The NCES Fast Facts Tool provides quick answers to many education questions (National Center for Education Statistics) (2024)

Most common undergraduate fields of study

Question:
What are the most common fields of study for undergraduate students?

Response:

Postsecondary institutions within the United States,¹ conferred 3.0 million undergraduate degrees in 2021–22.² These included 1.0 million associate’s degrees and 2.0 million bachelor’s degrees. At both levels, business and health professions and related programs were among the top three most common fields of study in which degrees were conferred overall and to students across racial/ethnic groups.

In 2021–22, postsecondary institutions conferred 1.0 million associate’s degrees. Seventy-nine percent of these degrees were concentrated in six fields of study:

• liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities (383,300 degrees, 38 percent of associate’s degrees conferred)
• health professions and related programs³ (177,400 degrees, 18 percent)
• business⁴ (113,100 degrees, 11 percent)
• engineering technologies⁵ (50,200 degrees, 5 percent)
• computer and information sciences and support services (34,800 degrees, 3 percent)
• homeland security, law enforcement, and firefighting⁶ (33,400 degrees, 3 percent)

The top three fields alone accounted for approximately two-thirds of associate’s degrees conferred and were the most common fields of study in which associate’s degrees were conferred to students in each racial/ethnic group and to U.S. nonresident⁷ students.

Postsecondary institutions conferred 2.0 million bachelor’s degrees in 2021–22. Of the 2.0 million bachelor’s degrees conferred in 2021–22, some 58 percent were concentrated in six fields of study:

• business (375,400 degrees, or 19 percent of bachelor’s degrees conferred)
• health professions and related programs (263,800 degrees, or 13 percent)
• social sciences and history (151,100 degrees, or 7 percent)
• biological and biomedical sciences (131,500 degrees, or 7 percent)
• psychology (129,600 degrees, or 6 percent)
• engineering (123,000 degrees, or 6 percent)

Business and health and related programs were also the top two fields for which degrees were conferred to students in each racial/ethnic group in 2021–22. However, the top two fields of study for which degrees were conferred to U.S. nonresident students were business and engineering.

¹ Data in this Fast Fact represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
² For general technical notes related to data analysis, data interpretation, rounding, and other considerations, please refer to the Condition of Education Reader’s Guide.
³ Includes dental assisting; emergency medical technician; clinical/medical lab science; medical and other health assisting; nursing; and health sciences.
⁴ Personal and culinary services have been added to the definition of “business” for associate’s degree data in order to be consistent with the definition of “business” for bachelor’s degree data. Thus, for all data in this Fast Fact, “business” is defined as business, management, marketing, and related support services, as well as culinary, entertainment, and personal services.
⁵ Includes engineering technologies and engineering-related fields; construction trades; and mechanic and repair technologies/technicians.
⁶ Includes criminal justice and corrections; fire control and safety; homeland security and related protective services; and security science and technology.
⁷ In the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), racial/ethnic data were not collected for U.S. nonresident students, and their data were compiled as a separate group.

Related Tables and Figures:(Listed by Release Date)

• 2024, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 321.10. Associate’s degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by sex of student and field of study: Academic years 2011-12 through 2021–22
  
• 2024, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 321.30. Associate’s degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity and field of study: Academic years 2020-21 and 2021–22
  
• 2024, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 322.10. Bachelor’s degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by field of study: Selected academic years, 1970–71 through 2021–22
  
• 2024, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 322.30. Bachelor’s degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity and field of study: Academic years 2020–21 and 2021–22
  
• 2024, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 322.40. Bachelor's degrees conferred to males by postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity and field of study: Academic years 2020–21 and 2021–22
  
• 2024, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 322.50. Bachelor’s degrees conferred to females by postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity and field of study: Academic years 2020–21 and 2021–22
  
• 2024, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 323.10. Master’s degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by field of study: Selected academic years, 1970–71 through 2021–22
  
• 2024, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 324.10. Doctor’s degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by field of study: Selected academic years, 1970–71 through 2021–22
  
• 2024, The Condition of Education 2024: Graduate Degree Fields
  

Other Resources:(Listed by Release Date)

• 2024, The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS): IPEDS is a system of surveys designed to collect data from all primary providers of postsecondary education.
  
• 2023, Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP)
  
• 2023, IPEDS Summary Tables. Degrees/certificates by field of study: 2021–22
  
• 2019, College Majors and Careers: Job Relatedness and Compensation of 1992–93 and 2007–08 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients 4 Years After Graduation
  
• 2019, Going Back to College: Undergraduates Who Already Held a Postsecondary Credential
  
• 2019, NCES Blog: Classification of Instructional Programs and the 2020 Update
  
• 2017, Beginning College Students Who Change Their Majors Within 3 Years of Enrollment