College Majors List

Complete List of College Majors

All College Majors and Minors Explained.  Search Every Major by Area of Study and Career Field.  Alphabetical and by Subject.

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College Majors List - Titles Only (click here).

College Majors List - Titles with Short Descriptions (click here).

College Majors List with Detailed Descriptions.  Every major with information and resources to learn more about them, including careers, jobs, salaries, professional associations and publications.  (scroll down the page ⇓⇓)

What are the most popular college majors?

According to the U.S. Department of Education¹, in 2018–19 (the latest data is available) postsecondary institutions within the United States conferred 3.0 million degrees. These included 1.0 million associate’s degrees and 2.0 million bachelor’s degrees. At both levels, business and health professions were among the most common fields of study in which degrees were conferred.

Postsecondary institutions conferred 2.0 million bachelor’s degrees in 2018–19. More than half (58 percent) were concentrated in six fields of study

  • Business (19 percent, or 390,600 degrees)
  • Health Professions (12 percent, or 251,400 degrees)
  • Social Sciences and History (8 percent, or 160,600 degrees)
  • Engineering (6 percent, or 126,700 degrees)
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences (6 percent, or 121,200 degrees)
  • Psychology (6 percent, or 116,500 degrees)

The fields in which the next largest percentages of bachelor’s degrees were conferred in 2018–19 were

  • Communication and Journalism (5 percent, or 92,500 degrees)
  • Visual and Performing Arts (4 percent, or 89,700 degrees)
  • Computer and Information Sciences (4 percent, or 88,600 degrees)
  • Education (4 percent, or 83,900 degrees)

 

Trends in College Major popularity over time

Between 2009–10 and 2018–19, the total number of bachelor’s degrees conferred increased by 22 percent, from 1.6 million degrees to 2.0 million degrees.

Between 2009–10 and 2018–19, the number of bachelor’s degrees conferred in business increased by 9 percent, from 358,100 to 390,600 degrees.

The number of bachelor’s degrees conferred in health professions and related programs increased by 94 percent between 2009–10 and 2018–19, from 129,600 to 251,400 degrees.

The number of bachelor’s degrees conferred in social sciences and history decreased by 7 percent between 2009–10 and 2018–19, from 172,800 to 160,600 degrees.

Among other fields in which more than 10,000 bachelor’s degrees were conferred in 2018–19, the number of degrees conferred more than doubled between 2009–10 and 2018–19 in computer and information sciences (from 39,600 to 88,600 degrees, an increase of 124 percent).

 

Most popular College Majors for Females and Males

Bachelor’s degrees conferred in selected fields of study 2018–19²

  • Business (Male 55% - Female 45%)
  • Health Professions (Male 15% - Female 85%)
  • Social Sciences and History (Male 48% - Female 52%)
  • Engineering (Male 75% - Female 25%)
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences (Male 36% - Female 64%)
  • Psychology (Male 21% - Female 79%)

 

Click here to view most popular Masters and Doctoral degrees granted between 2017 - 2018 (latest data available).

 

¹U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Facts (2021)

²Data are for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The fields shown are the six programs in which the largest number of bachelor’s degrees were conferred in 2018–19. Data are for postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.