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Table 1. Bachelor's degrees awarded, by field of degree and citizenship status of recipients: 2005–15

Field 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
All fields 1,456,401 1,502,922 1,541,704 1,580,413 1,619,028 1,668,227 1,734,229 1,811,404 1,861,034 1,890,941 1,916,129
Science and engineering 537,494 556,938 573,186 592,477 609,825 639,443 683,462 736,609 781,548 817,998 849,758
Science 471,342 488,711 504,912 522,569 539,225 565,044 605,363 653,346 693,736 724,048 749,852
Computer sciences 54,588 48,000 42,596 38,922 38,496 40,107 43,586 48,034 51,586 56,130 60,309
Geosciences 4,792 4,802 4,933 5,185 5,478 5,737 6,348 7,013 7,535 8,003 8,593
Atmospheric sciences 677 651 745 736 721 691 678 735 749 751 734
Earth sciences 3,126 3,195 3,165 3,423 3,661 3,912 4,359 4,844 5,245 5,671 6,114
Ocean sciences 989 956 1,023 1,026 1,096 1,134 1,311 1,434 1,541 1,581 1,745
Life sciences 157,644 173,565 189,742 202,737 215,210 231,739 253,697 281,567 308,634 331,183 354,744
Agricultural sciences 18,013 18,173 18,561 19,447 20,448 21,832 24,211 26,481 29,144 30,356 31,080
Biological sciences 67,139 72,157 78,492 81,527 84,638 88,680 92,605 98,746 103,459 108,247 113,686
Health sciences 72,492 83,235 92,689 101,763 110,124 121,227 136,881 156,340 176,031 192,580 209,978
Mathematical sciences 14,816 15,310 15,551 15,841 16,208 16,832 18,021 19,819 21,567 22,226 23,136
Physical sciences 15,005 16,390 17,007 17,652 17,942 18,402 19,198 20,421 21,276 22,222 22,481
Astronomy 331 366 332 346 335 388 364 392 357 429 393
Chemistry 9,923 10,887 11,250 11,832 12,144 12,338 12,888 13,714 14,024 14,682 14,669
Physics 4,199 4,566 4,870 4,876 4,842 5,000 5,221 5,557 6,107 6,283 6,681
Other physical sciences 552 571 555 598 621 676 725 758 788 828 738
Social sciences 224,497 230,644 235,083 242,232 245,891 252,227 264,513 276,492 283,138 284,284 280,589
Anthropology 7,567 7,924 7,898 8,639 8,927 9,349 9,790 10,864 11,302 11,087 9,958
Economics 24,267 23,841 23,960 25,308 26,332 27,658 28,561 28,036 28,499 30,025 32,724
Political science 38,245 39,558 40,065 40,419 39,342 39,591 40,266 39,929 38,636 37,513 35,559
Psychology 86,031 88,551 90,498 92,989 94,743 97,746 101,568 109,782 115,373 118,405 118,768
Sociology 28,556 28,541 29,050 28,908 28,836 29,000 29,614 30,602 31,029 30,672 29,543
Other social sciences 39,831 42,229 43,612 45,969 47,711 48,883 54,714 57,279 58,299 56,582 54,037
Engineering 66,152 68,227 68,274 69,908 70,600 74,399 78,099 83,263 87,812 93,950 99,906
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 2,384 2,753 2,828 2,934 3,037 3,207 3,342 3,545 3,490 3,565 3,871
Bioengineering 2,418 2,933 3,149 3,303 3,695 3,775 4,023 4,464 4,838 5,430 5,823
Chemical engineering 4,487 4,455 4,571 4,919 5,137 5,838 6,416 7,176 7,678 8,202 9,070
Civil engineering 8,458 9,324 9,929 10,675 11,041 11,607 12,816 12,990 13,509 13,204 12,899
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 14,442 14,237 13,385 12,634 11,883 11,693 11,779 12,355 13,091 14,069 14,848
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 3,936 3,890 3,529 3,566 3,879 4,174 4,283 4,672 4,759 5,314 5,801
Materials science engineering 758 814 800 916 901 985 973 1,132 1,262 1,328 1,478
Mechanical engineering 14,811 16,048 16,809 17,586 17,551 18,779 19,388 20,782 22,208 24,585 26,661
Other engineering 14,458 13,773 13,274 13,375 13,476 14,341 15,079 16,147 16,977 18,253 19,455
Non-science and engineering 918,907 945,984 968,518 987,936 1,009,203 1,028,784 1,050,767 1,074,795 1,079,486 1,072,943 1,066,371
Education 123,271 127,028 126,531 124,888 124,726 123,707 125,769 128,755 128,375 124,036 117,526
Humanities 247,913 254,414 257,795 263,875 266,443 267,577 269,595 272,713 271,922 262,850 250,303
Technologies 27,267 28,043 29,560 30,014 31,271 31,684 33,353 36,463 36,628 37,435 39,095
Professional/other/unknown 520,456 536,499 554,632 569,159 586,763 605,816 622,050 636,864 642,561 648,622 659,447
U.S. citizens and permanent residents, all fieldsa 1,411,002 1,456,517 1,495,740 1,536,007 1,573,094 1,620,629 1,681,535 1,751,821 1,796,133 1,821,458 1,840,490
Science and engineering 517,996 537,372 554,130 574,449 591,054 619,517 660,848 710,748 753,040 786,665 815,086
Science 456,584 473,856 490,245 508,721 524,525 549,620 588,000 633,816 671,975 700,271 723,735
Computer sciences 50,597 44,901 40,163 37,118 36,677 38,240 41,558 45,672 49,204 53,311 56,940
Geosciences 4,678 4,712 4,851 5,092 5,367 5,616 6,206 6,871 7,333 7,755 8,354
Atmospheric sciences 667 646 736 731 713 685 673 726 733 736 721
Earth sciences 3,061 3,130 3,118 3,359 3,588 3,816 4,243 4,743 5,084 5,466 5,909
Ocean sciences 950 936 997 1,002 1,066 1,115 1,290 1,402 1,516 1,553 1,724
Life sciences 154,422 169,742 185,316 198,546 210,681 227,027 248,651 276,220 302,927 325,481 348,839
Agricultural sciences 17,720 17,891 18,260 19,205 20,162 21,502 23,823 26,063 28,557 29,708 30,395
Biological sciences 65,206 70,052 76,183 79,220 82,238 86,142 89,844 95,902 100,440 105,350 110,671
Health sciences 71,496 81,799 90,873 100,121 108,281 119,383 134,984 154,255 173,930 190,423 207,773
Mathematical sciences 14,055 14,501 14,841 15,079 15,369 15,824 16,665 17,929 19,175 19,523 20,002
Physical sciences 14,337 15,626 16,265 16,879 17,146 17,601 18,318 19,456 20,188 21,085 21,256
Astronomy 311 353 319 330 322 375 348 384 345 401 377
Chemistry 9,526 10,421 10,799 11,364 11,615 11,791 12,315 13,115 13,331 13,937 13,907
Physics 3,999 4,323 4,647 4,647 4,633 4,793 4,966 5,231 5,758 5,952 6,267
Other physical sciences 501 529 500 538 576 642 689 726 754 795 705
Social sciences 218,495 224,374 228,809 236,007 239,285 245,312 256,602 267,668 273,148 273,116 268,344
Anthropology 7,453 7,803 7,789 8,518 8,828 9,234 9,696 10,747 11,199 10,939 9,823
Economics 22,087 21,721 21,845 23,124 23,994 24,981 25,284 24,295 24,032 24,940 26,898
Political science 37,602 38,813 39,384 39,782 38,645 38,875 39,345 39,019 37,638 36,511 34,507
Psychology 84,528 86,971 88,939 91,515 93,135 96,052 99,892 107,776 113,144 115,945 116,211
Sociology 28,227 28,151 28,652 28,543 28,480 28,633 29,243 30,163 30,544 30,125 28,959
Other social sciences 38,598 40,915 42,200 44,525 46,203 47,537 53,142 55,668 56,591 54,656 51,946
Engineering 61,412 63,516 63,885 65,728 66,529 69,897 72,848 76,932 81,065 86,394 91,351
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 2,213 2,606 2,653 2,783 2,859 2,990 3,097 3,278 3,217 3,269 3,599
Bioengineering 2,261 2,741 2,947 3,108 3,492 3,577 3,797 4,230 4,588 5,149 5,504
Chemical engineering 4,186 4,098 4,214 4,544 4,776 5,425 5,947 6,551 6,949 7,443 8,207
Civil engineering 8,162 9,017 9,632 10,331 10,711 11,166 12,314 12,380 12,810 12,383 11,988
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 12,917 12,676 11,998 11,404 10,733 10,551 10,403 10,754 11,483 12,369 12,845
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 3,541 3,462 3,154 3,160 3,510 3,741 3,840 4,094 4,179 4,630 5,046
Materials science engineering 721 775 758 880 842 925 908 1,058 1,149 1,186 1,325
Mechanical engineering 14,165 15,399 16,098 16,872 16,838 17,980 18,510 19,667 20,955 23,119 24,910
Other engineering 13,246 12,742 12,431 12,646 12,768 13,542 14,032 14,920 15,735 16,846 17,927
Non-science and engineering 893,006 919,145 941,610 961,558 982,040 1,001,112 1,020,687 1,041,073 1,043,093 1,034,793 1,025,404
Education 122,148 125,680 125,232 123,591 123,365 122,411 124,239 127,232 127,066 122,729 116,159
Humanities 242,856 249,280 252,675 258,323 260,541 261,668 263,814 266,870 265,728 256,500 243,403
Technologies 26,599 27,452 28,933 29,412 30,571 30,956 32,600 35,622 35,640 36,461 37,860
Professional/other/unknown 501,403 516,733 534,770 550,232 567,563 586,077 600,034 611,349 614,659 619,103 627,982
Temporary visa holders, all fields 45,399 46,405 45,964 44,406 45,934 47,598 52,694 59,583 64,901 69,483 75,639
Science and engineering 19,498 19,566 19,056 18,028 18,771 19,926 22,614 25,861 28,508 31,333 34,672
Science 14,758 14,855 14,667 13,848 14,700 15,424 17,363 19,530 21,761 23,777 26,117
Computer sciences 3,991 3,099 2,433 1,804 1,819 1,867 2,028 2,362 2,382 2,819 3,369
Geosciences 114 90 82 93 111 121 142 142 202 248 239
Atmospheric sciences 10 5 9 5 8 6 5 9 16 15 13
Earth sciences 65 65 47 64 73 96 116 101 161 205 205
Ocean sciences 39 20 26 24 30 19 21 32 25 28 21
Life sciences 3,222 3,823 4,426 4,191 4,529 4,712 5,046 5,347 5,707 5,702 5,905
Agricultural sciences 293 282 301 242 286 330 388 418 587 648 685
Biological sciences 1,933 2,105 2,309 2,307 2,400 2,538 2,761 2,844 3,019 2,897 3,015
Health sciences 996 1,436 1,816 1,642 1,843 1,844 1,897 2,085 2,101 2,157 2,205
Mathematical sciences 761 809 710 762 839 1,008 1,356 1,890 2,392 2,703 3,134
Physical sciences 668 764 742 773 796 801 880 965 1,088 1,137 1,225
Astronomy 20 13 13 16 13 13 16 8 12 28 16
Chemistry 397 466 451 468 529 547 573 599 693 745 762
Physics 200 243 223 229 209 207 255 326 349 331 414
Other physical sciences 51 42 55 60 45 34 36 32 34 33 33
Social sciences 6,002 6,270 6,274 6,225 6,606 6,915 7,911 8,824 9,990 11,168 12,245
Anthropology 114 121 109 121 99 115 94 117 103 148 135
Economics 2,180 2,120 2,115 2,184 2,338 2,677 3,277 3,741 4,467 5,085 5,826
Political science 643 745 681 637 697 716 921 910 998 1,002 1,052
Psychology 1,503 1,580 1,559 1,474 1,608 1,694 1,676 2,006 2,229 2,460 2,557
Sociology 329 390 398 365 356 367 371 439 485 547 584
Other social sciences 1,233 1,314 1,412 1,444 1,508 1,346 1,572 1,611 1,708 1,926 2,091
Engineering 4,740 4,711 4,389 4,180 4,071 4,502 5,251 6,331 6,747 7,556 8,555
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 171 147 175 151 178 217 245 267 273 296 272
Bioengineering 157 192 202 195 203 198 226 234 250 281 319
Chemical engineering 301 357 357 375 361 413 469 625 729 759 863
Civil engineering 296 307 297 344 330 441 502 610 699 821 911
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 1,525 1,561 1,387 1,230 1,150 1,142 1,376 1,601 1,608 1,700 2,003
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 395 428 375 406 369 433 443 578 580 684 755
Materials science engineering 37 39 42 36 59 60 65 74 113 142 153
Mechanical engineering 646 649 711 714 713 799 878 1,115 1,253 1,466 1,751
Other engineering 1,212 1,031 843 729 708 799 1,047 1,227 1,242 1,407 1,528
Non-science and engineering 25,901 26,839 26,908 26,378 27,163 27,672 30,080 33,722 36,393 38,150 40,967
Education 1,123 1,348 1,299 1,297 1,361 1,296 1,530 1,523 1,309 1,307 1,367
Humanities 5,057 5,134 5,120 5,552 5,902 5,909 5,781 5,843 6,194 6,350 6,900
Technologies 668 591 627 602 700 728 753 841 988 974 1,235
Professional/other/unknown 19,053 19,766 19,862 18,927 19,200 19,739 22,016 25,515 27,902 29,519 31,465
a  These categories include U.S. citizens and foreign citizens on permanent visas (i.e., resident aliens who have been admitted for permanent residency).
NOTE: See table A-1 for specific fields included in each category.
SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations (2019) of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Completions Survey, Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.