ED 202 396AUTHORTITLEINSTITUTIONIEPORT NOPUB DATENOTEAVAILABLE FROMEDR - PDF document

1 ED 202 396AUTHORTITLEINSTITUTIONIEPORT N
ED 202 396AUTHORTITLEINSTITUTIONIEPORT NOPUB DATENOTEAVAILABLE FROMEDRS PRICEDESCRIPTORSDOCUMENT RESUMEHE 013 914Brown, George H.Degree Awards to Women;1979 Update.National Center forEducational Statistics (ED),Washington, D.C.NCES-81-325Jan 8135p.National Center for EducationStatistics, U.S.Department of Education,Washington, DC 20202.MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.Bachelors Degrees; *CollegeStudents; ComparativeAnalysis; *Degrees (Academic)Doctoral Degrees;*Enrollment Trends; Females;Higher Education;*Majors (Students); Males;Masters Degrees;*Professional Education; *WomensEducationABSTRACTThe enrollment of women inhigher education inrelation to overall enrollmentduring the past decade isexamined.For bachelor's, master's,doctoral, and first-Professicnaldegrees,the following areconsidered: the overallpicture, representation ofwomen among degreerecipients by field.of study,for 1979 as comparedwith 1971; and therelative popularity ofdifferent fields of studyfor men and women, andhow this changed between1971 and 1979. Amongthe findings are thefollowing: in 1979, womenaccounted for 48.3percent of the bachelor'sdegrees, 49.1 percentof the master'sdegrees, 13.8 percent ofthe doctoral degrees,and23.6 percent ofthe first-professionaldegrees; educationcontinued to be the mo

2 stdppopular degree field for womenat the
stdppopular degree field for womenat the bachelor's, master's,anddoctoral degree levels; for men,business and management was themostpopular at the bachelor's andmaster's degreelevels, while educationwas the most popularat the doctoral level.In addition, womencontinued to increase theirrepresentation in.all eight of thefirst-profesSional fields, such asmedicine and law, in whichtrendscould be measured, but they arestill a definite minorityin all ofthese fields.(SW)************************************************************************Reproductions supplied by EDRS arethe best that can bemade**from the originaldocument.*-*******************************************************************_. AA;;fit"':Ie;;P'..t.e..A.!:-v ihosvvAto4.::;t*..03r Ott't.v...v..2;,re1,1.1..bile f; :as.41'4j',.'e,..1'.:;*,..sts4s 401, .1.,.;.31."1.46.;....,soy-.44P.1.feel.4, i.t.Aopvv:.0:01'441t.,spy,4.1.1,-.'tlly.fp;,....e..1.....::',i,,......itir,;^:re It..,..4,........et'!:i4%".. %...w. .....,- .6.1,,--N...:,n.7,'.;,,. A :oviVeNT. V.I. ,t%,,,........./;tv..1;,iv.;......7".V....-/i14.:z.:;;..::!:::0:?..45;:'=-;''''.:C7(4.*:...1;i..4.1,:.% %V, 04'1. 4.--v.'s,,,,,......,4. F4.14"\'''.i'..,;. :.24.,'.:,:ii.e...',-'' tee°'4.4\,,'ti,';.v.V;....%.,$*.f.';',,?PA 0, ,.....";. I. .;v.'....:.

3 ;:f:.,I.' isf.s.,..=10/....... a.':.°.*-
;:f:.,I.' isf.s.,..=10/....... a.':.°.*-.Aus,=,,..51 .:4.-. .0'..,',"'s.........;4..-.;,.--...il.4,0A....: ./4.,.....,.:- ,..,A..,.....4.15:ifer.....,...-.''.., ':...1'4'iit'%....eitPtItctr ".e. ..;',,;0;:?77:.:'4. "'ir.o.a, 4\X/iv41'444'4/,..pe,"1/4..Viz.%4*.f .0. aU.S. Department of EducationT. H. BellSecretaryOffice of Educational Research and ImprovementDick W. HaysActing Assistant SecretaryNational Center for Education StatisticsMarie D. EldridgeAdministratorNational Center for Education Statistics"The purpose of the Center shall be to collect anddisseminatestatisticsandother datarelatedtoeducation in the United States and in othernations.The Center shall ...collect, collate, and, from timeto time, report full and completestatistics on theconditions of education in the United States;conductand publish reports on specialized analyses of themeaning and significance of such statistics;... andreview and report on education activities infOreigncountries." -Section 406(b) of the General EducationProvisions Act, as amended20 U.S.C. 1221e-1). FOREWORDIn recent years, NCEShas published several reportsdescribing the changes whichhave been taking place in therepresentation of women amongrecipients of bachelor's,master's, doctoral, andfirst-professional degrees.In

4 each report, the base yearfrom which cha
each report, the base yearfrom which changes werereckoned was 1970-71, thefirst year that information wasavailable using the current taxonomyof instructional programs.The first report(actually a set of four smallreports) examined changes as of1975-76 while thesecond report examined changesevident in 1976-77.The iresent report examineschanges evident in 1978-79.The data on which this reportis based were collectedthrough the annual Surveyof Degrees and Other FormalAwards Conferred (part of theHigher Education GeneralInformation Survey (HEGIS))Francis V. CorriganActing Assistant AdministratorDivision of Postsecondary andVocational Education StatisticsJanuary 1981George H. BrownChief, Issues Analysis Sectioniii FOR MORE INFORMATIONMaterials concerning theCenter's statistical programand a catalog of NCESpubli-cations may be obtained fromthe Statistical InformationOffice, National Center'for Education Statistics,(Presidential Building), 400 MarylandAvenueSW.,Washington, D.C. 20202, telephone(301) 436-7900.t--iv CONTENTSPageFOREWORDiiiFOR MORE INFORMATIONivHIGHLIGHTSviiCHAPTERI.INTRODUCTION-1II.BACHELOR'S DEGREES3III.MASTER'S DEGREES9IV.DOCTORAL DEGREES15V.FIRST-PROFESSIONAL DEGREES19TablesNote:All tables are for aggregatd United States, 1971and 19791.Percentage of

5 women among bachelor's degree recipient
women among bachelor's degree recipients,by disciplinedivision42.Distribution of bachelor's degrees, by sex and disciplinedivision73.Percentage of women among master's degreerecipients, by disciplinedivision104.Distribution of master's degrees, by sex anddiscipline division125.Percentage of women among doctoral degree recipients,by disciplinedivision166.Distribution of doctoral degrees, by sex and disciplinedivision187.Percentage of women among first-professional degreerecipients,by field of study208.Distribution of first-professional degrees, by sexand field of study22Appendix TablesNote:ALI_ appendix tables are for 1971-72 through1977-78A.Percentage of women among bachelor's degree recipients,bydiscipline division24B.Percentage of women among master's degree recipients,bydiscipline division26C.Percentage of women among doctoral degree recipients,bydiscipline division28D.Percentage of women among first-professional degreerecipients,by field_of study630 HIGHLIGHTSIn 1979, women accounted for 48.3 percent of thebachelor's degrees, 49.1 percentof the master's degrees, 13.8 percent of thedoctoral degrees, and 23.6 percentof the first-professional degrees.At both the bachelor's and master's degreelevels, women continued to show theirgreatest increases in those

6 fields in whichthey have traditionally h
fields in whichthey have traditionally had smallrepresentation, e.g., business and management wherethey received 30.7 percentof the bachelOr's degrees in 1979.Their representation in traditionally femalefields such as home economics and letters remainedvirtually unchanged.At the doctoral degree level, women's gains weregreatest in the traditionallyfemale fields and least in the traditionally non-femalefields.Education continued to be the most popular degree fieldfor women at the bachelor's,master's, and doctoral degree levels.For men, business and management was themost popular at the bachelor's andmaster's degree levels while education was themost popular at the doctoral level.oWomen continued to increase their percentagerepresentation in all eight of thefirst-professional fields, such as medicine and law, in which trendscould bemeasured, but they are still a definite minorityin all of these fields.oThe two fields of law end medicine together accountfor 83 percent of all first-professional degrees awarded to women, and for69.5 percent of all those awardedto men.In this report, academic years arereferred to by their terminal year.Forexample, 1978-79 is referred to as 1979.vii CHAPTER IINTRODUCTIONAs a context for viewingchanges in the representationof women

7 among degreerecipients, it may be ofinte
among degreerecipients, it may be ofinterest to briefly examine overallenrollment and theenrollment of women ininstitutions of higher education overthe past decade.In 1971, total collegeenrollment was about 8.6 million,of, which 41.3 percentwere women.In 1980, total enrollment was upto 11.7million,i/ and womenaccounted for slightly overhalf of this total (50.7percent).These numbersrepresent a 35 percentincrease in total enrollmentbut a 67 percent increaseinenrollment of women.Clearly the increased participationof women in highereducation has been a major aspectof the overall growth incollege enrollments.Degree awards to women haveale's, risen greatly.The total number of degrees,bachelor's or higher, awarded to women was467,641 (40.1 percent) in1971 and623,763 (46.7 percent) in 1979.This represented an increaseof 33.4 percent indegree awards to women.The following chapters aredevoted to bachelor's, master's,doctoral, and first-prol:essional degrees, respectively.Each chapter consists of:(a) an overview;(b) an examination by field ofstudy of the percentagerepresentation of womenamong degree recipientsin 1979 as compared with1971; and (c) an examinationofthe relative popularity ofdifferent fields of study for menand for women, andhow this changed between1971 an

8 d 1979.Based on enrollment datacollected
d 1979.Based on enrollment datacollected by NCES in fall 1980.1 CHAPTER IIBACHELOR'S DEGREESOverviewIn 1971, there was a total of about2.9 million women enrolled in undergraduateinstruction in the United States.liThey accounted for 42.1 percent of totalundergraduate enrollment.In 1979, the number of womenundergraduates hadincreased to 4.4 million, or 50.3 percent oftotal undergraduate enrollment.Thisgrowth in female enrollment amounts to 49percent.`'In keeping with the enrollment growth,there was a corresponding growth in thenumber of bachelor's degrees awarded to women.Between 1971 and 1979 the number ofwomen receiving a bachelor'sdegree increased from 367,678 to 449,946 -- a gainof22 percent.If these degrees to women are expressed as percentagesof all bachelor'sdegrees awarded, we find that women accountedfor 43.3 percent of the total in 1971,and 48.3 percent of the total in 1979.When the year-by-year data are examined(see Appendix A), it is evident that thewomen's percentage representation increasedevery year from 1971 through1979.In 1979, for the first time, women accountedformore than half of totalenrollment.Field of StudyTable 1 shows the percentage representationof women among bachelor's degree recipi-ents in 1971 and 1979, categorizedby discipline di

9 vision, i.e., by fieldof study.The gener
vision, i.e., by fieldof study.The general picture that emerges from table1 is that the trends evident in ourprevious reports on this topic are continuingand are becoming somewhat stronger.Women still account for more than halfthe degrees awarded in traditionallyfemalefields:area studies, education, fineand applied arts, foreign languages, healthprofessions, home economics, letters, andlibrary science.There are two additionalfields, not traditionally female, in which women nowpredominate.These arepsychology, in which women accounted for61.3 percent of the degrees awarded, andpublic affairs and services with 53.5 percent.Interdisciplinary studies, at 49.9percent, almost qualified as a newpredominantly female field.The 1979 data showthat slight declines occurred for women inthree traditionally female fields:education, home economics, and letters.Here and throughout this report, statementsabout the number of degrees awardedrefer to the aggregate United States,which includes outlying territories suchas Guam and Puerto Rico.These outlying territories account for lessthan1 percent of the total number ofdegrees awarded.3 Table 1. --Percentage of women amongbachelor's degree recipients, bydisciplinedivision:Aggregate United States, 1971and 197911Discipline division(

10 bachelor's111971119791pointchangeTotalde
bachelor's111971119791pointchangeTotaldegreesawardedPercentawardedtowomen1TotalPercent (Percentage!bachelor'sawarded11degreesto1iawardedwomenAll discipline divisions846,11043.4931,34048.34.9Agriculture and naturalresources12,7104.223,24727.122.9Architecture and environ-mental design.5,57812.09,29725:813.8Area studies2,49752.92,60258.25.3Biological sciences36,03329.349,56740.611.3Business and management116,7099.3175,42030.721.4Communications10,80235.326,47049.914.6Computer and informationsciences2,38813.68,76928.114.5EduCation177,63874.4127,85373.2-1.2Engineering.50,357.862,8008.37:5Fine and applied arts30,44759.741,01262.52.8Foreign languages20,43374.812,03476.01.2Health professions25,48477.262,72382.04.8Home economics11,27197.318,45795.2-2.1Law5455.067840.435.4Letters73,39861.042,36858.0-3.0Library. science1,01392.055894.62.6Mathematics24,91838.111,90141.73.6Military science357.33473.53.2Physical sciences21,54914.023,36322.68.6Psychology38,15444.743,01261.316.6Public affairs and services9,30349.138,79953.54.4Social sciences156,69837.0109,36242.05.0Theology3,74427.26,11825.6-1.6Interdisciplinary-studies14,08429.234,57449.920.74 To what extent are womenentering traditionally malefields?If we define these asfields in which women accountedfor less than 20 perce

11 ntof the degree awards in1971, their rep
ntof the degree awards in1971, their representation inthese fields in 1979 is asfollows:PercentAgriculture and natural resources27.1Architecture and environmentaldesign25.8Business and management30.7Computer and informationsciences28.1Engineering8.3Law (not the L.L.B.)40.4Military science3.5Physical sciences22.6In all of these fields, exceptengineering and military science, womenaccountedfor more than 20 percent ofthe degree awards in 1979.It is also noteworthy thateven in engineering womenwent from .8 percent ofthe degree awards in 1971 to8.3percent in 1979.Probably the most impressive gain wasthat shown for business andmanagement -- from 9.3 percentin 1971 to 30.7 percent in1979.In each of our previous reportsin this series (1976 and1977) we have shown aninverse relationship between thesize of the women's representationin 1971, and theamount of gain evidentin the later year.The following tabulation groupsthe variousdiscipline divisions on'thebasis of women's percentagerepresentation in 1971 andshows the average percentagepoint change evident in the1979 data.Again we seethat women made their greatestgains, in those fields wheretraditionally they havebeen least represented.In the traditionally femalefields, the changes were trivial.Women's percentagerepresen

12 tationin 1971Discipline divisionIAvdrage
tationin 1971Discipline divisionIAvdrage percentagepoint changein 197980-99Home economics, libraryscience60-79Education, foreign languages,health professions, letters40-59Area studies, fine andapplied arts,psychology, public affairs andservices20-39Biological sciences, communications,interdisciplinary studies, mathe-matics, social sciences,theology0-19Agriculture and natural resources,architecture and environmentaldesign, business and management,computer and informationsciences,engineering, law, military science,physical sciences+.2+.4+7.3+8.9+15.9Ii5 Relative Popularity of Different FieldsIn this section we examine the distributionof women bachelor degree recipientsacross fields of study (see table2).We shall note the extent to which they areconcentrated in relatively few fields or spread out overmany.For comparisonpurposes, distribution data arepresented for both of the years 1971 and 1979 andforboth men and women.It is evident in table 2 that educationcontinues to be the most popular field forwomen.It accounted for 21 percent of all bachelor'sdegree awards to women in 1979.This was down appreciably from the 36 percent valueit held in 1971.This decline isprobably attributable both to the continuing slump inthe market demand for teachersand to various socio

13 cultural forcesencouraging women to broa
cultural forcesencouraging women to broaden their aspirationsto include fields other than those that aretraditionally female.It' is interesting to note that business and management,which traditionally has beenregarded as a men's field, now ranks second in popularity amongwomen.It rankedninth in the 1971 data.In 1971, the six top ranking fields for womenaccounted forabout 79 percent of women's degrees.In 1979, the corresponding percentage was 66.Thus, there is a slow but continuing increasein the diversification of women'sfields of study.Turning our attention to the men's data in table2 we see that business and manage-ment continued to be the most populardegree field for men, accounting for 25 percentof all men's degrees (it was 22 percentin 1971).The second most popular field formen was social sciences at13.2 percent, closely followed by engineering at12.0percent.In 1979, for the first time, womenappeared to be slightly more diversified thanmen in their choice ofdegree field.The six top ranking fields for women accountedfor 66 percent.of all degrees award to womenin 1979.The analogous index for menwas 67.4 percent.6 Table 2. --Distribution ofbachelor's degrees, byAggregate United States, 1971 and1979se.{ and disciplinedivision:1Percentage of degrees awardedD

14 iscipline division1Women1Men119711979119
iscipline division1Women1Men119711979119711979All discipline divisions100.0100.099.999.9Agriculture and natural resources.11.42.53.5Architecture and environmental design.2.51.01.4Area studies.4.3.2.2Biological sciences2.94.55.36.1Business and management2.912.022.125.2Communications1.02.91.52.8Computer and informationsciences.1.5.41.3Education36.020.89.57.1Engineering.11.210.412.0Fine and applied arts4.95.72.63.2Foreign languages4.22.01.1.6Health professions5.411.41.22.3Home economics3.03.9.1.2Law(*).1.1.1Letters12.25.56.03.7'Library science.3.1(*)(*)Mathematics2.61.13.21.4Military science(*)(*).1.1Physical sciences.81.23.93.8Psychology4.65.94.43.5Public affairs and services1.24.61.03.7Social sciences15.810.220.613.2Theology.3.4.6.9Interdisciplinary studies1.13.82.13.6*Less than .05 percent.NOTE:Totals may not add to 100.0 percentbecause of rounding.1 R7 CHAPTER IIIMASTER'S DEGREESOverviewIn 1971 there was a total of 405,109 womenenrolled in graduate instruction in theUnited States.They accounted for 38.9 percent of totalgraduate enrollment.In1979 the number of women graduate students hadincreased to 499,885 or 46.1 percentof total graduate enrollment.This growth in women's enrollment amounted to anincrease of 23.4 percent.Over the same time period, total mal

15 eenrollment ingraduate school decreased
eenrollment ingraduate school decreased by 8 percent.As would be expected, the number of women receiving amaster's degree also increasedover this span of time, from92,896 to 148,303 (a 59.6 percent gain).If the degreesawarded to women are expressed as percentages of allmaster's degrees awarded, wefind that women accounted for 40.1 percent of thetotal in 1971, and 49.1 percentof the total in 1979.1JThus, while there was a large gain (about 60percent) inthe number of women receiving a master's degree,the women's proportion of allmaster's degrees awarded increased by only 9 percentagepoints.Field of StudyBetween 1971 and 1979, women increased their percentagerepresentation in all butthree fields:home economics (-2.7 percent), library science(-.9 percent), andmilitary science (which was unchanged at 0percent).Table 3 shows the percentagerepresentation of women among master's degree recipientsin 1971 and 1979, categorizedby discipline division.The table also shows the changes in percentagepoints foreach of the 24 fields.The 1971 data show women predominating in sixfields:education, foreign languages,health professions, home economics, letters, andlibrary science.In 1979, womenstill predominated in these fields plus twoothers:fine and applied arts (53.9percent) an

16 d psychology (54.1 percent).So, women no
d psychology (54.1 percent).So, women now predominate in psychologyboth at the bachelor's and master's degreelevels.Degree award data for the intervening years arepresented in Appendix B.1,19 Table 3. --Percentage of women amongmaster's degree recipients, by disciplinedivision:Aggregate United States, 1971 and1979Discipline division1197111979I1TotalPercent1TotalPercent1Percentage1master'sawarded1master'sawarded1point1degreesto1degreesto1change1awardedwomen1awardedwomenI,All discipline divisions...231,48640.1302,07549.19.0Agriculture and naturalresources2,4583.94,00720.214;Architecture and environ-mental design1,72414.13,12428.514.4Area studies1,01739.077349.010.0Biological sciences5,75633.86,87937.73.9Business and management26,6543.950,64619.115.2Communications1,85634.62,88248.513.9Computer and informationsciences1,58810.33,05518.88.5Education89,06752.2111,83468.616.4Engineering16,4571.115,5106.15.0Fine and applied arts6,67847.48,52453.96.5Foreign languages4,77965.42,44069.64.2Health professions5,90255.415,63771.115.7Home economics1,45393.92,52C91.2-2.7Law9554.81,64715.510.7Letters12,74357.58,92461.33.8Library science7,02881.35,93080.4-.9Mathematics5,20129.33,04634.75.4Military science203800Physical sciences6,38613.45,46418.24.8Psychology4,43837.28,03154.116

17 .9Public affairs and services.8,40648.82
.9Public affairs and services.8,40648.820,10150.82.0Social sciences16,52228.312,91935.37.0Theology2,71024.43,55832.07.6Interdisciplinary studies1,70635.24,58638.83.61310 To reveal generalizations about the kindsof fields in which women are increasingtheir representation most rapidly, we'again groupedthe various fields on the basisof women's percentage representation in 1971, andthe average change evident in 1979was computed for each group.The results were as follows:Women's percentage1representation1in 19711Discipline division1Average percentageI.point change1in 197980-99Home economics, library science-1.860-79Foreign languages4.240-59Education, fine and applied arts,8.9health professions, letters, publicaffairs and services20-39Area studies, biological sciences,communications, mathematics,psychology, social sciences,theology, interdisciplinarystudies0-19Agriculture and natural resources,architecture and'environmentaldesign, business and management,computer and information sciences,engineering, law8.511.31./ Military science was omitted from these calculations because of itsextremelysmall size.There were 2 degrees in this field in 1971 and38 in 1979.Again, as in our earlier reports, we see slightdeclines in the traditionally femalefields of home economics an

18 d library science.Also, a tendency is cl
d library science.Also, a tendency is clearly apparentfor women's percentage representation to haveincreased most in those fields inwhich, in 1971, women were least represented.Relative Popularity of Different FieldsEducation continues to be the most popular master'sdegree field for women; itaccounted for slightly more than half of allmaster's degrees awarded to women bothin 1971 and 1979.No other field accounted for more than 8 percent.Prior to 1979,education was the most popular master's degree field for menalso, but in 1979,education was displaced by business and management asthe most popular field formen (26.6 percent).Table 4 shows how the master's degrees awarded to women weredistributed across the various fields, both in 1971 and1979.For comparisonpurposes, analogous data are presented for men.11 Table 4. --Distribution ofmaster's degrees, by sex,anddiscipline division:Aggregate United States, 1971 and1979IPercentage of degrees awardedDiscipline divisionWomenIMen119711979I:9711979All discipline divisions99.999.8100.099.9Agriculture and natural resources.2.51.72.1Architecture and environmentaldesign.3.61.11.5Area studies.4.3.4.2Biological sciences2.11.72.82.8Business and management1.16.518.526.6Communications.7.9.91.0Computer and information sciences.2

19 :.41.01.6Education53.851.728.222.8Engine
:.41.01.6Education53.851.728.222.8Engineering.2.611.79.5Fine and applidd arts3.43.12.52.6Foreign languages3.41.11.2.5Health professions3.57.51.0'2.9Home economics1.51.5.1.1Law(*).2.7Letters7.93.73.92.2Library science6.13.2.9.8Mathematics .1.6.72.71.3Military science00(.40(*)Physical sciences.9.74.02.9Psychology1.82.92.02.4Public affairs and services4.46.93.16.4Social sciences5.13.18.55.4Theology.7.81.51.6Interdisciplinary studies.61.2.81.8*Less than .05 percent.Note:Totals may not add to 100.0 percentbecause of rounding.12 The five top ranking fieldsfor women were:education.(51.7 percent),healthprofessions (7.5 percent), publicaffairs and services (6.9percent), business andmanagement (6.5 percent), andletters (3.7 percent).For men, the five toprankingfields were:business and management (26.6percent), education (22.8 percent),engineering (9.5 percent), publicaffairs and services (6.4percent), and socialsciences (5.4 percent).1318 CHAPTER IVDOCTORAL DEGREESOverviewAs mentioned in the previouschapter, between 1971 and 1979 women'senrollment ingraduate school increased about 23 percent,while men's enrollment decreasedby8 percent.In this chapter we examine the patternof doctoral degree awards towomen over this time period.The number of women receivingdoctoral deg

20 rees increased from 4,579 in1971 to9,201
rees increased from 4,579 in1971 to9,201 in 1979 -- an increase of 101 percent.For comparison purposes wemight notethat over the same time period the numberof men receiving a doctoral degreedecreased from 27,534 in 1971 to 23,555in 1979, a decrease of 14.4 percent.In 1971 women accounted for14.3 percent of all doctoral degreesawarded; in 1979they accounted for 28.1 percent, again of 13.8 percentage points.(Degree awarddata for the intervening years arepresented in Appel iix C.)Field of StudyTable 5 shows the percentage representationof women among doctoral degreerecipientsin 1971 and 1979, categorized bydiscipline division.The table also shows thepercentage point change for eachfield between these two pointsin time.In 1971 women predominated in only onefield:home economics.In 1979, as in 1977and 1976, they predominated inthree fields:home economics, foreign languages,and library science.Theseof course, are traditionally femalefields and theyare quite small; togetherthey accounted for a grand totalof only 930 doctoraldegrees in 1979.Again, as in our earlier report:? onthis topic, we find at leastnominal increasesin the percentages of women awadeddoctoral degrees for all 23 fieldsbetween 1971and the later year.The largest increase was forlibrary science, from

21 28.2 percentto 51.4 percent.It may be wo
28.2 percentto 51.4 percent.It may be worth noting that two yearspreviously women accountedfor a percentage of the libraryscience doctorates somewhat higherthan 51 percent.Conceivably, women's dominance in thisfield is beginning to decline.Actually,there are three other fields in which womenshowed a slight decline from twoyears previously:home economics, public affairs andservices, and interdisciplinarystudies.15 1.?Table 5. --Percentage of women among doctoral degreerecipients, by disciplinedivision:Aggregate United States, 1971 and 1979Discipline division1971Totaldoctoraldegreesawarded19791PercentTotal1 PercentPercentage10awardeddoctoralI awardedpointItodegreestogain1womenawarded1womenAll discipline divisions32,11314.332,75628.113.8Agriculture and naturalresources1,0862.99507.74.8Architecture and environ-mental design.368.39622.914.6Area studies14917.413336.118.7Biclogical sciences3,64516.33,54825.69.3Business and management8102.886311.78.9Communications14513.119228.115.0Computer and informationsciences1282.323612.710.4Education6,39821.27,73142.221.0Engineering .3,638.62,5063.32.7Fine and applied arts62122.270035.112.9Foreign languages78138.064153.815.8Health professions46616.571836.820.3Home economics12361.021967.66.6Law2004615.215.2Letters2,41623.51,9304

22 0.917.4Library science3928.27051.423.2Ma
0.917.4Library science3928.27051.423.2Mathematics1,1997.873016.78.9Physical sciences4,3915.63,10411.35.7Psychology1,78224.02,67440.116.1Public affairs andservices17824.236830.26.0Social sciences3,65913.93,36025.811.9Theology3121.91,2324.62.7Interdisciplinary studies9115.470928.913.516 As before, the 23 fields are grouped below on thebasis of women's percentage repre-sentation in 1971 and the average percentage pointchange evident in 1979 isindicated.Women's percentage1representation1in 19711Discipline division1Average percentage1point change1in 197130 or more2029.91019.9Less than 10Foreign languages, home economics+11.2Education, fine and applied arts,letters, library science, psychology,public affairs and servicesArea studies, biological sciences,communications, health professions,social sciences, interdisciplinarystudiesAgriculture, architecture and environ-mental design, business and management,computer sciences, engineering, law,mathematics, physical sciences,theology+16.1+14.7+8.2Although with respect to bachelor's and master's degrees wefound an inverse rela-tionship between the percentage representation of womenin 1971, and the averagegain in percentage points evident in 1979, there is noclear trend of this sort inthe doctoral degree data.Just as in e

23 arlier reports we continue to findthat w
arlier reports we continue to findthat womenmade their greatest gains at the doctoral level infields where they have traditionallybeen relatively strongly represented.The situation described in this paragraph wasalso observed and noted in our firstreport in this series -- pertaining to 1976data.Evidently, when women aspire to the highest academicdegree, the doctorate,they still tend to select the traditionally femininefields.Relative Popularity of Different FieldsIn 1979, education was still the most popular fieldfor both men and women (table 6);it accounted for about a third of all doctoral degreesawarded to women and about afifth of all those awarded to men.Psychology ranked second in popularity withwomen and sixth with men.(These generalizations are very similar to _hose made aboutthe analogous tables in our earlierreports.)Five fields appeared among the top six for both womenand men.These were:education,psychology, biological sciences, social sciences, and physicalsciences.Alsoappearing in the top six for women was the traditionallyfemale field of letters;and in the top six for men was the traditionally malefield of engineering.2117 Table 6. --Distribution ofdoctoral degrees, by sex anddiscipline division:Aggregate United States, 1971and 1979IPercentage

24 of degrees awardedDiscipline divisionIWo
of degrees awardedDiscipline divisionIWomenIMen119711979I19711979All discipline divisions100.099.9100.0100.0Agriculture and natural resources(*).83.83.7Architecture and environmentaldesign(*).2(*).3Area studies(*).5(*).4Biological sciences13.09.911.111.2Business and management(*)1.1(*)3.2Communications(*).6(*).6Computer and information sciences(*).3(*).9Education29.635.518.319.0Engineering(*).913.110.3Fine and applied arts3.02.71.71.9Foreign languages6.43.71.71.3Health professions1.72.91.41.9Home economics1.61.6(*).3Law0.1(*).2Letters12.48.66.74.8Library science(*).4(*).1Mathematics2.01.34.02.6Physical sciences5.33.815.011.7Psychology9.311.64.96.8Public affairs and services(*)1.2(*)1.1Social sciences11.09.411.410.6Theology(*).61.05.0Interdisciplinary studies(*)2.2(*)2.1*Less than 0.5 percentNote:Totals may not add to 100.0 percentbecause of rounding.18 CHAPTER VFIRST-PROFESSIONAL DEGREESOverviewA first-professional degree is defined as one which meets all three of the followingcriteria:(1) it signifies completion of the academic requirements to begin practicein the profession; (2) it is based on a program which requires at least 2 years ofcollege work prior to entrance; and (3) it requires a total of at least 6 academicyears of college work to complete the d

25 egree program, including prior requiredc
egree program, including prior requiredcollege work plus the length of the professional curriculum itself.This chapterexamines changes which took place between 1971 and 1979 in the representation ofwomen among recipients of first-professional degrees.Degree award data for theyears 1972 through 1978 are presented in Appendix D.Traditionally, NCES had collected data on degree awards in eight professions:dentistry, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, veterinary medicine,law, and theology.The small number of degrees awarded in other professions weregrouped into an "other" category.Starting in 1976, pharmacy and chiropractic wereremoved from the "other" category and given individual reporting status.It isobviously not possible to include these two professions when comparing the data for1971 and 1979.In 1971 there were 15,007 women enrolled in first-professional schools.Theyaccounted for 8.6 percent of total enrollment in such schools.In 1979, the numberof women so enrolled was 65,216, or 25.2 percent of the total.This growth in femaleenrollment amounted to a 334 percent increase!The number of women who received a first-professional degree in 1971 was 2,479, andin 1979, was 16,313 -- an increase of 558 percent!!Thus it is clear that women haveachi

26 eved a spectacular increase in their rep
eved a spectacular increase in their representation among recipients of first-professional degrees.Field of StudyIt is clear that women made substantial gains in all fields on which trends could beexamined (see table 7).By 1979 they were most highly represented in pharmacy(36.0 percent), veterinary medicine (28.9 percent), and law (28.5 percent).Mostimpressive of these three is law since that is such a large field.In 1979 alone,over 10,000 women received a law degree.Women are becoming increasingly prominent in the profession of pharmacy.It shouldbe noted, however, that pharmacy as a first-profesSional degree field, is a verysmall field; only 639 doctor of pharmacy degrees were awarded in 1979.Mostpharmacists enter that profession by another route:a bachelor's degree followedby apprenticeship.In 1979, a total of 6,919 bachelor's degrees in pharmacy wereawarded, of which 39.9 percent went to women.Thus, via both routes, women aregreatly increasing their representation in this profession.The largest gain made by women between 1971 and 1979 was in law.They accounted foronly 7.3 percent of the law degrees awarded in 1971 but 28.5 percent in 1979 -- again of 21.2 percentage points.Substantial gains were also made in veterinary2319 Table 7. --Percentage of women a

27 mongfirst-professional degree recipients
mongfirst-professional degree recipients,by field of study:Aggregate United States, 1971and 1979119711979ITotal1PercentTotal1PercentPer-Ifirst-Iawardedfirst-IawardedcentageField of studyIprofessionaltoprofessionaltopointIdegreesIwomenIawardedIdegreesawarded1womenchangeTotal38,2766.569,22223.617.1Chiropractic (D.C.)1,77910.6Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.)3,7771.25,48811.99.4Law, general (L.L.B.or J.D.)17,6527.335,38728.521.2Medicine (M.D.)8,9869.214,92523.113.9Optometry (O.D.)5312.41,04613.010.6Osteopathic medicine (D.O.)4722.31,06515.713.4Pharmacy (D. Pharm.)63936.0Podiatry or podiatricmedicine (Pod. D.)2402.15727.25.1Theological professions,general5,0552.36,60713.110.8Veterinary medicine (D.V.M.)1,2527.81,71428.921.1Other31121.2---Note:Absence of data is denotedby ---.20 medicine (21.1 percentage points), medicine(13.9 percentage points), and osteopathicmedicine (13.4 percentage points).Relative Popularity of Different FieldsNot surprisingly, law is by far the most popularprofessional field for women --accounting for 61.8 percent of all first-professionaldegrees to women (see table 8).The only other field accounting for a substantialfraction of the women's degreesis medicine at 21.2 percent.Law and medicine together account for 83.0 percentof all the first-pro

28 fessional degrees awarded to women.The o
fessional degrees awarded to women.The other fields accountfor very small percentages.The men's data yield a rather similar picture.Law is the most popular field (47.8percent) with medicine ranking second (21.7 percent).These two fields togetheraccount for 69.5 percent of first-professionaldegrees to men.It appears that lawis more popular among women than among men while dentistry is morepopular among menthan among women.2521 Table 8. --Distribution of first-professionaldegrees, by sex and field ofstudy:Aggregate United States, 1971 and1979Field of study1Percentage ofdegreesawarded1WomenIMen119711979119711979Total ..100.0100.0100.0100.0Chiropractic (D.C.)1.23.0Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.)1.84.010.49.1Law, general (L.L.B. or J.D.)52.261.845.747.8Medicine (M.D.)33.421.222.821.7Optometry (O.D.).5.81.41.7Osteopathic medicine (D.O.).41.01.31.7Pharmacy (D. Pharm.)---1.4---.8Podiatry or podiatric medicine (Pod.D.).2.3.71.0Theological professions, general4.85.313.810.9Veterinary medicine (D.V.M.)4.03.03.22.3Other2.70.70Note:Absence of data is denoted by ---.22 APPENDIXES27 Appendix A.-Percentage of women amongbachelor's degreeDiscipline division1971-72ITotalI PercentIbachelor's I awardedIdegreestoi awardedjwomen1972-73ITotal1 PercentIbachelor's' awardedIdegreestoIaw

29 ardedj womenI1973-74ITotal1 Percent!!bac
ardedj womenI1973-74ITotal1 Percent!!bachelor's.' awardedIdegreestoIIawardedtwomenAll discipline divisions894,11043.7930,27243.9954,37644.4Agriculture and naturalresources13,5605.514,8197.416,3039.7Architecture and environmentaldesign6,45212.06,98013.27,84014.8Area studies2,79752.53,08052.33,20354.3Biological sciences37,63829.642,67230.148,85631.5Business and management123,3069.7128,24410.8133,90513.1Communications12,34035.514,31736.617,09638.4Computer and informationsciences3,40213.64,30514.94,75716.4Education192,36874.1195,64073.5186,62373.5Engineering51,4651.051,6131.250,6931.6Fine and applied' arts33,88659.936,10960.440,01660.2Foreigillanguages19,35975.119,50276.019,47976.4Health professions28,89375.733,93277.041,86977.4Home economics12,16596.513,64096.315,43396.4Law5036.64748.449410.5Letters73,55660.171,29858.965,32558.0Library science98993.31,16094.41,16492.6Mathematics23,84839.123,22340.221,81341.0Military science379027203280.3Physical sciences20,88715.120,80915.021,28716.6Psychology.4,43,42146.448,09647.852,25650.5Public affairs and services12,74647.918,00946.924,26443.5Social sciences159,59436.3157,70236.3152,20336.6Theology3,88227.83,54825.74,23128.1Interdisciplinary studies16,67431.120,81034.124,93837.12824 recipients, by discipline division:1971-

30 72 through 1977-78I1974-75I1975-7611976-
72 through 1977-78I1974-75I1975-7611976-7711977-78ITotalI PercentITotal1 PercentITotal1Percent1Total-1Percent'Ibachelor'sj awarded Ibachelor's I awarded 'bachelor's' awarded Ibachelor'sj awardedl1degreestoIdegreesitoIdegrees1toIdegrees1toIIawardedjwomenIawardediwomenIawardedjwomenIawardedwomenI931,66345.4934,44345.6928,25646.2930,70147.217,57314.119,46018.321,53122.222,72424.68,23817.49,16919.29,25221.49,26623.73,06655.13,11155.52,97056.02,86959.752,23633.354,91334.854,19336.452,21338.7135,45516.4145,03519.8153,78323.6163,27426.419,24940.521,28241.523,22144.325,40146.95,03919.05,66419.86,42623.97,22425.8168,74973.3156,52872.8145,39872.2137,74272.547,3032.246,7173.249,6774.556,0096.741,06161.942,37160.942,10261.341,03362.018,17277.015,58776.414,30276.213,00876.149,47677.854,33978.857,84579.260,03180.616,87396.017,52395.917,56795.917,73795.643614.253118.855927.565328.657,93357.352,29256.947,50256.744,73322.51,06992.584393.178190.969388.418,34642.016,08540.714,30341.612,70141.339001,2060.2992.33862.320,89618.421,55919.222,61820.123,17521.551,43652.750,36354.447,79456.745,05758.928,59745.633,59243.736,74545.137,68549.6136,77337.4127,93637.9118,32239.4114,18440.64,81827.45,53727.36,13625.76,34424.128,47942.232,80045.034,23747.036,05947.22925 Appendix B.--Percenta

31 ge of womenamong master's degree1971-721
ge of womenamong master's degree1971-721972-731973-74Discipline divisionTotalI Percentmaster's 1 awardeddegreesItoawardedwomenTotalmaster'sdegreesawarded1Percentawarded1to1womenTotalImaster'sidegreesIawardedIPercentawardedtowomenAll discipline divisions252,77440.6264,52541.4278,25943.1Agriculture and naturalresources2,6917.12,8227.92,9399.8Architecture and environmentaldesign1,92814.62,31915.72,73318.4Area studies97840.71,03237.01,14238.9Biological sciences6,12633.16,29430.66,58130.6Business and management30,5113.931,2394.932,8206.6Communications2,20034.42,40635.72,64236.8Computer and informationsciences1,97711.42,11310.62,27612.9Education98,28057.3105,64658.2112,73959.9Engineering16,9661.616,6321.715,3852.3Fine and applied arts7,54046.37,25444.88,00145.9Foreign languages4,64065.14,32364.33,99166.1Health professions7,36156.48,:^:57.59,74160.2Home economics1,66692.71,67990.71,86991.1Law9325.81,0717.51,1817.1Letters12,75957.712,38457.112,16556.6Library science7,43579.97,74378.18,18577.8Mathematics5,20929.85,03329.94,84031.0Military science200000Physical sciences6,30714.16,27413.56,08714.6Psychology5,29338.45,88240.26,61639.8Public affairs and services9,60847.011,19046.712,69445.3Social sciences17,46928.217,36127.617,29728.8Theology2,75523.42,77826.72,89827.2In

32 terdisciplinary studies2,14339.22,54645.
terdisciplinary studies2,14339.22,54645.63,43745.826 recipients, by discipline division:1971-72 through 1977-781974-751975-761976-771977-78ITotalIPercentImas'ter's1 awardedIdegrees1toIawarded1womenTotalImaster's'degreesiawarded'PercentawardedtowomenTotalImaster'sdegreesawardediPercentawardedtowomenTotalIPercentmaster's' awardeddegrees,toawarded'women293,65144.8313,00146.4318,24147.1312,81648.33,07611.83,35114.33,73514.64,03618.72,95320.33,21520.83,21922.53,12126.01,14043.294545.398946.992547.86,59130.06,62131.87,15433.86,85135.536,4508.442,72811.646,65014.348,66116.92,79642.13,12841.83,09244.43,29749.22,29914.72,60314.52,79816.73,03818.7120,23362.2128,41064.3126,73065.8118,95767.715,3592.416,3493.616,2514.416,4095.38,36346.88,82048.98,63851.29,03652.13,82666.93,54166.73,17869.52,74170.810,84261.812,69666.513,09267.914,48370.31,90189.32,18791.52,34091.12,61391.91,2458.01,44212.01,57413.21,78614.611,87358.811,35658.310,49559.510,06261.88,12378.88,08478.37,59279.66,93580.04,33832.93,86334.03,69835.13,38344.00000430452.25,83014.55,48515.05,34516.65,57617.07,10442.97,85946.78,32048.18,19452.015,50544.617,33345.319,69645.520,191,47.916,94230.015,90231.615,48932.914,66033.23,23030.93,29232.13,62531.43,32930.53,63247.73,79146.54,49837.14,48737.53127 Appendix C.--Per

33 centage of womenamong doctoral degreeI19
centage of womenamong doctoral degreeI1971-72I1972-73I1973-74ITotalIPercent I. Total1 PercentITotalI PercentDiscipline divisionIdoctoral' awardedIdoctoral' awardedIdoctoral! awardedIdegrees1toIdegrees'toIdegreesjtoI awarded!womenIawardediwomenIawarded'womenAll discipline divisions33,36914.334,79015.833,82619.1Agriculture and naturalresources9712.71,0592.69303.6Architecture and environmentaldesign..5014.0586.9695.8Area studies15918.216529.116327.6Biological sciences3,65417.03,63719.53,44020.3Business and management9022.29325.79835.1Communications11113.513918.017516.6Computer and informationsciences1677.21967.71984.6Education7,04123.67,31424.87,29327.1Engineering3,6710.63,4921.53,3121.7Fine and applied arts57225.261627.158524.8Foreign languages84137.599140.392343.7Health professions44218.164625.057822.7Home economics10471.216575.813666.2Law402.5372.7273.7Letters2,58927.22,75430.12,63332.1Library science6443.810241.26040.0Mathematics1,1287.91,0689.61,0319.7Physical sciences4,1036.74,0166.93,6317.0Psychology1,88124.82,08929.02,33929.5Public affairs and services21121.821919.223022.2Social sciences4,07914.74,23015.64,12618.0Theology4414.86663.37682.9Interdisciplinary studies14814.919917.119626.0e)28 recipients, by discipline division:1971-72 through 1977-781974-75

34 Total1 Percentdoctorali awardeddegreesIt
Total1 Percentdoctorali awardeddegreesItoawardedIwomen1975-76ITotalI PercentIdoctoral! awardedIdegrees1toIawardedjwomenI1976-77TotalI Percentdoctoral, awardeddegreesItoawardedjwomen1977-78TotalIdoctoral,degreesIawardedPercentawardedtowomen34,08621.334,07622.933,24424.332,15626.49913.39286.68936.99716.46915.98215.97315.17321.916622.918231.915332.014531.03,38422.03,39721.53,40321.43,31324.21,0114.19565.48696.38678.316527.920424.517124.019127.72136.62449.42168.81917.77,44330.97,76933.47,95534.87,58639.03,1082.12,8212.32,5862.82,4402.364931.362027.966232.570836.785747.086447.975251.564954.761828.657728.853832.065438.515667.317871.316077.020371.4210763.96013.33912.82,49834.02,45236.52,20238.22,07639.25641.17145.07553.36735.897511.385611.082313.280515.43,6288.33,4338.73,3449.63,13711.02,44230.92,58131.72,76135.92,59737.428524.231932.033532.839532.44,20920.84,16021.63,78422.13,58324.38723.81,0334.11,1252.81,1604.727027.427332.230430.630146.829 Appendix D.--Percentage of women amongfirst-professional degree1971-721972-731973-74TotalITotalTotalfirst'firstIfirstFiel&of Studyprofes-1 Percentprofes-I Percentprofes -I PercentsionaliawardedsionaliawardedsionalI awardeddegrees'todegrees'todegreestoawarded'womenawarded'womenawarded,womenTotal43,7746.350,4357.154,2789.9Chiro

35 practic (D.C.)---------------- --Dentist
practic (D.C.)---------------- --Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.)3,8941.24,0861.44,4782.0Law, general (L.L.B. or J.D.)22,0177.227,4848.123,65211.5Medicine (M.D.)9,3319.010,3989.011,44711.2Optometry (O.D.)6702.27712.67914.2Osteopathic medicine (D.O.)4843.55232.96852.8Pharmacy (D. Pharm.)-----------------Podiatry or podiatric medicine(Pod. D.).,2790.32781.33711.1Theological professions, general5,5681.95,2913.45,0485.5Veterinary medicine (D.V.M.)1,2479.41,29910.11,38411.2Other28420.830511.842226.1Note:Absence of data is denoted by ---.30 recipients, by field of study:1971-72 through 1977-781974-75Totalfirstrprofes-- [Percentsional'awardeddegreesItoawardedwomen1975-76TotalifirstIprofes-1 PercentsionalIawardeddegrees!toawarded)women1976-77TotalIfirstIprofes - I Percentsionali awardeddegreestoawarded'women1977-78TotalIfirstIprofes- 1 PercentsionalI awardeddegrees;toawarded' women56,25912.563,06115.664,80718.766,96421.51,5779.31,3688.51,66110.04,8093.15,4784.55,1877.45,23811.229,49715.132,53519.234,39022.534,61626.012,55013.213,54016.213,57419.214,39921.57925.09757.795311.01,01413.16655.38187.28528.894412.543929.652727.554730.23511.14282.64863.35434.85,0986.85,7097.65,8619.56,36711.31,41515.91,53218.11,58622.81,63524.51,08211.03010.02347.83r3S GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFIC