Master's degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by field of study: Selected academic years, 1970-71 through 2021-22

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Table 323.10.Master's degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by field of study: Selected academic years, 1970-71 through 2021-22
Field of study	1970-71	1975-76	1980-81	1985-86	1990-91	1995-96	2000-01	2005-06	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
Total	235,564	317,477	302,637	295,850	342,863	412,180	473,502	599,862	751,718	754,582	758,804	785,757	804,542	820,242	833,792	843,531	866,932	880,249
Agriculture and natural resources¹	2,546	3,453	4,150	3,908	3,402	4,691	4,430	5,099	6,601	7,026	6,894	7,206	7,373	6,967	7,544	7,405	7,404	8,056
Architecture and related services	1,705	3,215	3,153	3,260	3,490	3,993	4,302	5,743	8,095	8,048	8,006	7,991	7,883	7,291	7,311	6,799	6,321	6,702
Area, ethnic, cultural, gender, and group studies	1,032	993	802	915	1,233	1,652	1,555	2,080	1,897	1,844	1,847	1,767	1,717	1,675	1,593	1,527	1,447	1,465
Biological and biomedical sciences	5,625	6,457	5,766	5,064	4,834	6,593	7,017	8,783	13,300	13,964	14,655	15,717	16,282	17,180	18,092	18,779	19,434	20,629
Business²	26,490	42,592	57,888	66,676	78,255	93,554	115,602	146,396	188,617	189,364	185,236	186,835	187,412	192,191	197,074	197,443	202,350	205,751

Communication, journalism, and related programs	1,770	2,961	2,896	3,500	4,123	5,080	5,218	7,106	8,760	9,353	9,581	9,676	10,119	10,241	10,463	10,588	10,819	12,168
Communications technologies	86	165	209	308	204	481	427	521	577	577	554	491	539	529	535	539	517	578
Computer and information sciences and support services	1,588	2,603	4,218	8,070	9,324	10,579	16,911	17,195	22,782	24,514	31,475	40,130	46,553	46,468	45,671	51,527	54,174	51,338
Education	87,666	126,061	96,713	74,816	87,352	104,936	127,829	174,622	164,652	154,655	146,581	145,792	145,624	146,368	146,429	146,989	153,745	151,707
Engineering	16,813	16,472	16,893	21,529	24,454	26,789	25,174	30,845	40,420	42,376	46,117	51,646	52,826	51,723	49,701	47,277	47,277	42,997

Engineering technologies³	134	328	323	617	996	2,054	2,013	2,541	4,908	4,967	5,324	6,067	7,403	7,246	6,232	6,219	6,375	6,342
English language and literature/letters	10,441	8,599	5,742	5,335	6,784	7,657	6,763	8,845	9,755	9,294	8,928	8,581	8,244	8,300	8,217	7,862	7,850	8,073
Family and consumer sciences/human sciences	1,452	2,179	2,570	2,011	1,541	1,712	1,838	1,983	3,255	3,082	3,148	3,228	3,295	3,308	3,287	3,281	3,137	2,948
Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics	5,480	4,432	2,934	2,690	3,049	3,443	3,035	3,539	3,708	3,482	3,566	3,407	3,271	3,261	3,081	2,930	2,885	2,837
Health professions and related programs	5,241	12,051	16,029	18,496	21,247	33,780	43,465	51,046	90,668	96,934	102,584	109,846	118,712	125,230	131,391	135,317	141,978	147,035

Homeland security, law enforcement, and firefighting	194	1,197	1,538	1,074	1,108	1,812	2,514	4,277	8,868	9,310	9,643	9,775	10,209	10,293	10,303	10,606	11,325	11,580
Legal professions and studies	955	1,442	1,832	1,924	2,057	2,751	3,829	4,453	7,013	7,654	7,924	8,181	8,674	9,203	9,487	10,024	7,038	12,077
Liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities	885	2,633	2,375	1,586	2,213	2,778	3,193	3,702	3,264	3,002	2,794	2,598	2,485	2,473	2,109	1,990	2,044	1,862
Library science	7,001	8,037	4,859	3,564	4,763	5,099	4,727	6,448	6,983	5,840	5,259	4,926	4,843	4,953	5,164	4,959	5,477	5,856
Mathematics and statistics	5,191	3,857	2,567	3,131	3,549	3,651	3,209	4,729	6,957	7,273	7,589	8,451	9,082	10,443	11,382	12,041	12,583	11,761

Military technologies and applied sciences	2	0	43	83	0	136	0	0	32	29	71	152	274	355	572	839	958	887
Multi/interdisciplinary studies	924	1,283	2,356	2,869	2,079	2,713	3,413	4,396	7,953	8,120	8,100	8,554	9,264	10,221	10,721	11,541	12,354	15,049
Parks, recreation, leisure, fitness, and kinesiology	218	571	643	570	483	1,684	2,354	3,994	7,139	7,609	7,654	8,268	8,651	9,010	8,963	9,108	9,880	10,118
Philosophy and religious studies	1,326	1,358	1,231	1,193	1,471	1,371	1,534	2,096	2,399	2,561	2,413	2,227	2,190	1,693	2,280	2,179	2,073	2,197
Physical sciences and science technologies	6,336	5,428	5,246	5,860	5,281	5,910	5,134	6,063	7,014	6,984	7,100	7,131	7,136	7,196	7,121	6,978	6,778	6,904

Precision production	0	0	0	0	0	8	2	9	9	15	4	10	14	11	12	11	8	11
Psychology	5,717	10,167	10,223	9,845	11,349	15,152	16,539	19,775	27,787	27,926	26,772	27,645	27,539	27,918	29,136	29,750	31,818	33,661
Public administration and social services	7,785	15,209	17,803	15,692	17,905	24,229	25,268	30,492	43,591	44,508	45,948	46,754	45,361	46,300	48,883	49,718	49,391	50,051
Social sciences and history	16,539	15,953	11,945	10,564	12,233	15,012	13,791	17,368	21,591	21,497	20,533	19,861	20,004	19,884	20,303	19,507	19,846	20,614
Theology and religious vocations	7,747	8,964	11,061	11,826	10,498	10,901	9,728	11,401	13,810	13,662	13,777	13,881	13,208	13,828	12,842	12,646	13,228	12,592

Transportation and materials moving	0	0	0	454	406	919	756	784	1,444	1,243	971	911	839	815	774	631	670	674
Visual and performing arts	6,675	8,817	8,629	8,420	8,657	10,280	11,404	13,531	17,869	17,869	17,756	18,052	17,516	17,668	17,119	16,521	15,748	15,729
Other and not classified	0	0	0	0	8,523	780	528	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
¹Includes Agricultural, animal, plant, veterinary science, and related fields; and Natural resources and conservation.
²Includes Business, management, marketing, and related support services; and 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 and U.S. service academies. 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, Completions component, Fall 2000 through Fall 2021 (final data) and Fall 2022 (provisional data). (This table was prepared September 2023.)

Table 323.10.Master's degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by field of study: Selected academic years, 1970-71 through 2021-22

Field of study

1970-71

1975-76

1980-81

1985-86

1990-91

1995-96

2000-01

2005-06

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

Total

235,564

317,477

302,637

295,850

342,863

412,180

473,502

599,862

751,718

754,582

758,804

785,757

804,542

820,242

833,792

843,531

866,932

880,249

Agriculture and natural resources¹

2,546

3,453

4,150

3,908

3,402

4,691

4,430

5,099

6,601

7,026

6,894

7,206

7,373

6,967

7,544

7,405

7,404

8,056

Architecture and related services

1,705

3,215

3,153

3,260

3,490

3,993

4,302

5,743

8,095

8,048

8,006

7,991

7,883

7,291

7,311

6,799

6,321

6,702

Area, ethnic, cultural, gender, and group studies

1,032

993

802

915

1,233

1,652

1,555

2,080

1,897

1,844

1,847

1,767

1,717

1,675

1,593

1,527

1,447

1,465

Biological and biomedical sciences

5,625

6,457

5,766

5,064

4,834

6,593

7,017

8,783

13,300

13,964

14,655

15,717

16,282

17,180

18,092

18,779

19,434

20,629

Business²

26,490

42,592

57,888

66,676

78,255

93,554

115,602

146,396

188,617

189,364

185,236

186,835

187,412

192,191

197,074

197,443

202,350

205,751

Communication, journalism, and related programs

1,770

2,961

2,896

3,500

4,123

5,080

5,218

7,106

8,760

9,353

9,581

9,676

10,119

10,241

10,463

10,588

10,819

12,168

Communications technologies

165

209

308

204

481

427

521

577

554

491

539

529

535

539

517

578

Computer and information sciences and support
services

1,588

2,603

4,218

8,070

9,324

10,579

16,911

17,195

22,782

24,514

31,475

40,130

46,553

46,468

45,671

51,527

54,174

51,338

Education

87,666

126,061

96,713

74,816

87,352

104,936

127,829

174,622

164,652

154,655

146,581

145,792

145,624

146,368

146,429

146,989

153,745

151,707

Engineering

16,813

16,472

16,893

21,529

24,454

26,789

25,174

30,845

40,420

42,376

46,117

51,646

52,826

51,723

49,701

47,277

42,997

Engineering technologies³

134

328

323

617

996

2,054

2,013

2,541

4,908

4,967

5,324

6,067

7,403

7,246

6,232

6,219

6,375

6,342

English language and literature/letters

10,441

8,599

5,742

5,335

6,784

7,657

6,763

8,845

9,755

9,294

8,928

8,581

8,244

8,300

8,217

7,862

7,850

8,073

Family and consumer sciences/human sciences

1,452

2,179

2,570

2,011

1,541

1,712

1,838

1,983

3,255

3,082

3,148

3,228

3,295

3,308

3,287

3,281

3,137

2,948

Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics

5,480

4,432

2,934

2,690

3,049

3,443

3,035

3,539

3,708

3,482

3,566

3,407

3,271

3,261

3,081

2,930

2,885

2,837

Health professions and related programs

5,241

12,051

16,029

18,496

21,247

33,780

43,465

51,046

90,668

96,934

102,584

109,846

118,712

125,230

131,391

135,317

141,978

147,035

Homeland security, law enforcement, and firefighting

194

1,197

1,538

1,074

1,108

1,812

2,514

4,277

8,868

9,310

9,643

9,775

10,209

10,293

10,303

10,606

11,325

11,580

Legal professions and studies

955

1,442

1,832

1,924

2,057

2,751

3,829

4,453

7,013

7,654

7,924

8,181

8,674

9,203

9,487

10,024

7,038

12,077

Liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and
humanities

885

2,633

2,375

1,586

2,213

2,778

3,193

3,702

3,264

3,002

2,794

2,598

2,485

2,473

2,109

1,990

2,044

1,862

Library science

7,001

8,037

4,859

3,564

4,763

5,099

4,727

6,448

6,983

5,840

5,259

4,926

4,843

4,953

5,164

4,959

5,477

5,856

Mathematics and statistics

5,191

3,857

2,567

3,131

3,549

3,651

3,209

4,729

6,957

7,273

7,589

8,451

9,082

10,443

11,382

12,041

12,583

11,761

Military technologies and applied sciences

136

152

274

355

572

839

958

887

Multi/interdisciplinary studies

924

1,283

2,356

2,869

2,079

2,713

3,413

4,396

7,953

8,120

8,100

8,554

9,264

10,221

10,721

11,541

12,354

15,049

Parks, recreation, leisure, fitness, and kinesiology

218

571

643

570

483

1,684

2,354

3,994

7,139

7,609

7,654

8,268

8,651

9,010

8,963

9,108

9,880

10,118

Philosophy and religious studies

1,326

1,358

1,231

1,193

1,471

1,371

1,534

2,096

2,399

2,561

2,413

2,227

2,190

1,693

2,280

2,179

2,073

2,197

Physical sciences and science technologies

6,336

5,428

5,246

5,860

5,281

5,910

5,134

6,063

7,014

6,984

7,100

7,131

7,136

7,196

7,121

6,978

6,778

6,904

Precision production

Psychology

5,717

10,167

10,223

9,845

11,349

15,152

16,539

19,775

27,787

27,926

26,772

27,645

27,539

27,918

29,136

29,750

31,818

33,661

Public administration and social services

7,785

15,209

17,803

15,692

17,905

24,229

25,268

30,492

43,591

44,508

45,948

46,754

45,361

46,300

48,883

49,718

49,391

50,051

Social sciences and history

16,539

15,953

11,945

10,564

12,233

15,012

13,791

17,368

21,591

21,497

20,533

19,861

20,004

19,884

20,303

19,507

19,846

20,614

Theology and religious vocations

7,747

8,964

11,061

11,826

10,498

10,901

9,728

11,401

13,810

13,662

13,777

13,881

13,208

13,828

12,842

12,646

13,228

12,592

Transportation and materials moving

454

406

919

756

784

1,444

1,243

971

911

839

815

774

631

670

674

Visual and performing arts

6,675

8,817

8,629

8,420

8,657

10,280

11,404

13,531

17,869

17,756

18,052

17,516

17,668

17,119

16,521

15,748

15,729

Other and not classified

8,523

780

528

¹Includes Agricultural, animal, plant, veterinary science, and related fields; and Natural resources and conservation.

²Includes Business, management, marketing, and related support services; and 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 and U.S. service academies. 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, Completions component, Fall 2000 through Fall 2021 (final data) and Fall 2022 (provisional data). (This table was prepared September 2023.)