List of fields of doctoral studies in the United States

This is a list of the fields of doctoral studies, as used by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago in the United States in its annual Survey of Earned Doctorates^[1][2], conducted for the National Science Foundation, and other federal agencies, in the United States.

These are fields of research-oriented doctoral studies, leading mostly to the awarding of the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Doctor of Education (Ed.D. or D.Ed.) in the United States. (In the academic year 2008-2009, 93.5% of the 49,562 research-oriented doctorates awarded in the U.S. are Ph.D.s; 5.5% are Ed.D.s.^[3]) Studies that lead to professional doctorates, such as Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) and Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.), are not included.

Agricultural sciences/Natural resources

• 000 Agricultural Economics

• 005 Agricultural Animal Breeding

• 010 Animal Nutrition

• 014 Poultry Science

• 019 Animal Science, Other

• 020 Agronomy & Crop Science

• 025 Agricultural & Horticultural Plant Breeding

• 030 Plant Pathology/Phytopathology

• 039 Plant Sciences, Other

• 043 Food Science

• 044 Food Science and Food Technology, Other

• 046 Soil Chemistry/Microbiology

• 049 Soil Sciences, Other

• 050 Horticulture Science

• 055 Fishing and Fisheries Sciences/Fisheries management

• 066 Forest Sciences and Biology

• 070 Forest/Resources Management

• 072 Wood Science & Pulp/Paper Technology

• 074 Natural resources/Conservation

• 079 Forestry & Related Science, Other

• 080 Wildlife/Range Management

• 081 Environmental Science

• 098 Agriculture, General

• 099 Agricultural Science, Other

Biological sciences/Biomedical sciences

• 100 Biochemistry (see 539)

• 103 Biomedical sciences

• 105 Biophysics (see 565)

• 107 Biotechnology

• 110 Bacteriology

• 115 Plant genetics

• 120 Plant Pathology/Phytopathology

• 125 Plant Physiology

• 129 Botany/Plant Biology

• 130 Anatomy

• 133 Biometrics & Biostatistics

• 136 Cell/Cellular Biology and Histology

• 139 Ecology

• 142 Developmental biology/Embryology

• 145 Endocrinology

• 148 Entomology

• 151 Immunology

• 154 Molecular Biology

• 157 Microbiology

• 160 Neuroscience

• 163 Nutrition science

• 166 Parasitology

• 169 Toxicology

• 170 Genetics, Human & Animal

• 175 Pathology, Human & Animal

• 180 Pharmacology, Human & Animal

• 185 Physiology, Human & Animal

• 189 Zoology, Other

• 198 Biology/Biological sciences, General

• 199 Biology/Biomedical sciences, Other

Health sciences

• 200 Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology

• 210 Environmental Health

• 211 Environmental toxicology

• 212 Health Systems/Service Administration

• 215 Public Health

• 220 Epidemiology

• 222 Kinesiology/Exercise science

• 230 Nursing sciences

• 240 Pharmacy

• 245 Rehabilitation/Therapeutic Services

• 246 Physician Assistant

• 250 Veterinary Medicine

• 298 Health Sciences, General

• 299 Health Sciences, Other

Engineering

• 300 Aerospace, Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering

• 303 Agricultural engineering

• 306 Bioengineering & Biomedical engineering

• 309 Ceramic sciences

• 312 Chemical engineering

• 315 Civil engineering

• 318 Communications engineering

• 321 Computer engineering

• 324 Electrical, Electronics and Communications

• 327 Engineering Mechanics

• 330 Engineering Physics

• 333 Engineering Science

• 336 Environmental Health Engineering

• 339 Industrial & manufacturing engineering

• 342 Materials science

• 345 Mechanical engineering

• 348 Metallurgical engineering

• 351 Mining & Mineral

• 357 Nuclear engineering

• 360 Ocean engineering

• 363 Operations Research (See also 465, 930)

• 366 Petroleum engineering

• 369 Polymer & Plastics engineering

• 372 Systems engineering

• 398 Engineering, General

• 399 Engineering, Other

Computer and Information sciences

• 400 Computer Science

• 410 Information Science and Information Systems

• 415 Robotics

• 419 Computer and Information sciences, Other

Mathematics

• 420 Applied Mathematics

• 425 Algebra

• 430 Analysis & Functional Analysis

• 435 Geometry/Geometric Analysis

• 440 Mathematical Logic

• 445 Number Theory

• 450 Statistics (See also 690)

• 455 Topology, Foundations

• 460 Computing Theory & Practice

• 465 Operations Research (See also 363, 930)

• 498 Mathematics/Statistics, General

• 499 Mathematics/Statistics, Other

Physical sciences

Astronomy

• 500 Astronomy

• 505 Astrophysics

Atmospheric Science & Meteorology

• 510 Atmospheric chemistry and Climatology

• 512 Atmospheric physics and Atmospheric dynamics

• 514 Meteorology

• 518 Atmospheric science/Meteorology, General

• 519 Atmospheric science/Meteorology, Other

Chemistry

• 520 Analytical chemistry

• 522 Inorganic chemistry

• 526 Organic chemistry

• 528 Medicinal/Pharmaceutical chemistry

• 530 Physical chemistry

• 532 Polymer

• 534 Theoretical chemistry

• 538 Chemistry, General

• 539 Chemistry, Other (See also 100)

Geological & Earth Sciences

• 540 Geology

• 542 Geochemistry

• 544 Geophysics & Seismology

• 546 Paleontology

• 548 Mineralogy & Petrology

• 550 Stratigraphy & Sedimentation

• 552 Geomorphology & Glacial Geology

• 558 Geological and Earth Sciences, General

• 559 Geological and Earth Sciences, Other

Physics

• 560 Acoustics

• 561 Atomic/Molecular/Chemical physics

• 564 Particle (Elementary) physics

• 565 Biophysics (see 105)

• 568 Nuclear Physics

• 569 Optics/Photonics

• 570 Plasma, Fusion

• 572 Polymer

• 574 Condensed Matter/Low temperature physics

• 576 Applied Physics

• 578 Physics, General

• 579 Physics, Other

Ocean/Marine Sciences

• 585 Hydrology & Water Resources

• 590 Oceanography, Chemical and Physical

• 595 Marine Sciences

• 599 Ocean/Marine Sciences

Psychology

• 600 Clinical psychology

• 603 Cognitive psychology & Psycholinguistics

• 606 Comparative psychology

• 609 Counseling psychology

• 612 Developmental psychology & Child psychology

• 613 Human Development & Family Studies

• 615 Experimental psychology

• 618 Educational psychology (See also 822)

• 620 Family Psychology

• 621 Industrial & Organizational psychology(See also 935)

• 624 Personality

• 627 Physiological psychology/Psychobiology

• 633 Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology

• 636 School psychology (See also 825)

• 639 Social psychology

• 648 Psychology, General

• 649 Psychology, Other

Social Sciences

• 650 Anthropology

• 652 Area studies

• 658 Criminology

• 662 Demography/Population studies

• 666 Economics

• 668 Econometrics

• 670 Geography

• 674 International Relations/Affairs

• 678 Political Science & Government

• 682 Public Policy Analysis

• 686 Sociology

• 690 Statistics (See also 450)

• 694 Urban Affairs/Studies

• 698 Social Sciences, General

• 699 Social Sciences, Other

Humanities

History

• 700 History, American

• 703 History, Asian

• 705 History, European

• 706 History, African

• 707 History, Latin American

• 708 Middle/Near East Studies

• 710 History of science, Philosophy of science. History of technology and Philosophy of technology

• 718 History, General

• 719 History, Other

Letters

• 720 Classics

• 723 Comparative Literature

• 724 Folklore

• 729 Linguistics

• 732 American literature

• 733 English literature

• 734 English Language

• 736 Speech & Rhetorical Studies

• 738 Letters, General

• 739 Letters, Other

Foreign Languages & Literature

• 740 French

• 743 German

• 746 Italian

• 749 Spanish

• 752 Russian

• 755 Slavic (other than Russian)

• 758 Chinese

• 762 Japanese

• 768 Arabic

• 769 Other Languages & Literature

Other Humanities

• 770 American/U.S. Studies

• 773 Archaeology

• 776 Art History/Art criticism/Conservation

• 780 Music

• 785 Philosophy

• 790 Religion/Religious studies (See also 984)

• 795 Drama/Theatre arts

• 798 Humanities, General

• 799 Humanities, Other

Education

Research and Administration

• 800 Curriculum & Instruction

• 805 Educational Administration & Supervision

• 807 Educational Leadership

• 810 Educational/Instructional Media Design

• 815 Educational Statistics/Research Methods

• 820 Educational Assessment/Testing/Measure

• 822 Educational Psychology (See also 618)

• 825 School Psychology (See also 636)

• 830 Social/Philosophical Foundations of Educ.

• 835 Special Education

• 840 Counseling Education/Counseling & Guidance

• 845 Higher Education/Evaluation & Research

Teacher Education

• 850 Pre-elementary/Early Childhood

• 852 Elementary

• 856 Secondary

• 858 Adult & Continuing

Teaching Fields

• 860 Agricultural Education

• 861 Art Education

• 862 Business Education

• 864 English Education

• 866 Foreign Languages Education

• 868 Health Education

• 870 Family & Consumer Science/Home Economics

• 874 Mathematics Education

• 876 Music Education

• 878 Nursing Education

• 880 Physical Education & Coaching

• 882 Reading Education

• 884 Science Education

• 885 Social Science Education

• 887 Trade & Industrial Education

• 889 Teach Education & Professional Development

Other Education

• 898 Education, General

• 899 Education, Other

Professional fields

Business Management/Administrative Services

• 900 Accounting

• 905 Banking/Financial Support Services

• 910 Business Administration & Management

• 915 Business/Managerial Economics

• 916 International Business/Trade/Commerce

• 917 Management Information Systems/Business Data

• 920 Marketing Management & Research

• 921 Human Resources Development

• 930 Operations Research (See also 363, 465)

• 935 Organizational Behavior (See also 621)

• 938 Business Management/Administration, General

• 939 Business Management/Administration, Other

Communications

• 940 Communication research

• 947 Mass Communication/Media Studies

• 950 Film, Radio, Television, and Digital Communication

• 957 Communications theory

• 958 Communications, General

• 959 Communications, Other

Other Professional Fields

• 960 Architecture/ Environmental Design

• 964 Family/Consumer Science/Human Science, General

• 968 Law

• 972 Library Science

• 974 Parks/Sports/Recreation/Leisure/Fitness

• 976 Public Administration

• 980 Social Work

• 984 Theology/Religious Education (See also 790)

• 989 Professional Fields, Other

Other Fields

• 999 Other Fields

Notes

1. ^ Survey of earned doctorates (SED), conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago
2. ^ Questionnaire for Survey of earned doctorates (SED 2011)
3. ^ Doctorate Recipients from United States Universities: Summary Report 2009

See also

• List of academic disciplines
• Joint Academic Classification of Subjects
• Fields of science
• Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC 2008) (web-page) Chapter 3 and Appendix 1: Fields of research classification.

External Links

• A Taxonomy of Doctoral Research Fields by the United States National Academies