Popular and High-Growth Degree Fields

Transcription

1 Popular and High-Growth Degree Fields June 2014 In the following report, Hanover Research identifies popular and high growth degree areas at the baccalaureate and master s level in the United States and in the Pacific Northwest.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction and Key Findings... 3 INTRODUCTION... 3 KEY FINDINGS... 3 Section I: Methodology... 4 GENERAL PARAMETERS... 4 SELECTION OF FASTEST GROWING DEGREES... 5 Section II: Summary of Rankings... 6 BACHELOR S DEGREES... 6 MASTER S DEGREES... 7 Section III: National Trends... 8 MOST POPULAR DEGREE FIELDS... 8 Bachelor s Degrees... 8 Master s Degrees... 9 FASTEST GROWING DEGREE FIELDS Bachelor s Degrees Master s Degrees Section IV: Regional Trends MOST POPULAR DEGREE FIELDS Bachelor s Degrees Master s Degrees FASTEST GROWING DEGREE FIELDS Bachelor s Degrees Master s Degrees Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 2

3 INTRODUCTION AND KEY FINDINGS INTRODUCTION This brief presents data on both the most popular and the fastest growing majors at the bachelor s and master s degree levels. The data, which represent degree completions figures as reported to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), are presented for all institutions of higher education in the IPEDS universe. The data are presented for the United States as a whole and for the Pacific Northwest region. KEY FINDINGS The most popular bachelor s degrees in the United States include business, psychology, nursing, and biology. These preferences are largely reflected in the Pacific Northwest region as well. Nationally, the fastest growing bachelor s degrees largely relate to vocational fields. Some of the top fields include firefighting and law enforcement, restaurant and catering management, and health and human services. In the Pacific Northwest, this trend is less evident. Areas such as film and video studies, environmental science and conservation, or exercise related fields stand out as distinctive, fastgrowing majors in the region. However, majors related to areas such as business and health care also feature among the fastest growing bachelor s degrees in the region as well as nationally. The most popular master s degrees nationally include business administration, education, and social work. Business administration comprises a plurality of all master s degrees, at 15.2 percent; the next most popular, education, only represents 3.4 percent. Preferences for master s degrees in the Pacific Northwest largely reflect those in the United States at large. However, public administration master s degrees rank appreciably higher in the Pacific Northwest than nationally. The fastest growing master s degrees in the United States span a wide array of topics. Both nationally and in the Pacific Northwest, degrees in health care and engineering stand out on the list of fastest growing master s degrees. Degrees related to natural resources and the environment also stand out in the Pacific Northwest Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 3

4 SECTION I: METHODOLOGY GENERAL PARAMETERS To identify the most popular and the fastest growing bachelor s and master s degrees, this report relies upon degree completions data from IPEDS. All institutions of higher education in the United States submit degree completions data to IPEDS. These data are classified according to a standardized system of numeric codes, the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes, and degree level. For this report, degree completions data were examined for all institutions in the IPEDS universe, both in the United States as a whole and within the Pacific Northwest region, which is defined to include Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. For each set, data for all bachelor s and master s degrees conferred between 2008 and 2012 were examined at the most detailed level of CIP code (the six digit code) in order to determine both the 15 most popular and the fastest growing degrees, defined as follows: Most Popular: This rank is based on degree completions reported for the academic year, the most recent year for which data are available. Fastest Growing: This rank is based on the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of degree completions in a given major between the academic year and the academic year. In addition to these two measures, each table in the report also shows the following indicators, in order to provide context: Percentage of All Degrees: This indicates what share each major represents of the total degrees conferred within that set of institutions, based on completions reported for Thus, for instance, among all bachelor s degrees reported by all institutions in the United States for , business administration degrees made up 7.6 percent of the total. Average Annual Change (AAC): This represents the average of the year to year changes in the number of degrees conferred in a given major, based on the 2008 to 2012 period. Standard Deviation (STDEV): This represents the standard deviation of the year toyear changes used to calculate the AAC, and serves to measure the variability of change in degree completions. Because institutions are responsible for reporting their own CIP codes, degree classifications may not match across institutions and some relevant degrees may be omitted or irrelevant degrees included Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 4

5 SELECTION OF FASTEST GROWING DEGREES The fastest growing degrees in each data set were selected based on CAGR. Because this can be an unstable measure, several steps were taken to produce more relevant and reliable results: First, degree fields with no reported completions in the base year (2008) were excluded from consideration, as no CAGR could be calculated. Second, the remaining degree fields were divided based on the median number of completions reported for , and only programs in the top half were ranked by CAGR. This excluded very small degree fields, Finally, among the remaining degree fields, individual anomalies were removed from consideration. For instance, institutions often switch the CIP code used to classify a program. When large individual programs do this during the reporting period, the new CIP code increases dramatically, giving the impression of growth in that field. Such fields were not included in the final ranking of fastest growing programs Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 5

6 SECTION II: SUMMARY OF RANKINGS BACHELOR S DEGREES Figure 2.1: Top Ten Most Popular Bachelor s Degrees, by Region RANK UNITED STATES, ALL PACIFIC NW, ALL 1 Business Administration and Management, General Business Administration and Management, General 2 Psychology, General Psychology, General 3 Registered Nursing/ Registered Nurse Registered Nursing/ Registered Nurse 4 Biology/Biological Sciences, General Biology/Biological Sciences, General 5 Accounting Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies 6 English Language and Literature, General Accounting 7 Political Science and Government, General Political Science and Government, General 8 Elementary Education and Teaching English Language and Literature, General 9 History, General Speech Communication and Rhetoric 10 Finance, General Sociology Figure 2.2: Top Ten Fastest Growing Bachelor s Degrees, by Region RANK UNITED STATES, ALL PACIFIC NW, ALL 1 Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other Film/Cinema/Video Studies 2 Fire Science/Fire fighting Exercise Physiology 3 Commercial Photography Cinematography and Film/Video Production 4 Restaurant, Culinary, and Catering Management/ Manager Applied Mathematics, Other 5 Public Health, General Forest Engineering 6 Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance Health/Medical Preparatory Programs, Other 7 Human Services, General Natural Resources/ Conservation, General 8 Econometrics and Quantitative Economics Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management 9 Computer Programming/Programmer, General Nuclear Engineering 10 Hospital and Health Care Facilities Administration/Management Athletic Training/Trainer 2014 Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 6

7 MASTER S DEGREES Figure 2.3: Top Ten Most Popular Master s Degrees, by Region RANK UNITED STATES PACIFIC NW 1 Business Administration and Management, General Business Administration and Management, General 2 Education, General Education, General 3 Social Work Social Work 4 Educational Leadership and Administration, General Curriculum and Instruction 5 Curriculum and Instruction Public Administration 6 Accounting Teacher Education, Multiple Levels 7 Special Education and Teaching, General Counselor Education/ School Counseling and Guidance Services 8 Elementary Education and Teaching Elementary Education and Teaching 9 Counselor Education/ School Counseling and Guidance Services Educational Leadership and Administration, General 10 Public Administration Human Resources Management and Services, Other Figure 2.4: Top Ten Fastest Growing Master s Degrees, by Region RANK UNITED STATES PACIFIC NW 1 International/Global Studies International Public Health/International Health 2 Construction Engineering Applied Economics 3 Medical Informatics Industrial Engineering 4 Aeronautics/Aviation/ Aerospace Science and Technology, General Nursing Administration 5 Mental Health Counseling/Counselor Kinesiology and Exercise Science 6 Public/Applied History Health/Medical Physics 7 Developmental and Child Psychology Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering 8 Fashion/Apparel Design Bioinformatics 9 Occupational Safety and Health Technology/ Technician Natural Resources Management and Policy 10 Actuarial Science Construction Management 2014 Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 7

8 SECTION III: NATIONAL TRENDS This section presents the most popular and fastest growing bachelor s and master s degree fields in the United States as a whole. MOST POPULAR DEGREE FIELDS BACHELOR S DEGREES MAJOR Figure 3.1: Most Popular Bachelor s Degrees, United States DEGREES ( PERCENTAGE OF ALL DEGREES ( CAGR AAC STDEV Business Administration and Management, General 145, % 1.9% 2, ,175.6 Psychology, General 109, % 4.2% 4, ,527.9 Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 94, % 10.2% 7, ,454.7 Biology/Biological Sciences, General 67, % 4.5% 2, Accounting 52, % 3.4% 1, ,652.4 English Language and Literature, General 46, % 0.9% Political Science and Government, General 43, % 0.1% Elementary Education and Teaching 40, % 1.8% History, General 37, % 0.4% Finance, General 35, % 0.7% ,814.8 Marketing/Marketing Management, General 34, % 0.9% Sociology 34, % 1.8% Speech Communication and Rhetoric 32, % 1.6% Economics, General 30, % 2.9% Criminal Justice/Safety Studies 29, % 5.1% 1, , Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 8

9 MASTER S DEGREES MAJOR Figure 3.2: Most Popular Master s Degrees, United States DEGREES ( PERCENTAGE OF ALL DEGREES ( CAGR AAC STDEV Business Administration and Management, General 117, % 5.1% 5, ,877.5 Education, General 26, % 0.2% ,604.4 Social Work 22, % 4.4% Educational Leadership and Administration, General 19, % 0.4% ,683.2 Curriculum and Instruction 18, % 2.1% ,076.7 Accounting 16, % 11.2% 1, Special Education and Teaching, General 14, % 1.7% Elementary Education and Teaching 14, % 5.8% Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance 13, % 1.7% Services Public Administration 12, % 7.4% Business/Commerce, General 11, % 4.6% Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 11, % 12.8% 1, Electrical and Electronics Engineering 9, % 2.5% ,790.7 Secondary Education and Teaching 8, % 1.6% Counseling Psychology 8, % 1.4% Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 9

10 FASTEST GROWING DEGREE FIELDS BACHELOR S DEGREES In all U.S. institutions, vocational degrees appear to be growing the most quickly (e.g., Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Fire Science/Fire Fighting, and Restaurant, Culinary, and Catering Management). Figure 3.3: Fastest Growing Bachelor s Degrees, United States MAJOR DEGREES ( PERCENTAGE OF ALL DEGREES ( CAGR AAC STDEV Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, % 44.9% Other Fire Science/Fire fighting % 42.3% Commercial Photography % 35.5% Restaurant, Culinary, and Catering Management/Manager % 32.6% Public Health, General 1, % 32.3% Computer and Information Systems Security/Information 3, % 30.3% Assurance Human Services, General 6, % 27.4% 1, Econometrics and Quantitative Economics % 25.1% Computer Programming/Programmer, 1, % 24.8% General Hospital and Health Care Facilities 3, % 24.6% Administration/Management Bilingual and Multilingual Education % 23.4% Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling % 22.6% Public Health, Other % 22.4% Natural Resources Management and Policy, Other % 20.2% Petroleum Engineering 1, % 19.7% Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 10

11 MASTER S DEGREES Figure 3.4: Fastest Growing Master s Degrees, United States MAJOR DEGREES ( PERCENTAGE OF ALL DEGREES CAGR AAC STDEV ( International/Global Studies 1, % 44.6% Construction Engineering % 44.2% Medical Informatics % 42.0% Aeronautics/Aviation/Aerospace Science and Technology, General % 40.7% Mental Health Counseling/Counselor 3, % 39.7% Public/Applied History % 35.5% Developmental and Child Psychology % 34.4% Fashion/Apparel Design % 32.8% Occupational Safety and Health Technology/Technician % 31.3% Actuarial Science % 29.8% Engineering Technology, General % 29.6% Biomedical Sciences, General 1, % 28.4% Athletic Training/Trainer % 28.3% Hospitality Administration/Management, % 27.5% Other Nursing Administration 3, % 27.3% Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 11

12 SECTION IV: REGIONAL TRENDS This section presents data on fast growing and popular majors at the bachelor s and master s levels at institutions in the Pacific Northwest region (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho). MOST POPULAR DEGREE FIELDS BACHELOR S DEGREES MAJOR Figure 4.1: Most Popular Bachelor s Degrees, Pacific Northwest DEGREES ( PERCENTAGE OF ALL DEGREES ( CAGR AAC STDEV Business Administration and Management, General 3, % 0.2% Psychology, General 3, % 3.9% Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 2, % 8.8% Biology/Biological Sciences, General 2, % 6.9% Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies 1, % 3.8% Accounting 1, % 2.6% Political Science and Government, General 1, % 2.5% English Language and Literature, General 1, % 2.0% Speech Communication and Rhetoric 1, % 3.1% Sociology 1, % 3.6% Social Sciences, General 1, % 5.2% History, General 1, % 0.3% Elementary Education and Teaching 1, % 3.7% Economics, General 1, % 3.1% Multi /Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 1, % 1.4% Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 12

13 MASTER S DEGREES MAJOR Figure 4.2: Most Popular Master s Degrees, Pacific Northwest DEGREES ( PERCENTAGE OF ALL DEGREES ( CAGR AAC STDEV Business Administration and Management, General 2, % 8.5% Education, General 1, % 10.4% Social Work % 0.4% Curriculum and Instruction % 20.1% Public Administration % 3.6% Teacher Education, Multiple Levels % 8.8% Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance % 4.1% Services Elementary Education and Teaching % 6.2% Educational Leadership and Administration, General % 10.8% Human Resources Management and Services, % 17.1% Other Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse % 7.8% Secondary Education and Teaching % 0.0% Accounting % 13.2% Counseling Psychology % 7.4% Civil Engineering, General % 15.4% Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 13

14 FASTEST GROWING DEGREE FIELDS BACHELOR S DEGREES Figure 4.3: Fastest Growing Bachelor s Degrees, Pacific Northwest MAJOR DEGREES ( PERCENTAGE OF ALL DEGREES CAGR AAC STDEV ( Film/Cinema/Video Studies % 169.2% Exercise Physiology % 60.1% Cinematography and Film/Video % 56.0% Production Applied Mathematics, Other % 48.4% Forest Engineering % 43.2% Health/Medical Preparatory Programs, Other Natural Resources/Conservation, General % 37.7% % 30.8% Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management % 28.6% Nuclear Engineering % 27.8% Athletic Training/Trainer % 26.2% Forest Management/Forest Resources Management % 25.4% Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General % 22.7% Fire Services Administration % 22.2% Chinese Language and Literature % 21.4% Food Science % 20.7% Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 14

15 MASTER S DEGREES Figure 4.4: Fastest Growing Master s Degrees, Pacific Northwest MAJOR DEGREES ( PERCENTAGE OF ALL DEGREES ( CAGR AAC STDEV International Public Health/International Health % 37.5% Applied Economics % 35.8% Industrial Engineering % 35.1% Nursing Administration % 32.7% Kinesiology and Exercise Science % 31.6% Health/Medical Physics % 31.6% Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering % 31.6% Bioinformatics % 29.4% Natural Resources Management and Policy % 28.8% Construction Management % 25.7% Environmental Studies % 23.0% Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General % 22.9% Mental Health Counseling/Counselor % 22.6% Criminal Justice/Safety Studies % 21.3% College Student Counseling and Personnel Services % 20.7% Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 15

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