Ranked: Most Popular U.S. Undergraduate Degrees (2011–2021)
In an era of soaring tuition fees and mounting student debt, choosing which undergraduate degree to pursue has become a crucial decision for any aspiring college student. And it always helps to see which way the winds are blowing.
This visualization by Kashish Rastogi, based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), examines the changing landscape of undergraduate degrees awarded between the 2010–2011 and 2020–2021 academic years.
Undergraduate Degrees Growing in Popularity
The NCES classifies all four-year bachelor degrees into 38 fields of study. Of these fields, 21 saw an increase in graduates in 2020–2021 compared to 2010–2011.
While only those with more than 30,000 graduates have been shown in the graphic (to prevent overrepresentation of large changes in small pools of graduates), the full list is available below.
| Rank | Field of Study | 2010–2011 | 2020–2021 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 363,919 | 390,781 | +7% |
| 2 | Health Professions | 143,463 | 268,018 | +87% |
| 3 | Biomedical Sciences | 89,984 | 131,499 | +46% |
| 4 | Psychology | 100,906 | 126,944 | +26% |
| 5 | Engineering | 76,356 | 126,037 | +65% |
| 6 | Computer Sciences | 43,066 | 104,874 | +144% |
| 7 | Communication | 83,231 | 90,775 | +9% |
| 8 | Security & Law Enforcement |
47,600 | 58,009 | +22% |
| 9 | Interdisciplinary Studies |
42,473 | 54,584 | +29% |
| 10 | Leisure & Fitness Studies |
35,934 | 54,294 | +51% |
| 11 | Public Administration | 26,799 | 34,817 | +30% |
| 12 | Physical Sciences | 24,338 | 28,706 | +18% |
| 13 | Mathematics | 17,182 | 27,092 | +58% |
| 14 | Agriculture Sciences | 15,851 | 21,418 | +35% |
| 15 | Natural Resources & Conservation |
12,779 | 20,507 | +61% |
| 16 | Engineering Technologies |
16,187 | 18,562 | +15% |
| 17 | Transportation | 4,941 | 5,993 | +21% |
| 18 | Legal | 4,429 | 4,589 | +4% |
| 19 | Military Technologies | 64 | 1,524 | +2,281% |
| 20 | Science Technologies | 367 | 532 | +45% |
| 21 | Library Science | 96 | 119 | +24% |
Note: Field of study names have been edited slightly from their NCES labels for better readability.
Let’s take a look at the areas of study that were most popular, as well as some of the fastest growing fields:
Computer and Information Sciences
Bachelor’s degrees in this discipline have grown by 144% since 2010–2011, with over 100,000 graduates in 2020–2021. The allure of the tech sector’s explosive growth likely contributed to its popularity among students.
Health Professions
Undergraduate degrees in health professions saw an 87% increase, attracting nearly 260,000 graduates in 2020–2021. This field accounted for 13% of the total graduating class, reflecting the growing appeal of the healthcare sector.
Engineering
There were 50,000 more engineering graduates in the U.S. in 2021, up 65% from 2011. With a median income over $100,000 per year, engineering graduates can usually rely on good wages as well as versatility in future careers, capable of finding jobs in tech, design, and communication fields, and of course, becoming future entrepreneurs.
Biomedical Sciences
University graduates in this field, which focuses on the integration of the study of biology with health and medicine, grew by 46%. A subset of this category—epidemiology—has been in the limelight recently thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Business
While this category recorded a modest 7% growth in graduates, its popularity has been indisputable in the last decade, representing the largest proportion of the graduating class in both 2011 and 2021.
Fields with Declining University Graduates (2011‒2021)
Meanwhile, 17 areas of study experienced declines in the number of completed university degrees. We explore some of the notable ones below:
| Rank | Field of Study | 2010–2011 | 2020–2021 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Social Sciences | 142,161 | 1,37,908 | -3% |
| 2 | Visual & Performing Arts |
93,939 | 90,022 | -4% |
| 3 | Education | 104,008 | 89,398 | -14% |
| 4 | Liberal Arts | 46,717 | 41,909 | -10% |
| 5 | English | 52,754 | 35,762 | -32% |
| 6 | History | 35,008 | 22,919 | -35% |
| 7 | Human Sciences | 22,438 | 22,319 | -1% |
| 8 | Foreign Languages | 21,705 | 15,518 | -29% |
| 9 | Philosophy & Religion |
12,830 | 11,988 | -7% |
| 10 | Architecture | 9,831 | 9,296 | -5% |
| 11 | Ethnic, Cultural & Gender Studies |
8,955 | 7,374 | -18% |
| 12 | Theology | 9,073 | 6,737 | -26% |
| 13 | Communications Tech | 4,858 | 4,557 | -6% |
| 14 | Personal & Culinary Services |
1,214 | 594 | -51% |
| 15 | Construction Trades | 328 | 221 | -33% |
| 16 | Mechanic & Repair | 226 | 221 | -2% |
| 17 | Precision Production | 43 | 28 | -35% |
English
Popular in the 1970s, the English undergraduate degree has gone through peaks (80s and 90s) and troughs (2000s and 10s) of popularity in the last 50 years. Between 2010–2011 and 2020–2021, the number of students with an English degree has fallen by a third.
The state of English’s woes are even making its way to pop culture, like in Netflix’s The Chair, which follows the head of a struggling English department at a major university.
Education
The existing teacher shortage in the United States does not seem to be getting fixed by a burgeoning supply of new grads. In fact, the number of university graduates in Education fell 14% between 2011 and 2021. With concerns around stagnant wages, burnout, and little to no support for supplies, many teachers are seeing an already demanding job becoming harder.
Liberal Arts
In the classic era, the liberal arts covered seven fields of study: rhetoric, grammar, logic, astronomy, mathematics, geometry, and music. Now, liberal art degrees include several other subjects: history, political science, and even philosophy—but students are meant to primarily walk away with critical thinking skills.
The modern world rewards specialization however, and a wider-scope liberal arts degree is seeing fewer takers, with a 10% drop in graduating students.
Where Does This Data Come From?
Source: The National Center for Education’s statistics from their Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System surveys. Numbers for both 2010–2011 and 2020–2021 academic years can be found from their summary tables by changing the award level code (bachelor degrees) and the year on the left-hand toolbar.
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