The general categories for fields of study used in indicators 26, 27, 39, and 40 were derived from the 2000 edition of the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP-2000). To facilitate trend comparisons, aggregations of some categories have been made in some instances. These aggregations are as follows:

Agriculture and natural resources: agriculture, agriculture operations and related sciences; and natural resources and conservation.

Business: business, management, marketing, and related support services; and personal and culinary services.

Communication, journalism, and related programs: communication, journalism, and related programs; and communications technologies/technicians and support services. This category is used at the bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and first-professional degree levels. For indicator 39, the following category is used at the associate’s degree level:

Communications and communications technologies: This category is not directly comparable to the communication, journalism, and related programs referenced above.

Data may differ from previously published figures as data from earlier years have been reclassified when necessary to make them conform to the new taxonomy. Further information about the CIP-2000 is available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/cip2000/.