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Indicator II-18
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English Language and Literature Degree Completions
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NOTE TO READERS: Please include the following reference when citing data
from this page: "American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Humanities Indicators,
http://HumanitiesIndicators.org."
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Figures depicting English degree counts and the discipline’s share of all degrees
have been updated with data for the 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 academic years (4/6/2011).
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See the
Note on the Data Used to Construct Degree-Related Indicators,
the
Note on the Calculation of Shares of Degrees Awarded to Members of Traditionally
Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Groups,
the
Note on the Racial/Ethnic Composition of the U.S. Young Adult Population,
the
Note on the Data Used to Calculate the Number of Degree Completions in English Language and Literature and in Languages and Literatures Other than English,
the
Note on the Definition of Advanced Degrees,
and the
NSF and CIP Discipline Code Catalog (for an inventory of the specific degree
programs included by the Humanities Indicators under the heading of “English Language
& Literature”).
The early 1970s were a golden period for undergraduate1 and graduate programs in
English language and literature. Degree programs at all levels were graduating more
students than at any other time in the last four decades (Figures II-18a, II-18b,
and II-18c). By the mid- to late 1980s, however, the number of degrees in
English had declined by over 50% for each type of degree. After that, the number
of English degrees rose substantially, but so did the number of all degrees. Consequently,
for the next quarter century the discipline’s share of all degrees remained within
approximately one percentage point of its 1980s nadir at each of the three degree
levels.
Beginning in the early 2000s, the pattern of doctoral degree completions in English
began to differ from that of the other degree levels. In contrast to fairly steady
increases in the number of bachelor’s and master’s degrees between 2000 and 2009,
the number of new English Ph.D.’s declined in most years during this period.
Having held at approximately 7% of all bachelor’s degrees for close to 15 years,
the proportion of English bachelor’s recipients who were members of traditionally
underrepresented racial/ethnic groups began a gradual rise in 1992 that continued
through the late 1990s, bringing their share up to 13% by 2000 (Figure II-18d).
Subsequently, however, growth in the percentage of bachelor’s degrees awarded to
such students slowed, with the share increasing approximately one percentage point
between 2000 and 2007. (For an explanation of how these percentages were calculated,
see the
Note on the Calculation of Shares of Degrees Awarded to Members of Traditionally
Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Groups.
For information regarding the racial/ethnic composition of the total U.S. population,
see
Note on the Racial/Ethnic Composition of the U.S. Young Adult Population.
At the master’s level, although the share of degrees in English awarded to members
of underrepresented ethnic groups declined from the late 1970s through 1987, by
1993, these students’ share had regained its 1977 level (Figure II-18e).
In subsequent years, the proportion grew slowly but steadily, reaching 9% in 2007,
a three percentage-point increase from 1977. The increasing share of master’s recipients
translated into increases in the percentage of doctoral degrees received by students
from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups during the late 1990s and early 2000s
(Figure II-18f). Between 1977 and 2007, the percentage of English Ph.D.’s
received by these students rose from 4.5% to 9.8%.
The bachelor’s and advanced levels differed in the share of degrees awarded to “temporary
residents,” students who come from other nations to the United States to study and
who are likely to return to their home countries upon graduation. At the undergraduate
level, these students were a small percentage (approximately 1%) of all students
throughout the 1977–2007 period. At the master’s level, however, their share of
degrees was close to 10% in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although the percentage
of master’s degrees going to these students then declined substantially, in 2007
temporary residents still earned approximately 5% of all master’s degrees conferred
in English. At the doctoral level, graduate degree awards to temporary residents
were even more common. These students consistently earned a greater share of English
Ph.D.’s than any U.S. minority group. Their share was greatest in 1991 when temporary
residents represented approximately 15% of doctoral degree recipients (up from about
6% in 1977). Steady declines over the next decade, followed by an uptick in the
early 2000s, meant that by 2007 temporary residents were earning approximately 10%
of all English doctorates—a percentage similar to that awarded to U.S. students
from all traditionally underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds.
At least since 1966, women have been the majority of bachelor’s and master’s degree
recipients in English (Figure II-18g), and by 2007 approximately 70% of such
degrees were awarded to them. During this period, a more marked change occurred
for women at the doctoral level. In 1966, they were in the distinct minority, being
awarded slightly more than 20% of Ph.D.’s in English. Over time, however, this percentage
grew steadily, and by the early 1980s English departments were awarding doctorates
to men and women in equal numbers. Thereafter, the share of doctorates awarded to
women continued to increase, if less dramatically, and in 2007 59% of all doctoral
recipients in English were women.
Note
1 The degree counts presented as part of the Humanities Indicators do not
include so-called double major degrees. When degrees are earned concurrently in
this way, only the first degree is counted. Although second degrees are not common
(in the 2006–2007 academic year, they accounted for 5.2% of all degree completions),
anecdotal evidence suggests that a preponderance of such degrees are in the humanities.
Second-degree data first became available via WebCASPAR in November 2010. If resources
permit, an analysis of these data will be conducted in 2011.
Data on the number of students completing minors are not gathered as part of the
data collection program from which these degree completion counts are drawn,
but such information was compiled for selected humanities disciplines as part of
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences–sponsored Humanities Departmental Survey
(HDS; see the HDS final report, page 8, Table 12).
Note on the Definition of Advanced Degrees
According to the National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES)
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Glossary, master’s degrees are “awards that require
the successful completion of a program of study of at least the full-time equivalent
of 1 academic year, but not more than 2 academic years of work beyond the bachelor’s
degree.”
The NCES, which collects the degree completion data presented as part of the Humanities
Indicators, defines first professional degrees as those awards that require completion
of a program that meets all the following criteria: (1) completion of the academic
requirements to begin practice in a profession; (2) at least two years of college
work prior to entering the program; and (3) a total of at least six academic years
of college work to complete the degree program, including prior required college
work plus the length of the professional program itself. According to NCES, the
following ten fields award first professional degrees:
Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.)
Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.)
Law (LL.B. or J.D.)
Medicine (M.D.)
Optometry (O.D.)
Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)
Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.)
Theology (M.Div., M.H.L., B.D., or Ordination)
Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M. or V.M.D.)
Although some fields (e.g., library science, hospital administration, and social
work) require specialized degrees for employment at the professional level, NCES
does not count degrees in these fields as first professional degrees; instead, they
are treated as master’s degrees.
Whereas all doctorates had previously been included in a single category, for academic
years 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 NCES gave schools the option of employing a new classification
system that distinguishes among three types of doctoral degrees:
Research/Scholarship—A Ph.D. or other doctoral degree that requires advanced
work beyond the master’s level, including the preparation and defense of a dissertation
based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project
demonstrating scholarly achievement;
Professional Practice—A doctoral degree conferred upon completion of a program
providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credentialing, or licensing
required for professional practice; or
Other—A doctoral degree that does not meet the definition of the research/scholarship
or professional practice doctorate.
Schools could classify certain degrees that had historically been treated as first
professional degrees as either “Professional Practice” doctoral degrees (as in the
case of medical degrees, for example) or master’s degrees (as in the case of advanced,
nondoctoral degrees in theology).
To ensure comparability with previous years, for 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 the Humanities
Indicators counted as doctorates all of those degrees classified by postsecondary
institutions as “Doctorate Degree,” “Doctorate Degree—Research/Scholarship,” or
“Doctorate Degree—Other.” The HI treated as “master’s and professional degrees”
those degrees classified by schools as “Doctorate Degree—Professional Practice,”
“First Professional Degree,” or “Master’s Degree.”
For academic year 2010–2011, NCES eliminated the “first professional degree” category.
The agency now requires schools to use the three-category system described above
to classify all advanced degrees other than master’s degrees.
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Note on the Data Used to Calculate the Number of Degree Completions in English Language
and Literature (ELL) and in Languages and Literatures Other than English (LOTE)
For the years 1966–1986, degree completion data are available only by the National
Science Foundation’s (NSF) standardized disciplinary categories. For those years,
the Humanities Indicators uses NSF’s “English and Literature” category as the basis
of its ELL degree counts. This category includes degrees earned in comparative literature,
classics, and classical languages and literatures (but omits degrees in ancient
and medieval Greek and Latin—these are included by NSF in its “Foreign Languages”
category).
For years 1987 and later, when degree completion data are available by the more
detailed Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), the Humanities Indicators
treats degrees in classics, classical languages and literatures, Greek, and Latin
as LOTE degrees. Comparative literature degrees are excluded from the ELL degree
counts for this latter period. A subsequent iteration of the Humanities Indicators
will include a separate indicator for comparative literature, which is considered
by the Humanities Indicators to be its own discipline.
For an explanation of the difference between the NSF and CIP classification systems
as well as an inventory of the various degree programs that are included by the
Humanities Indicators under the headings of “English Language and Literature” and
“Languages and Literatures Other than English,” see the
Note on the Data Used to Construct Degree-Related Indicators).
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Note on the Data Used to Construct Degree-Related Indicators
The data that form the basis of these indicators are drawn from the U.S. Department
of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) Higher Education
General Information System (HEGIS) and its successor, the Integrated Postsecondary
Educational Data System (IPEDS), through which institutions of higher learning report
on the numbers and characteristics of students completing degree programs (as well
as a variety of other topics; for more on this major data collection program, see
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/). The HEGIS/IPEDS
degree-completion data going back to 1966 have been made accessible to decision-makers,
researchers, and the general public by the National Science Foundation (NSF) via
its online data analysis tool
WebCASPAR. The NSF has traditionally
used the NCES data to tabulate science and engineering degree awards as part of
its
Science and Engineering Indicators Program, which since 1973 has issued a biennial report
designed to provide public and private policymakers with a broad base of quantitative
information about the U.S. science, engineering, and technology enterprise.
The NSF has developed a set of standardized disciplinary categories that can be
used across the various data sources it relies upon to construct its indicators.
Because the NSF focuses on trends in science and engineering education, its disciplinary
classification is most detailed in these areas. The utility of the NSF system for
the purposes of the Humanities Indicators (HI) is limited. For example, the NSF
scheme does not distinguish between the academic study of the arts, considered by
the HI to be part of the humanities, and art performance. The HI thus cannot include
in its tally those degrees conferred in the areas of musicology, art history, film
studies, and drama history/criticism. Moreover, while the HI considers such disciplines
as archeology, women’s studies, gay and lesbian studies, and Holocaust studies to
be part of the humanities field, NSF categorizes them as social sciences. Additionally,
NSF places interdisciplinary degrees in areas such as general humanities and liberal
studies in a broad “Other” category that includes degrees for many disciplines that
are not within the purview of the humanities as conceptualized by the HI. Consequently,
such interdisciplinary degrees, along with those mentioned above, cannot be captured
in humanities degree counts from 1966 to 1986.
For 1987 and later years (1995 and later for data on the race/ethnicity of degree
recipients), however, NSF also categorizes earned degrees according to the more
detailed Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), which permits a more precise
count of humanities degrees; that is, a count that includes degrees in all those
programs that are part of academic disciplines included within the scope of the
humanities for the purposes of the HI. (For an inventory of the disciplines and
activities treated as part of the humanities by the HI, see the Statement on the Scope of the “Humanities”
for Purposes of the Humanities Indicators.) The CIP was first developed
by NCES in 1980 as a way to account for the tremendous variety of degree programs
offered by American institutions of higher learning and has been revised three times
since its introduction, most recently in 2009 (this version is referred to as “CIP
2010”). The CIP has also been adopted by Statistics Canada as its standard disciplinary
classification system.
For the purposes of the Humanities Indicators the CIP has several advantages over
the NSF classification system. For example, because the NSF system groups degrees
in the nonsectarian study of religion with those awarded in programs designed to
prepare students for religious vocations and because the latter type of degree is
much more common, the HI cannot include what the NSF considers to be degrees in
religion in the humanities degree counts for years prior to 1987. With CIP-coded
data, however, academic disciplines such as comparative religion can be separated
from vocational programs such as theology and thus can be included in the humanities
degree tally. Additionally, when using CIP-coded data, the HI can include degrees
in all the excluded disciplines mentioned above, from art history to Holocaust studies,
in its counts of humanities degrees from 1987 onward. For an inventory of the NSF
and CIP disciplinary categories included by the HI under the broad academic field
headings (“humanities,” “natural sciences,” etc.) used throughout Part II of the
HI, see the
NSF and CIP Discipline Code Catalog. This catalog also indicates which degree
programs the HI includes within specific humanities disciplines (e.g., for the purposes
of the HI, English degrees include those classified under CIP as being in “English
Language and Literature,” “American Literature,” and “Creative Writing,” among others).
In constructing indicators that use IPEDS data to track historical trends in the
academic humanities, the HI has employed completion data that were classified using
both the NSF and CIP systems. In these cases, either a note accompanying the chart
or a break in the trend line indicates where estimates based on the NSF classification
system leave off and those based on CIP begin. For those indicators reporting degree
data gathered in 1987 or more recently (1995 or more recently for the charts and
tables describing the proportions of all degrees received by members of racial/ethnic
minority groups), CIP-coded data are used.
In the case of several of the degree-related indicators, the humanities are compared
to certain other fields such as the sciences and engineering. The nature of these
fields is specified in the
Statement on the Scope of the “Humanities” for Purposes of the Humanities Indicators.
These broad fields do not encompass all postsecondary programs. Therefore, where
fields are being compared in terms of their respective shares of all degrees, the
percentages will not add up to 100%. Also, none of the graphs showing change over
time in the share of degrees awarded to members of traditionally underrepresented
ethnic/minority groups includes a data point for the academic year 1999, because
the NCES did not release data for that year.
The degree counts presented as part of the HI do not include “second majors” because
NCES began collecting data about these degrees only in 2001. The HI deals separately
with the issue of second majors in
Figure II-1c
(“Humanities Bachelor's Degrees Earned as ‘Second Majors,’ 2001–2010”).
Data on the number of students completing minors are not collected as part of IPEDS,
but such information was compiled for selected humanities disciplines as part of
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences–sponsored Humanities Departmental Survey
(HDS; see the HDS final report, page 8, Table 12).
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Note on the Calculation of Shares of Degrees Awarded to Members of Traditionally
Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Groups
For each academic discipline or field, the share of all degrees earned by members
of traditionally underrepresented racial/ethnic groups was calculated by dividing
the number of degrees completed by students identified by their institutions as
African American (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, or American Indian/Alaska Native by the
total number of degree completions in that field. Not included in the count of traditionally
underrepresented minorities were (1) students of Asian or Pacific Islander ancestry,
(2) students designated by their educational institutions as being of “Other/Unknown
Ethnicity,”* and (3) international students—that is, temporary residents who were
in the United States for the express purpose of attending school and who were likely
to return to their home countries upon graduation (significant numbers of these
individuals may be of African or Hispanic background, but the National Center for
Education Statistics , the compiler of these data, does not request that institutions
of higher learning collect racial/ethnicity data for such students).
* According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the compiler
of these data, a student is assigned to this category only if he or she does not
select a racial/ethnic designation and his or her educational institution finds
it impossible to place the student in one of the NCES-defined racial/ethnic categories
during established enrollment procedures or in any post-enrollment identification
or verification process. Over time the percentage of students categorized as “Other/Unknown”
has grown, thereby reducing the ability of postsecondary institutions, policymakers,
and the general public to reliably track the racial/ethnic diversity of degree recipients.
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Note on the Racial/Ethnic Composition of the U.S. Young Adult Population (18–30 Years
Old)
Using information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Humanities Indicators
has calculated the following estimates of the share of the total national young
adult population represented by each of the categories employed by the National
Center for Education Statistics for the purpose of reporting the percentages of
degrees awarded to students of different races/ethnicities* (estimates are for April
2010):
African American, Non-Hispanic
Asian or Pacific Islander
Hispanic
Native American or Alaska Native
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13.7%
5.6%
17.7%
0.8%
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Source: Data drawn from U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, “US-EST00INT-ALLDATA:
Intercensal Estimates of the Resident Population by Single Year of Age, Sex, Race,
and Hispanic Origin for the United States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2010” (data
file,September 2011), downloadable under the heading “Intercensal Estimates of the
Resident Population by Single Year of Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for the
United States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2010” at
http://www.census.gov/popest/data/intercensal/national/nat2010.html.
* The racial/ethnic categorization scheme employed for the purposes of the Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), which is the basis of the Humanities
Indicators items dealing with the distribution of degree completions among racial/ethnic
groups, and the system used by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Division,
which is the source of the information provided in this note, differ in important
ways. Whereas IPEDS has traditionally used a “one-question” approach that requires
institutions to use mutually exclusive reporting categories, one of which is “Hispanic,”
the Census Bureau employs a “two-question” format that inquires separately about
race and Hispanic origin. In further contrast to IPEDS, the Census Bureau permits
respondents to select more than one race to describe themselves.
In view of these differences the Humanities Indicators could not develop size estimates
for racial/ethnic groups that provide strictly comparable points of reference for
the percentages supplied as part of Indicators II-4 and II-12. The following table
indicates which Census-defined group(s) were used as the basis for the estimates
provided in this note.
IPEDS-Defined
“African American, Non-Hispanic”
“Asian or Pacific Islander”
“Hispanic”
“Native American or Alaska Native”
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Census-Defined
“Not Hispanic, Black alone”
“Not Hispanic, Asian alone” and
“Not Hispanic, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone”
“Hispanic, White alone”
“Not Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native alone”
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Beginning with the data collection for academic year 2011–2012, IPEDS required that
institutions report information on degree completers’ race and ethnicity in a way
similar to the Census Bureau and most other data collections sponsored by federal
government agencies. See
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/news_room/ana_Changes_to_10_25_2007_169.asp
for details.
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