.9 | (1.49) | 291 | 57.6 | (3.26) | 31.3 | (2.48) | 11.2 | (1.61) | 24 | 52.0 | (6.05) | 26.5 | (5.40) | 21.6 | (5.65) | ‡ | |||||||||
| Philosophy and religious studies | 43 | 69.5 | (5.14) | 14.2 | (2.55) | 16.3 | (4.03) | 8 | 57.6 | (15.39) | 15.8 | ! | (5.86) | ‡ | (†) | 35 | 72.2 | (4.67) | 13.8 | (2.89) | 14.0 | (3.13) | 8 | ||||||||
| Physical sciences | 177 | 83.6 | (1.60) | 14.0 | (1.52) | 2.4 | (0.48) | 57 | 77.8 | (3.67) | 18.9 | (3.55) | 3.3 | (0.90) | 120 | 86.4 | (1.61) | 11.7 | (1.46) | 2.0 | (0.58) | 39 | |||||||||
| Political science and government | 131 | 86.6 | (3.24) | 11.2 | (3.31) | 2.2 | (0.53) | 16 | 81.2 | (5.06) | 13.8 | ! | (4.52) | 5.0 | ! | (1.97) | 115 | 87.3 | (3.57) | 10.8 | ! | (3.64) | 1.8 | (0.52) | 6 | ||||||
Precision production |
78 | 54.1 | (3.00) | 29.5 | (3.37) | 16.4 | (2.23) | 70 | 53.7 | (3.08) | 29.6 | (3.54) | 16.7 | (2.41) | 8 | 56.8 | (8.30) | 28.7 | (7.27) | 14.5 | (3.76) | ‡ | |||||||||
| Psychology | 560 | 73.2 | (1.60) | 17.1 | (1.60) | 9.6 | (1.33) | 131 | 71.1 | (5.18) | 18.2 | (4.12) | 10.8 | ! | (3.63) | 429 | 73.9 | (1.83) | 16.8 | (1.37) | 9.3 | (1.44) | 138 | ||||||||
| Public administration and social services | 184 | 47.2 | (3.08) | 28.7 | (2.58) | 24.1 | (2.30) | 58 | 37.3 | (3.98) | 30.3 | (3.60) | 32.4 | (4.24) | 126 | 51.7 | (3.78) | 28.0 | (3.40) | 20.3 | (2.32) | 158 | |||||||||
| Science technologies/technicians | 23 | 58.7 | (4.08) | 25.3 | (4.17) | 15.9 | (3.15) | 19 | 58.2 | (4.63) | 25.9 | (4.71) | 15.8 | (3.18) | 3 | 61.7 | (12.12) | 21.7 | ! | (7.90) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | ||||||||
| Security and protective services | 505 | 64.5 | (2.00) | 23.7 | (1.81) | 11.7 | (1.04) | 242 | 67.3 | (1.78) | 23.2 | (1.61) | 9.6 | (1.06) | 263 | 62.0 | (3.02) | 24.3 | (2.76) | 13.7 | (1.55) | 42 | |||||||||
Social sciences, other |
64 | 57.9 | (3.98) | 21.5 | (3.85) | 20.5 | (4.16) | 34 | 55.7 | (5.10) | 23.1 | (4.18) | 21.3 | (6.34) | 30 | 60.4 | (6.97) | 19.9 | ! | (7.05) | 19.7 | (4.92) | 5 | ||||||||
| Sociology | 106 | 76.0 | (4.15) | 17.4 | (3.74) | 6.6 | (1.37) | 28 | 74.3 | (6.28) | 15.3 | (4.16) | 10.5 | ! | (3.51) | 78 | 76.6 | (4.69) | 18.2 | (4.50) | 5.2 | (1.45) | 7 | ||||||||
| Theology and religious vocations | 50 | 56.2 | (6.68) | 16.4 | ! | (5.41) | 27.4 | ! | (8.49) | 3 | 76.0 | ! | (23.65) | ‡ | (†) | ‡ | (†) | 47 | 54.9 | (6.84) | 16.6 | ! | (5.97) | 28.5 | (8.43) | 96 | |||||
| Transportation and materials moving | 42 | 59.3 | (5.61) | 26.8 | (4.49) | 13.9 | (2.64) | 20 | 43.8 | (6.14) | 37.1 | (6.21) | 19.1 | (3.79) | 22 | 73.5 | (6.08) | 17.4 | (4.51) | 9.0 | ! | (3.34) | ‡ | ||||||||
| Visual and performing arts | 587 | 78.6 | (2.44) | 16.0 | (2.39) | 5.3 | (0.64) | 160 | 69.7 | (2.72) | 20.2 | (2.87) | 10.1 | (1.49) | 427 | 82.0 | (3.32) | 14.5 | (3.19) | 3.5 | (0.71) | 57 | |||||||||
| Undecided | 417 | 82.7 | (2.17) | 10.5 | (1.01) | 6.8 | (1.70) | 113 | 66.1 | (5.06) | 17.7 | (1.54) | 16.2 | ! | (4.98) | 305 | 88.9 | (1.93) | 7.8 | (1.32) | 3.3 | (0.88) | ‡ | ||||||||
| †Not applicable. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| !Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 For undergraduate students, the field of study categories include students who had already declared a major as well as students who had decided on, but not yet declared, an intended major. The "Undecided" category consists of undergraduate students who had neither declared nor decided on a major. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 Also includes students attending more than one institution. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Because of different survey editing and processing procedures, enrollment data in this table may differ from those appearing in other tables. Includes students who enrolled at any time during the 2017–18 academic year. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2017-18 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Administrative Collection: 2018 (NPSAS:18-AC). (This table was prepared May 2022.) |
