In 2009–10, more than half of the 1.7 million bachelor's degrees awarded were in five fields: business, management, marketing, and personal and culinary services (22 percent); social sciences and history (10 percent); health professions and related programs (8 percent); education (6 percent); and psychology (6 percent).
Of the 1.7 million bachelor's degrees awarded in 2009–10, over half were concentrated in five fields: business, management, marketing, and personal and culinary services (22 percent); social sciences and history (10 percent); health professions and related programs (8 percent); education (6 percent); and psychology (6 percent) (see table A-38-1). The fields of visual and performing arts (6 percent), engineering and engineering technologies (5 percent), biological and biomedical sciences (5 percent), and communication and communications technologies (5 percent) represented an additional 21 percent of all bachelor's degrees awarded in 2009–10.
Undergraduate enrollment increased from 12.7 million students in fall 1999 to 17.6 million in fall 2009 (see indicator 10). Overall, 33 percent more bachelor's degrees were awarded in 2009–10 than in 1999–2000 (an increase of 412,000 degrees). bachelor's degrees awarded in the field of parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies exhibited the largest percent increase of all fields (from 17,600 to 33,300 degrees, a 90 percent increase). The next largest percent increase was in the field of homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting, and related protective services (from 24,900 to 43,700 degrees, a 76 percent change). Education was the only field in which fewer bachelor's degrees were awarded in 2009–10 than in 1999-2000 (from 108,000 to 101,000, a decrease of 6 percent).
Over half of all bachelor's degrees conferred in 2009–10 were awarded to females (57 percent), similar to the percentage awarded to females in 1999–2000. Females earned between 49 and 85 percent of the degrees awarded in the five most prevalent bachelor's degree fields. In 2009–10, females earned the smallest percentages of bachelor's degrees relative to males in the fields of engineering and engineering technologies (17 percent) and computer and information sciences and support services (18 percent).
From 1999–2000 to 2009–10, the percentages of bachelor's degrees conferred to females changed in several fields of study. For example, of all the bachelor's degrees conferred in the field of homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting, and related protective services, the percentage conferred to females increased from 43 percent in 1999–2000 to 49 percent in 2009–10. In contrast, of all the bachelor's degrees conferred in the field of computer and information sciences and support services, the percentage conferred to females decreased from 28 percent in 1999–2000 to 18 percent in 2009–10.
Of the 849,000 associate's degrees earned in 2009–10, about 54 percent were awarded in two broad areas of study: liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities (34 percent) and health professions and related programs (21 percent). Overall, the number of associate's degrees awarded from 1999–2000 to 2009–10 increased by 50 percent, or by 285,000 degrees. The field of psychology experienced the largest percent increase in the number of associate's degrees awarded over this time period (352 percent, from 1,500 to 6,600 degrees). Of the 20 fields of study in which the most associate's degrees were awarded in 2009–10, two fields experienced a decline from the number of degrees awarded in 1999–2000: some 770 fewer associate's degrees were awarded in agriculture and natural resources (a decrease of 12 percent), and 4,200 fewer degrees were awarded in engineering and engineering technologies (a decrease of 7 percent).
In 2009–10, females earned 62 percent of all associate's degrees awarded. The fields in which females earned the highest percentage of associate's degrees included family and consumer sciences/human sciences (95 percent were awarded to females) and legal professions and studies (88 percent). Females earned fewer associate's degrees than males in fields such as precision production (6 percent) and engineering and engineering technologies (10 percent).
Technical Notes
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