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Table 1. Bachelor's degrees awarded, by field of degree and citizenship status of recipients: 2008–18

Field 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Bachelor's degree recipients, all fields 1,580,413 1,619,028 1,668,227 1,734,229 1,811,404 1,861,034 1,890,941 1,916,129 1,942,140 1,973,112 2,001,610
Science and engineering 592,801 610,216 639,822 683,865 736,982 781,937 818,434 850,168 877,786 905,509 934,776
Science 522,569 539,225 565,044 605,363 653,346 693,736 724,048 749,852 768,413 787,130 809,982
Computer and information sciences 38,922 38,496 40,107 43,586 48,034 51,586 56,130 60,309 65,186 72,129 80,271
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 5,185 5,478 5,737 6,348 7,013 7,535 8,003 8,593 8,738 8,790 8,924
Atmospheric sciences 736 721 691 678 735 749 751 734 714 685 714
Earth sciences 3,423 3,661 3,912 4,359 4,844 5,245 5,671 6,114 6,292 6,370 6,504
Ocean sciences 1,026 1,096 1,134 1,311 1,434 1,541 1,581 1,745 1,732 1,735 1,706
Life sciences 202,737 215,210 231,739 253,697 281,567 308,634 331,183 354,744 370,736 383,560 394,732
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 19,447 20,448 21,832 24,211 26,481 29,144 30,356 31,080 32,079 32,677 34,024
Biological and biomedical sciences 81,527 84,638 88,680 92,605 98,746 103,459 108,247 113,686 117,618 120,272 123,575
Health sciences 101,763 110,124 121,227 136,881 156,340 176,031 192,580 209,978 221,039 230,611 237,133
Mathematics and Statistics 15,841 16,208 16,832 18,021 19,819 21,567 22,226 23,136 24,293 25,808 27,161
Physical sciences 17,652 17,942 18,402 19,198 20,421 21,276 22,222 22,481 22,746 23,410 23,656
Astronomy 346 335 388 364 392 357 429 393 453 536 591
Chemistry 11,832 12,144 12,338 12,888 13,714 14,024 14,682 14,669 14,672 15,123 14,948
Physics 4,876 4,842 5,000 5,221 5,557 6,107 6,283 6,681 6,968 7,117 7,534
Other physical sciences 598 621 676 725 758 788 828 738 653 634 583
Psychology and social sciences 242,232 245,891 252,227 264,513 276,492 283,138 284,284 280,589 276,714 273,433 275,238
Anthropology 8,639 8,927 9,349 9,790 10,864 11,302 11,087 9,958 9,135 8,393 8,454
Economics 25,308 26,332 27,658 28,561 28,036 28,499 30,025 32,724 33,515 34,063 35,363
Political science 40,419 39,342 39,591 40,266 39,929 38,636 37,513 35,559 34,093 34,261 35,077
Psychology 92,989 94,743 97,746 101,568 109,782 115,373 118,405 118,768 118,646 117,441 117,574
Sociology 28,908 28,836 29,000 29,614 30,602 31,029 30,672 29,543 28,520 27,929 27,838
Other social sciences 45,969 47,711 48,883 54,714 57,279 58,299 56,582 54,037 52,805 51,346 50,932
Engineering 70,232 70,991 74,778 78,502 83,636 88,201 94,386 100,316 109,373 118,379 124,794
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 2,934 3,037 3,207 3,342 3,545 3,490 3,565 3,871 3,874 4,021 4,132
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 3,303 3,695 3,775 4,023 4,464 4,838 5,430 5,823 6,531 6,926 7,416
Chemical engineering 4,919 5,137 5,838 6,416 7,176 7,678 8,202 9,070 10,032 11,021 11,653
Civil engineering 10,675 11,041 11,607 12,816 12,990 13,509 13,204 12,899 13,433 13,746 14,143
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 12,634 11,883 11,693 11,779 12,355 13,091 14,069 14,848 15,966 17,139 17,111
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 3,566 3,879 4,174 4,283 4,672 4,759 5,314 5,801 6,329 6,890 7,252
Materials science engineering 916 901 985 973 1,132 1,262 1,328 1,478 1,639 1,710 1,685
Mechanical engineering 17,586 17,551 18,779 19,388 20,782 22,208 24,585 26,661 29,505 32,592 35,468
Other engineering 13,699 13,867 14,720 15,482 16,520 17,366 18,689 19,865 22,064 24,334 25,934
Non-science and engineering 987,612 1,008,812 1,028,405 1,050,364 1,074,422 1,079,097 1,072,507 1,065,961 1,064,354 1,067,603 1,066,834
Education 124,888 124,726 123,707 125,769 128,755 128,375 124,036 117,526 114,364 112,394 110,964
Humanities and arts 263,875 266,443 267,577 269,595 272,713 271,922 262,850 250,303 240,169 233,866 229,201
Technologies 30,110 31,352 31,784 33,445 36,559 36,710 37,511 39,168 40,293 41,616 42,210
Other non-science and engineering/unknown 568,739 586,291 605,337 621,555 636,395 642,090 648,110 658,964 669,528 679,727 684,459
U.S. citizens and permanent residents, all fieldsa 1,536,007 1,573,094 1,620,629 1,681,535 1,751,821 1,796,133 1,821,458 1,840,490 1,857,833 1,881,684 1,903,321
Science and engineering 574,730 591,388 619,829 661,172 711,049 753,347 787,019 815,404 838,333 861,400 885,538
Science 508,721 524,525 549,620 588,000 633,816 671,975 700,271 723,735 739,166 754,929 774,136
Computer and information sciences 37,118 36,677 38,240 41,558 45,672 49,204 53,311 56,940 61,100 66,988 73,474
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 5,092 5,367 5,616 6,206 6,871 7,333 7,755 8,354 8,480 8,507 8,569
Atmospheric sciences 731 713 685 673 726 733 736 721 699 668 703
Earth sciences 3,359 3,588 3,816 4,243 4,743 5,084 5,466 5,909 6,075 6,139 6,204
Ocean sciences 1,002 1,066 1,115 1,290 1,402 1,516 1,553 1,724 1,706 1,700 1,662
Life sciences 198,546 210,681 227,027 248,651 276,220 302,927 325,481 348,839 364,247 376,656 387,186
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 19,205 20,162 21,502 23,823 26,063 28,557 29,708 30,395 31,342 31,877 33,091
Biological and biomedical sciences 79,220 82,238 86,142 89,844 95,902 100,440 105,350 110,671 114,233 116,610 119,571
Health sciences 100,121 108,281 119,383 134,984 154,255 173,930 190,423 207,773 218,672 228,169 234,524
Mathematics and Statistics 15,079 15,369 15,824 16,665 17,929 19,175 19,523 20,002 20,525 21,322 22,356
Physical sciences 16,879 17,146 17,601 18,318 19,456 20,188 21,085 21,256 21,429 21,912 22,059
Astronomy 330 322 375 348 384 345 401 377 424 500 547
Chemistry 11,364 11,615 11,791 12,315 13,115 13,331 13,937 13,907 13,852 14,230 14,054
Physics 4,647 4,633 4,793 4,966 5,231 5,758 5,952 6,267 6,527 6,567 6,895
Other physical sciences 538 576 642 689 726 754 795 705 626 615 563
Psychology and social sciences 236,007 239,285 245,312 256,602 267,668 273,148 273,116 268,344 263,385 259,544 260,492
Anthropology 8,518 8,828 9,234 9,696 10,747 11,199 10,939 9,823 9,001 8,259 8,293
Economics 23,124 23,994 24,981 25,284 24,295 24,032 24,940 26,898 27,199 27,583 28,634
Political science 39,782 38,645 38,875 39,345 39,019 37,638 36,511 34,507 32,949 33,119 33,756
Psychology 91,515 93,135 96,052 99,892 107,776 113,144 115,945 116,211 115,750 114,384 114,314
Sociology 28,543 28,480 28,633 29,243 30,163 30,544 30,125 28,959 27,899 27,228 27,085
Other social sciences 44,525 46,203 47,537 53,142 55,668 56,591 54,656 51,946 50,587 48,971 48,410
Engineering 66,009 66,863 70,209 73,172 77,233 81,372 86,748 91,669 99,167 106,471 111,402
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 2,783 2,859 2,990 3,097 3,278 3,217 3,269 3,599 3,574 3,724 3,814
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 3,108 3,492 3,577 3,797 4,230 4,588 5,149 5,504 6,155 6,494 6,876
Chemical engineering 4,544 4,776 5,425 5,947 6,551 6,949 7,443 8,207 9,060 9,901 10,366
Civil engineering 10,331 10,711 11,166 12,314 12,380 12,810 12,383 11,988 12,302 12,445 12,673
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 11,404 10,733 10,551 10,403 10,754 11,483 12,369 12,845 13,775 14,845 14,711
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 3,160 3,510 3,741 3,840 4,094 4,179 4,630 5,046 5,445 5,867 6,170
Materials science engineering 880 842 925 908 1,058 1,149 1,186 1,325 1,437 1,483 1,491
Mechanical engineering 16,872 16,838 17,980 18,510 19,667 20,955 23,119 24,910 27,301 29,684 32,101
Other engineering 12,927 13,102 13,854 14,356 15,221 16,042 17,200 18,245 20,118 22,028 23,200
Non-science and engineering 961,277 981,706 1,000,800 1,020,363 1,040,772 1,042,786 1,034,439 1,025,086 1,019,500 1,020,284 1,017,783
Education 123,591 123,365 122,411 124,239 127,232 127,066 122,729 116,159 112,913 110,887 109,321
Humanities and arts 258,323 260,541 261,668 263,814 266,870 265,728 256,500 243,403 232,417 225,675 220,616
Technologies 29,508 30,647 31,052 32,689 35,715 35,721 36,537 37,933 38,889 39,861 40,349
Other non-science and engineering/unknown 549,855 567,153 585,669 599,621 610,955 614,271 618,673 627,591 635,281 643,861 647,497
Temporary visa holders, all fields 44,406 45,934 47,598 52,694 59,583 64,901 69,483 75,639 84,307 91,428 98,289
Science and engineering 18,071 18,828 19,993 22,693 25,933 28,590 31,415 34,764 39,453 44,109 49,238
Science 13,848 14,700 15,424 17,363 19,530 21,761 23,777 26,117 29,247 32,201 35,846
Computer and information sciences 1,804 1,819 1,867 2,028 2,362 2,382 2,819 3,369 4,086 5,141 6,797
Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences 93 111 121 142 142 202 248 239 258 283 355
Atmospheric sciences 5 8 6 5 9 16 15 13 15 17 11
Earth sciences 64 73 96 116 101 161 205 205 217 231 300
Ocean sciences 24 30 19 21 32 25 28 21 26 35 44
Life sciences 4,191 4,529 4,712 5,046 5,347 5,707 5,702 5,905 6,489 6,904 7,546
Agricultural sciences and natural resources 242 286 330 388 418 587 648 685 737 800 933
Biological and biomedical sciences 2,307 2,400 2,538 2,761 2,844 3,019 2,897 3,015 3,385 3,662 4,004
Health sciences 1,642 1,843 1,844 1,897 2,085 2,101 2,157 2,205 2,367 2,442 2,609
Mathematics and Statistics 762 839 1,008 1,356 1,890 2,392 2,703 3,134 3,768 4,486 4,805
Physical sciences 773 796 801 880 965 1,088 1,137 1,225 1,317 1,498 1,597
Astronomy 16 13 13 16 8 12 28 16 29 36 44
Chemistry 468 529 547 573 599 693 745 762 820 893 894
Physics 229 209 207 255 326 349 331 414 441 550 639
Other physical sciences 60 45 34 36 32 34 33 33 27 19 20
Psychology and social sciences 6,225 6,606 6,915 7,911 8,824 9,990 11,168 12,245 13,329 13,889 14,746
Anthropology 121 99 115 94 117 103 148 135 134 134 161
Economics 2,184 2,338 2,677 3,277 3,741 4,467 5,085 5,826 6,316 6,480 6,729
Political science 637 697 716 921 910 998 1,002 1,052 1,144 1,142 1,321
Psychology 1,474 1,608 1,694 1,676 2,006 2,229 2,460 2,557 2,896 3,057 3,260
Sociology 365 356 367 371 439 485 547 584 621 701 753
Other social sciences 1,444 1,508 1,346 1,572 1,611 1,708 1,926 2,091 2,218 2,375 2,522
Engineering 4,223 4,128 4,569 5,330 6,403 6,829 7,638 8,647 10,206 11,908 13,392
Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 151 178 217 245 267 273 296 272 300 297 318
Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 195 203 198 226 234 250 281 319 376 432 540
Chemical engineering 375 361 413 469 625 729 759 863 972 1,120 1,287
Civil engineering 344 330 441 502 610 699 821 911 1,131 1,301 1,470
Electrical, electronics, and communications engineering 1,230 1,150 1,142 1,376 1,601 1,608 1,700 2,003 2,191 2,294 2,400
Industrial and manufacturing engineering 406 369 433 443 578 580 684 755 884 1,023 1,082
Materials science engineering 36 59 60 65 74 113 142 153 202 227 194
Mechanical engineering 714 713 799 878 1,115 1,253 1,466 1,751 2,204 2,908 3,367
Other engineering 772 765 866 1,126 1,299 1,324 1,489 1,620 1,946 2,306 2,734
Non-science and engineering 26,335 27,106 27,605 30,001 33,650 36,311 38,068 40,875 44,854 47,319 49,051
Education 1,297 1,361 1,296 1,530 1,523 1,309 1,307 1,367 1,451 1,507 1,643
Humanities and arts 5,552 5,902 5,909 5,781 5,843 6,194 6,350 6,900 7,752 8,191 8,585
Technologies 602 705 732 756 844 989 974 1,235 1,404 1,755 1,861
Other non-science and engineering/unknown 18,884 19,138 19,668 21,934 25,440 27,819 29,437 31,373 34,247 35,866 36,962
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 technical table A-1 for specific fields included in each category.
SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations (2020) of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Completions Survey, National Center for Education Statistics.