Indicator

Gender Distribution of Bachelor’s Degrees in the Humanities

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The share of humanities bachelor’s degrees awarded to women has traditionally been higher than that for all fields combined, but the gap has narrowed in recent years.

II-08a: Percentage of Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded to Women, Selected Academic Fields, 1966–2015*

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* Degrees for 1966–1986 are classified by the academic field categories employed by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Degrees for 1987–2010 are categorized using the National Center for Education Statistics’ Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). Please see the Note on the Data Used to Calculate Humanities Degree Counts and Shares for an explanation of the differences between the two classification systems and the Degree Program Code Catalog for a description of the types of degrees counted as humanities degrees under each classification system. For years 1966–1986, the NSF academic field category of “Arts and Music” is used. This category includes the academic study of the arts (e.g., art history and film studies). For years 1987–2010, degree data are available by CIP code, making possible the removal of such degrees from the count for “Fine and Performing Arts” and their inclusion among humanities degrees.
** Only some humanities disciplines have been tracked by the federal government since 1966. Please see the Note on the Data Used to Calculate Humanities Degree Counts and Shares for further explanation.

Source: Office of Education/U.S. Department of Education, Survey of Earned Degrees, Higher Education General Information System (HEGIS), and Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS). HEGIS and IPEDS data were accessed via the National Science Foundation’s online data system, WebCASPAR. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).

With the 2017 update of this item, the Humanities Indicators revised the taxonomy of degrees tabulated as part of the field. The largest change was the inclusion of categories in the field of communication that fall within the humanities. All data since 1987 have been tabulated using the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). For an explanation of the advantages of using the CIP to tally humanities degree completions, see the Note on the Data Used to Calculate Humanities Degree Counts and Shares. For an inventory of the specific degree programs that together constitute the academic humanities as they are conceptualized by the Humanities Indicators, see the Degree Program Code Catalog.

II-08b: Percentage of Humanities Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded to Women, Selected Disciplines, 1966–2015*

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* Only some humanities disciplines have been tracked by the federal government since 1966. Please see the Note on the Data Used to Calculate Humanities Degree Counts and Shares for further explanation.

Source: Office of Education/U.S. Department of Education, Survey of Earned Degrees, Higher Education General Information System (HEGIS), and Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS). HEGIS and IPEDS data were accessed via the National Science Foundation’s online data system, WebCASPAR. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).

With the 2017 update of this item, the Humanities Indicators revised the taxonomy of degrees tabulated as part of the field. The largest change was the inclusion of categories in the field of communication that fall within the humanities. All data since 1987 have been tabulated using the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). For an explanation of the advantages of using the CIP to tally humanities degree completions, see the Note on the Data Used to Calculate Humanities Degree Counts and Shares. For an inventory of the specific degree programs that together constitute the academic humanities as they are conceptualized by the Humanities Indicators, see the Degree Program Code Catalog.

II-08c: Share of Female Bachelor’s Degrees Recipients Who Majored in Selected Academic Fields, 1966–2015*

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* Degrees for 1966–1986 are classified by the academic field categories employed by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Degrees for 1987–2010 are categorized using the National Center for Education Statistics’ Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). Please see the Note on the Data Used to Calculate Humanities Degree Counts and Shares for further explanation of the differences between the two classification systems and the Degree Program Code Catalog for a description of the types of degrees counted as humanities degrees under each classification system.
For years 1966–1986, the NSF academic field category of “Arts and Music” is used. This category includes the academic study of the arts (e.g., art history and film studies). For years 1987–2010, degree data are available by CIP code, making possible the removal of such degrees from the count for “Fine and Performing Arts” and their inclusion among humanities degrees.
** Only some the humanities disciplines have been tracked by the federal government since 1966. Please see the Note on the Data Used to Calculate Humanities Degree Counts and Shares for further explanation.

Source: Office of Education/U.S. Department of Education, Survey of Earned Degrees, Higher Education General Information System (HEGIS), and Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS). HEGIS and IPEDS data were accessed via the National Science Foundation’s online data system, WebCASPAR. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).

With the 2017 update of this item, the Humanities Indicators revised the taxonomy of degrees tabulated as part of the field. The largest change was the inclusion of categories in the field of communication that fall within the humanities. All data since 1987 have been tabulated using the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). For an explanation of the advantages of using the CIP to tally humanities degree completions, see the Note on the Data Used to Calculate Humanities Degree Counts and Shares. For an inventory of the specific degree programs that together constitute the academic humanities as they are conceptualized by the Humanities Indicators, see the Degree Program Code Catalog.

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