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Table 322.10. | Bachelor's degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by field of study: Selected academic years, 1970-71 through 2020-21 |
Field of study | 1970-71 | 1975-76 | 1980-81 | 1985-86 | 1990-91 | 1995-96 | 2000-01 | 2005-06 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | 1,485,104 | 1,792,163 | 1,840,381 | 1,870,150 | 1,894,969 | 1,920,750 | 1,956,114 | 1,980,665 | 2,013,086 | 2,038,682 | 2,066,445 |
Agriculture and natural resources1 | 12,674 | 19,402 | 21,886 | 17,191 | 13,363 | 21,757 | 23,766 | 23,497 | 31,629 | 34,304 | 35,953 | 37,028 | 37,827 | 38,782 | 40,334 | 41,373 | 41,858 | 41,925 |
Architecture and related services | 5,570 | 9,146 | 9,455 | 9,119 | 9,781 | 8,352 | 8,480 | 9,515 | 9,727 | 9,757 | 9,149 | 9,090 | 8,825 | 8,579 | 8,464 | 8,806 | 9,045 | 9,296 |
Area, ethnic, cultural, gender, and group studies | 2,579 | 3,577 | 2,887 | 3,021 | 4,776 | 5,633 | 6,160 | 7,878 | 9,228 | 8,850 | 8,275 | 7,783 | 7,840 | 7,720 | 7,717 | 7,733 | 7,771 | 7,374 |
Biological and biomedical sciences | 35,705 | 54,154 | 43,078 | 38,395 | 39,482 | 61,014 | 60,576 | 70,602 | 95,850 | 100,397 | 104,657 | 109,904 | 113,794 | 116,768 | 118,661 | 121,233 | 126,616 | 131,499 |
Business2 | 115,396 | 143,171 | 200,521 | 236,700 | 249,165 | 226,623 | 263,515 | 318,043 | 367,235 | 360,887 | 358,132 | 363,741 | 371,690 | 381,109 | 386,240 | 390,490 | 387,881 | 391,375 |
Communication, journalism, and related programs | 10,324 | 20,045 | 29,428 | 41,666 | 51,650 | 47,320 | 58,013 | 73,658 | 83,771 | 84,818 | 87,612 | 90,658 | 92,551 | 93,794 | 92,289 | 92,528 | 91,763 | 90,775 |
Communications technologies | 478 | 1,237 | 1,854 | 1,479 | 1,397 | 853 | 1,178 | 2,987 | 4,983 | 4,987 | 4,991 | 5,135 | 4,824 | 4,615 | 4,231 | 4,444 | 4,424 | 4,557 |
Computer and information sciences and support services |
2,388 | 5,652 | 15,121 | 42,337 | 25,159 | 24,506 | 44,142 | 47,702 | 47,406 | 50,961 | 55,271 | 59,586 | 64,402 | 71,416 | 79,597 | 88,638 | 97,054 | 104,874 |
Education | 176,307 | 154,437 | 108,074 | 87,147 | 110,807 | 105,384 | 105,458 | 107,235 | 105,656 | 104,698 | 98,838 | 91,596 | 87,221 | 85,130 | 82,599 | 83,952 | 85,052 | 89,398 |
Engineering | 45,034 | 38,733 | 63,642 | 77,391 | 62,448 | 62,168 | 58,209 | 66,841 | 81,371 | 85,987 | 92,169 | 97,852 | 106,789 | 115,671 | 121,953 | 126,692 | 128,337 | 126,037 |
Engineering technologies3 | 5,148 | 7,943 | 11,713 | 19,731 | 17,303 | 15,829 | 14,660 | 14,565 | 17,283 | 17,010 | 16,807 | 17,253 | 17,159 | 18,119 | 18,728 | 19,620 | 19,788 | 19,004 |
English language and literature/letters | 63,914 | 41,452 | 31,922 | 34,083 | 51,064 | 49,928 | 50,569 | 55,094 | 53,765 | 52,401 | 50,464 | 45,851 | 42,797 | 41,314 | 40,002 | 39,344 | 38,049 | 35,762 |
Family and consumer sciences/human sciences | 11,167 | 17,409 | 18,370 | 13,847 | 13,920 | 14,353 | 16,421 | 20,775 | 23,441 | 23,930 | 24,689 | 24,584 | 25,389 | 25,080 | 24,357 | 23,956 | 23,248 | 22,319 |
Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics | 20,988 | 17,068 | 11,638 | 11,550 | 13,937 | 14,832 | 16,128 | 19,393 | 21,756 | 21,647 | 20,332 | 19,493 | 18,436 | 17,643 | 16,957 | 16,605 | 16,309 | 15,518 |
Health professions and related programs | 25,221 | 53,885 | 63,665 | 64,941 | 59,636 | 85,755 | 75,537 | 91,528 | 163,018 | 180,437 | 197,949 | 215,478 | 228,075 | 236,931 | 243,876 | 250,650 | 257,327 | 268,018 |
Homeland security, law enforcement, and firefighting | 2,045 | 12,507 | 13,707 | 12,704 | 16,806 | 24,810 | 25,211 | 35,319 | 54,091 | 60,264 | 62,416 | 62,723 | 61,159 | 59,553 | 58,121 | 57,333 | 57,044 | 58,009 |
Legal professions and studies | 545 | 531 | 776 | 1,223 | 1,827 | 2,123 | 1,991 | 3,302 | 4,595 | 4,425 | 4,513 | 4,420 | 4,243 | 4,272 | 4,242 | 4,235 | 4,262 | 4,589 |
Liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities |
7,481 | 18,855 | 21,643 | 21,336 | 30,526 | 33,997 | 37,962 | 44,898 | 46,961 | 46,790 | 45,281 | 43,649 | 43,669 | 44,103 | 44,262 | 44,222 | 42,922 | 41,909 |
Library science | 1,013 | 843 | 375 | 155 | 90 | 58 | 52 | 76 | 95 | 102 | 127 | 99 | 85 | 99 | 81 | 99 | 118 | 119 |
Mathematics and statistics | 24,801 | 15,984 | 11,078 | 16,122 | 14,393 | 12,713 | 11,171 | 14,760 | 18,841 | 20,449 | 20,987 | 21,854 | 22,778 | 24,075 | 25,253 | 26,155 | 27,227 | 27,092 |
Military technologies and applied sciences | 357 | 952 | 42 | 255 | 183 | 7 | 21 | 33 | 86 | 105 | 185 | 276 | 358 | 469 | 655 | 767 | 1,156 | 1,524 |
Multi/interdisciplinary studies | 6,324 | 13,709 | 12,986 | 13,754 | 17,774 | 26,885 | 26,478 | 30,583 | 45,717 | 47,658 | 48,392 | 47,556 | 48,833 | 49,631 | 51,982 | 53,303 | 55,037 | 54,584 |
Parks, recreation, leisure, fitness, and kinesiology | 1,621 | 5,182 | 5,729 | 4,623 | 4,315 | 12,974 | 17,948 | 25,489 | 38,998 | 42,628 | 46,047 | 49,008 | 50,912 | 53,292 | 53,887 | 53,540 | 53,749 | 54,294 |
Philosophy and religious studies | 8,149 | 8,447 | 6,776 | 6,396 | 7,423 | 7,900 | 9,442 | 12,841 | 14,104 | 14,338 | 13,776 | 12,925 | 12,133 | 11,740 | 11,872 | 11,981 | 11,898 | 11,988 |
Physical sciences and science technologies | 21,410 | 21,458 | 23,936 | 21,711 | 16,334 | 19,716 | 18,025 | 20,521 | 26,664 | 28,053 | 29,307 | 30,042 | 30,483 | 31,272 | 31,542 | 31,155 | 30,743 | 29,238 |
Precision production | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 31 | 55 | 37 | 36 | 37 | 48 | 51 | 32 | 45 | 47 | 39 | 28 |
Psychology | 38,187 | 50,278 | 41,068 | 40,628 | 58,655 | 73,416 | 73,645 | 88,132 | 109,099 | 114,446 | 117,312 | 117,573 | 117,447 | 116,859 | 116,436 | 116,550 | 119,989 | 126,944 |
Public administration and social services | 5,466 | 15,440 | 16,707 | 11,887 | 14,350 | 19,849 | 19,447 | 21,986 | 29,695 | 31,950 | 33,483 | 34,364 | 34,433 | 35,461 | 35,637 | 35,104 | 34,352 | 34,817 |
Social sciences and history | 155,324 | 126,396 | 100,513 | 93,840 | 125,107 | 126,479 | 128,036 | 161,468 | 178,534 | 177,767 | 173,132 | 166,971 | 161,211 | 159,097 | 159,962 | 160,678 | 161,219 | 160,827 |
Theology and religious vocations | 3,720 | 5,490 | 5,808 | 5,510 | 4,799 | 4,933 | 6,220 | 7,687 | 7,845 | 7,839 | 7,865 | 7,859 | 7,826 | 7,489 | 7,252 | 7,061 | 6,855 | 6,737 |
Transportation and materials moving | 0 | 225 | 263 | 1,838 | 2,622 | 3,561 | 3,748 | 5,349 | 4,876 | 4,661 | 4,588 | 4,730 | 4,531 | 4,708 | 4,924 | 5,051 | 5,251 | 5,993 |
Visual and performing arts | 30,394 | 42,138 | 40,479 | 37,241 | 42,186 | 49,296 | 61,148 | 83,292 | 95,806 | 97,799 | 97,414 | 95,840 | 92,979 | 91,291 | 88,507 | 89,741 | 92,299 | 90,022 |
Other and not classified | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13,258 | 1,756 | 783 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1Includes Agricultural, animal, plant, veterinary science, and related fields as well as Natural resources and conservation. | ||||||||||||||||||
2Includes Business, management, marketing, and related support services as well as Culinary, entertainment, and personal services. | ||||||||||||||||||
3Includes Engineering technologies and engineering-related fields; Construction trades; and Mechanic and repair technologies/technicians. | ||||||||||||||||||
NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data are for postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Data in this table are based on the 2020 Classification of Instructional Programs. To facilitate trend comparisons, certain aggregations have been made of the degree fields as reported in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). 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:91-99); and IPEDS Fall 2000 through Fall 2021, Completions component. (This table was prepared September 2022.) |