Field of Study for Postbaccalaureate Certificate Recipients
The most popular field of study in which students earned postbaccalaureate certificates in 2021 was education (31.0 percent), followed by business and management (17.9 percent), health (17.2 percent), and STEM (11.3 percent) fields
- Over one-third of all White (36.6 percent) and American Indian or Alaska Native (37.1 percent) students earned a postbaccalaureate certificate in education, compared with 14.8 percent of Asian students and 6.8 percent of international students.
- More than one in five Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (24.8 percent), Black or African American (21.7 percent), international (20.9 percent), and Asian (20.4 percent) students earned a postbaccalaureate certificate in business and management.
- Of the Asian students who completed a postbaccalaureate certificate, 30.7 percent students did so in health.
- Nearly one-third of international students earned a postbaccalaureate certificate in STEM fields (31.5 percent). In contrast, fewer than 10 percent of White (9.2 percent), Hispanic or Latino (8.6 percent), and Black or African American (8.0 percent) students did so.
Report Links
Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2024 Status Report
Chapter Five: Graduate School Completion
Chapter Five Report Download (PDF) 1.6 MB
Chapter Five Data Tables Download (XLSX) 144 KB
Source
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, 2021
Data Notes
Data reflect postbaccalaureate certificates earned at all Title IV eligible, degree-granting institutions.
STEM fields include life and physical sciences, math, engineering, and computer science.