Associateās Degrees in the Liberal Arts and Humanities
- In 2018, the nationās colleges conferred 413,246 associateās degrees in liberal arts and the humanities, the highest level on record (with most of these degrees classified by conferring institutions as āliberal artsā or āliberal studiesā; Indicator II-01a). The number of associateās degrees conferred in these disciplines increased almost every year from 1987 to 2018, rising by an average of 4.3% annually.
- Traditionally, the largest number of associateās degrees has been awarded in vocational and professional fields, however growth in these fields was less than the rise in liberal arts and humanities (and occasionally negative) for most years of the 1987ā2012 time period.3 The number of degrees in vocational and professional fields declined steadily from 2012 until 2018. The 332,741 vocational/professional degrees awarded in 2018 was the smallest number since 2009. As a result of these trends, beginning in 2015 more associateās degrees were awarded in the liberal arts and humanities than in the vocational and professional fields, and the gap widened over the next three years.
- Associateās degree conferrals in the health/medical and natural sciences declined slightly in recent years, from a high of 244,785 degrees in 2012 to 225,295 in 2018.
- Degrees conferred in subjects with a substantial amount of training in the humanities rose from 25.7% of the associateās degrees awarded in 1987 to 43.7% in 2018 (Indicator II-01b). In comparison, over the same period the share of all associateās degrees awarded to students in vocational and professional fields fell from 55.9% to 31.7%.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Data analyzed and presented by the American Ā鶹“«Ć½ĶųÕ¾ of Arts and Sciencesā Humanities Indicators ().
Unlike the humanities degrees conferred at the , almost all of the degrees counted here were classified by the conferring institution as being in āliberal artsā and āliberal studiesā rather than specific humanities disciplines. For instance, of the 413,246 degrees tabulated as humanities for 2018, only a tiny share was conferred in a specific discipline (such as English or history). Since associateās degrees are generally conferred with half the number of credits required for a typical bachelorās degree program, students are less likely to specialize in a specific subject area. Nevertheless, the number and share of associateās degrees conferred in specific humanities disciplines have been growing.
For the degree programs grouped under each academic field heading, see the Degree Program Code Catalog.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Data analyzed and presented by the American Ā鶹“«Ć½ĶųÕ¾ of Arts and Sciencesā Humanities Indicators ().
Unlike the humanities degrees conferred at the , almost all of the degrees counted here were classified by the conferring institution as being in āliberal artsā and āliberal studiesā rather than specific humanities disciplines. For instance, of the 413,246 degrees tabulated as humanities for 2018, only a tiny share was conferred in a specific discipline (such as English or history). Since associateās degrees are generally conferred with half the number of credits required for a typical bachelorās degree program, students are less likely to specialize in a specific subject area. Nevertheless, the number and share of associateās degrees conferred in specific humanities disciplines have been growing.
For the degree programs grouped under each academic field heading, see the Degree Program Code Catalog.
