Indicator 27: First University Degrees by Field of Study

G-20 Countries Included: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

In 2011, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States were the only reporting G-20 countries in which the percentage of first university degrees awarded in science, mathematics, and engineering did not exceed the percentage awarded in the arts and humanities.

First university degree programs prepare students for advanced research and highly skilled professions. They vary in duration in different countries in different fields of study. In the United States, first university degree programs include bachelor's degree programs, but not associate's degree programs. This indicator compares the percentage of first university degrees awarded in four combined fields of study in 2011: social sciences, business, and law; science, mathematics, and engineering; the arts and humanities; and education.
In 2011, a greate
r percentage of first university degrees were awarded in the field of social sciences, business, and law than in any other field in 13 of 16 G-20 countries reporting data, including the United States (figure 27-1). In these 13 countries, about one-third to one-half of first university degrees were awarded in this field. Germany, the Republic of Korea, and Saudi Arabia were the exceptions.

In science, mathematics, and engineering, the percentage of first university degrees awarded in the United States was among the lowest in any of the reporting G-20 countries. Sixteen percent of first university degrees in the United States were awarded in this field, as were 10 percent in Brazil and 15 percent in Argentina. Germany and the Republic of Korea, which are two of the exceptions noted above, awarded the highest percentages of first university degrees in science, mathematics, and engineering (30 and 34 percent, respectively).

Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States were the only reporting G-20 countries in which the percentage of first university degrees awarded in science, mathematics, and engineering did not exceed the percentage awarded in the arts and humanities. Rather, in Saudi Arabia and the United States, the percentage of degrees awarded in the arts and humanities (38 and 18 percent, respectively) was higher than the percentage of degrees awarded in science, mathematics, and engineering (23 and 16 percent, respectively), and in Japan the percentage was the same in both fields (19 percent). Indonesia awarded the lowest percentage of first university degrees in the arts and humanities (1 percent). Elsewhere, the percentages ranged from 2 percent in Brazil to 38 percent in Saudi Arabia. The arts and humanities was the field of study in which the smallest percentage of first university degrees were awarded in Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, the Russian Federation, South Africa, and Turkey.

In most G-20 countries, however, education was the field of study in which the smallest percentage of first university degrees were awarded. This was true in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In these countries, the percentage of first university degrees awarded in education ranged from 5 percent in the United Kingdom to 11 percent in Australia and Canada. Brazil awarded the highest percentage of first university degrees in education (28 percent).

In absolute numbers, the United States and the Russian Federation awarded the most first university degrees overall, with over 2.1 and 1.8 million degrees, respectively, conferred in 2011 (table 27-1).

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Definitions and Methodologie

The percentage of first university degrees awarded in a field of study is the share of the degrees awarded in that field relative to all first university degrees awarded in all fields for a given year. First university degrees correspond with ISCED97 level 5A.

The fields of study examined in this indicator follow the 1997 revision of the International Standard Classification of Education Major Field of Study (ISCED97 MFS) (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 1997). The social sciences, business, and law combined field of study includes social and behavioral sciences (ISCED97 31), journalism and information (ISCED97 32), business and administration (ISCED97 34), and law (ISCED97 38). The science, mathematics, and engineering combined field of study includes life sciences (ISCED97 42), physical sciences (ISCED97 44), mathematics and statistics (ISCED97 46), computing (ISCED97 48), engineering and engineering trades (ISCED97 52), manufacturing and processing (ISCED97 54), and architecture and building (ISCED97 58). The arts and humanities combined field of study includes arts (ISCED97 21) and humanities (ISCED97 22). The education combined field of study includes teacher training (ISCED97 141) and education science (ISCED97 142). "Other" fields of study include agriculture, forestry, and fishery (ISCED97 62); veterinary (ISCED97 64); health (ISCED97 72); social services (ISCED97 76); personal services (ISCED97 81); transport services (ISCED97 84); environmental protection (ISCED97 85); security services (ISCED97 86); and fields of study not known or unspecified. For more information on the ISCED97 levels, see appendix A in this report.

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