Change in Number of Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded, by Field of Study, 1991-2011
| Discipline | Number of degrees awarded, 1991 | Number of degrees awarded, 2011 | 20-year change |
| Construction trades | 24 | 328 | 1,267% |
| Personal and culinary services | 105 | 1,237 | 1,078% |
| Parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies | 4,315 | 35,968 | 734% |
| Natural resources and conservation | 3,101 | 12,799 | 313% |
| Communications technologies/technicians and support services | 1,394 | 5,007 | 259% |
| Science technologies/technicians | 106 | 373 | 252% |
| Homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting, and related | 17,005 | 48,641 | 186% |
| Health professions and related programs | 59,887 | 145,793 | 143% |
| Legal professions and studies | 1,827 | 4,443 | 143% |
| Multi/interdisciplinary studies | 17,903 | 42,508 | 137% |
| Biological and biomedical sciences | 40,138 | 91,142 | 127% |
| Visual and performing arts | 42,310 | 94,218 | 123% |
| Transportation and materials moving | 2,395 | 4,968 | 107% |
| Theology and religious vocations | 4,807 | 9,125 | 90% |
| Public administration and social-service professions | 14,634 | 27,540 | 88% |
| Area, ethnic, cultural, gender, and group studies | 4,886 | 9,100 | 86% |
| Philosophy and religious studies | 7,338 | 12,864 | 75% |
| Psychology | 59,097 | 101,715 | 72% |
| Computer and information sciences and support services | 25,410 | 43,586 | 72% |
| Family and consumer sciences/human sciences | 13,697 | 22,506 | 64% |
| Communication, journalism, and related programs | 51,980 | 83,781 | 61% |
| Agriculture, agriculture operations, and related sciences | 10,048 | 15,929 | 59% |
| Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics | 13,997 | 21,827 | 56% |
| Liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities | 30,655 | 46,835 | 53% |
| Physical sciences | 16,397 | 24,584 | 50% |
| Business, management, marketing, and related support services | 252,135 | 369,042 | 46% |
| History | 24,593 | 35,059 | 43% |
| Social sciences | 101,107 | 142,698 | 41% |
| Precision production | 31 | 43 | 39% |
| Engineering | 63,086 | 77,390 | 23% |
| Mathematics and statistics | 14,516 | 17,231 | 19% |
| Mechanic and repair technologies/technicians | 200 | 226 | 13% |
| Library science | 90 | 96 | 7% |
| English language and literature/letters | 51,096 | 52,798 | 3% |
| Architecture and related services | 9,811 | 9,934 | 1% |
| Engineering technologies and engineering-related fields | 17,145 | 16,375 | -4% |
| Education | 113,060 | 106,456 | -6% |
| Military technologies and applied science | 145 | 64 | -56% |
| Agricultural sciences | 58 | n/a | — |
| Marketing operations/marketing and distribution | 1,911 | n/a | — |
| Vocational home economics | 1,214 | n/a | — |
| Military science, leadership, and operational art | 273 | n/a | — |
| Residency programs | 169 | n/a | — |
| Unknown/not reported | 13,901 | n/a | — |
| Total | 1,107,997 | 1,734,229 | 57% |
Note: Percentages are rounded, but fields are ranked by unrounded percentages. The five disciplines for which no 2011 data are available were recategorized into other disciplines in 2000.
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