- List of academic disciplines
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An academic discipline, or field of study, is a branch of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part), and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and the learned societies and academic departments or faculties to which their practitioners belong.
However, there exists no formal criteria for when educational programs and scholarly journals form an academic discipline. There is a huge difference between, on the one hand, well established disciplines that exist in almost all universities all over the world, have a long history and a well established set of journals and conferences, and, on the other hand, suggestions for new fields supported only by few universities and publications.
Fields of study usually have several sub-disciplines or branches, and the distinguishing lines between these are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. [1]
Overview
The University of Paris in 1231 consisted of four faculties: Theology, Medicine, Canon Law and Arts.[2] Most academic disciplines have their roots in the mid- to late-19th century secularization of universities, when the traditional curricula were supplemented with non-classical languages and literatures, social sciences such as political science, economics, sociology and public administration, and natural science and technology disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering.
In the early 20th century, new disciplines such as education and psychology were added. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was an explosion of new disciplines focusing on specific themes, such as media studies, women's studies, and black studies. Many disciplines designed as preparation for careers and professions, such as nursing, hospitality management, and corrections, also emerged in the universities. Finally, interdisciplinary scientific fields such as biochemistry and geophysics gained prominence as their contribution to knowledge became widely recognized.
There is no consensus on how some academic disciplines should be classified, e.g., whether anthropology and linguistics are social sciences disciplines or humanities disciplines. More generally, the proper criteria for organizing knowledge into disciplines are also open to debate.
An asterisk (*) denotes a field whose academic status has been debated among this article's editors.
Humanities
History
- African history
- American history
- Ancient history
- Argentine history
- Chinese history
- Cultural history
- Diplomatic history
- Economic history
- Ethnohistory
Languages and linguistics
Literature
Performing arts
Philosophy
- Meta-philosophy
- Metaphysics
- Epistemology
- Ethics
- Aesthetics/Philosophy of Art
- Social philosophy and political philosophy
- Philosophical traditions and schools
Religion
- Taoic religions
- Other religions
- African religions
- Ancient Egyptian religion
- Native American religions
- Gnosticism
- Esotericism
- New religious movements
- Sumerian religion
- Zoroastrianism
- Comparative religion
- Mythology and Folklore
- Irreligion
- Agnostic
- Atheism and religious humanism
Visual arts
- Art history
- Calligraphy
- Connoisseurship
- Creative arts
- Drawing
- Fine arts
- Painting
- Filmmaking
- Photography
- Mixed Media
- Printmaking
- Studio art
- Sculpture
- Art conservation
Social sciences
Main article: Social scienceAnthropology
- Biological anthropology
- Anthropological linguistics
- Synchronic linguistics (or Descriptive linguistics)
- Diachronic linguistics (or Historical linguistics)
- Ethnolinguistics
- Sociolinguistics
Archaeology
Area studies
- German studies
- Indology (Indian studies)
- Iranian studies
- Japanology (Japanese studies)
- Sinology (Chinese studies)
- Scandinavian studies
- Slavic studies
Cultural and ethnic studies
- Asian studies
- Asian American studies
- Black studies or African American studies
- Chicano studies
Economics
Gender and sexuality studies
Main article: Gender and sexuality studiesGeography
Political science
- American politics
- Canadian politics
- Civics
- Comparative politics
- Geopolitics (Political geography)
- International relations
- International organizations
- Peace and conflict studies
- Policy studies
- Political behavior
- Political culture
- Political economy
- Political history
- Political philosophy
- Psephology
- Public administration
- Nonprofit administration
- Non-governmental organization (NGO) administration
- Public policy
- Social choice theory
Psychology
Sociology
Natural sciences
Space sciences
- See also Outline of astronomy
- Astrobiology
- Astronomy
- Observational astronomy
- Radio astronomy
- Microwave astronomy
- Infrared astronomy
- Optical astronomy
- UV astronomy
- X-ray astronomy
- Gamma ray astronomy
- Observational astronomy
- Astrophysics
- Gravitational astronomy
- Planetary science (alternatively, a part of earth science)
Earth sciences
- See also Branches of earth sciences
- Meteorology
- Mineralogy
- Oceanography
- Pedology
- Paleontology
- Planetary science (alternatively, a part of space science)
- Sedimentology
- Soil science
- Speleology
- Tectonics
- Volcanology
Life sciences
Main article: Life sciences- See also Branches of life sciences
- Biochemistry
- Bioinformatics
- Biology (outline)
Chemistry
- See also Branches of chemistry
Physics
- See also Branches of physics
- Medical physics
- Mechanics
- Molecular physics
- Newtonian dynamics
- Nuclear physics
- Optics
- Plasma physics
- Quantum physics
- Solid mechanics
- Solid state physics
- Statistical mechanics
- Theoretical physics
- Thermodynamics
- Vehicle dynamics
Formal sciences
Main article: Formal sciencesComputer sciences
- See also Branches of computer science and ACM Computing Classification System
Logic
Mathematics
- See also Branches of mathematics and AMS Mathematics Subject Classification
Statistics
- Computational statistics
- Data mining
- Regression
- Simulation
- Bootstrap (statistics)
- Design of experiments
- Sample Survey
- Sampling theory
- Statistical modelling
- Biostatistics
- Multivariate analysis
- Structural equation model
- Time series
- Reliability theory
- Quality control
- Statistical theory
- Decision theory
- Mathematical statistics
- Survey methodology
Systems science
- Complex systems
- Cybernetics
- Control theory
- Control engineering
- Control systems
- Dynamical systems
- Operations research
- Systems dynamics
- Systems engineering
- Systems theory
- Developmental systems theory
- General systems theory
- Mathematical system theory
Professions and Applied sciences
Agriculture
- Aquaculture
- Enology
- Food science
- Horticulture
- Hydrology
- Plant science
- Viticulture
Architecture and design
Business
- Accounting scholarship
- Business administration
- Business analysis
- Business ethics
- Business Law
- E-Business
- Entrepreneurship
- Finance (outline)
- Industrial and labor relations
- Collective bargaining
- Human resources
- Organizational studies
- Labor economics
- Labor history
Divinity
- Canon law
- Church history
- Field ministry
- Pastoral counseling
- Pastoral theology
- Religious education techniques
- Homiletics
- Liturgy
- Sacred music
- Scriptural study and languages
- Biblical Hebrew
- Biblical studies/Sacred Scripture
- New Testament Greek
- Latin
- Old Church Slavonic
- Theology
Education
- Educational leadership
- Educational philosophy
- Educational psychology
- Educational technology
- Distance Education
Engineering
- See also Branches of engineering
Environmental studies and Forestry
- Environmental policy
- Recreation ecology
- Silviculture
- Sustainability studies
- Toxicology
Family and consumer science
- Consumer education
- Housing*
- Interior design
Health sciences
- See also Branches of medicine
Human physical performance and recreation*
- Biomechanics / Sports Biomechanics
- Sports coaching
- Dance
- Ergonomics
- Physical fitness
- Group Fitness / aerobics
- Personal trainer / Personal fitness training
- Game design*
- Exercise physiology
- Kinesiology / Exercise Science / Human Performance
- Leisure studies
- Physical education / Pedagogy
- Sociology of sport
- Sexology
- Sports journalism / sportscasting
- Sport management
- Athletic director
- Sport psychology
- Sports medicine
- Toy and amusement design*
Journalism, media studies and communication
- Journalism
- Broadcast journalism
- Literary journalism
- New media journalism
- Print journalism
- Sports journalism / sportscasting
- Media studies (Mass media)
Law
- Canon law
- Comparative law
- Constitutional law
- Competition law
- Criminal law
- Islamic law
- Jewish law
- Jurisprudence (Philosophy of Law)
- Civil law
- Admiralty law
- Animal law/Animal rights
- Corporations
- Civil procedure
- Contract law
- Environmental law
- International law
- Labor law
- Paralegal studies
- Property law
- Tax law
- Tort law
Library and museum studies
- Informatics
- Information architecture
- Museology
Military sciences
- Military law
- Military medicine
- Naval science
- Naval engineering
- Naval tactics
- Naval architecture
- Weapons systems
- Strategy
- Tactics
Public administration
- Corrections
- Conservation biology
- Criminal justice
- Emergency management
- Fire safety (Structural fire protection)
- Fire ecology (Wildland fire management)
- Governmental affairs
- International affairs
- Peace and conflict studies
- Police science
- Public administration
- Nonprofit administration
- Non-governmental organization (NGO) administration
- Public policy
- Agricultural policy
- Defense policy
- Drug policy
- Education policy
- Energy policy
- Environmental policy
- Fiscal policy
- Health policy
- Trade policy
Social work
- Child welfare
- Community practice
Transportation
- Highway safety
- Infographics
- Intermodal transportation studies
- Marine transportation
- Operations research
- Mass transit
See also
Main article: Branches of science- Academia
- Academic genealogy
- Curriculum
- Interdisciplinarity
- Transdisciplinary studies
- Classification of Instructional Programs
- Joint Academic Classification of Subjects
- Outline of education
- List of fields of doctoral studies
Notes
- ^ Andrew Abbott, Chaos of Disciplines University Of Chicago Press 2001 ISBN 0-226-00101-6
- ^ History of Education, Encyclopædia Britannica (1977, 15th edition), Macropaedia Volume 6, p. 337
References
- Andrew Abbott, Chaos of Disciplines University Of Chicago Press 2001 ISBN 0-226-00101-6
- Alexandra Oleson & John Voss (eds) The Organization of Knowledge in Modern America, 1860-1920 Johns Hopkins University Press 1979 ISBN 0-8018-2108-8
- US Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences. Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). National Center for Education Statistics.
External links
- Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP 2000): Developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics to provide a taxonomic scheme that will support the accurate tracking, assessment, and reporting of fields of study and program completions activity.
- Complete JACS (Joint Academic Classification of Subjects) from Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in the United Kingdom
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC 2008) (web-page) Chapter 3 and Appendix 1: Fields of research classification.
Categories:- Academic disciplines
- Education lists
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