1. More than 1,600 different academic degrees are currently conferred by colleges and universities in the United States, according to information furnished by over 2,000 of these institutions. More than 800 other academic degrees have been offered or conferred but are no longer in current use. 2. A total of 2,452 academic degrees are distributed as follows: associate's degrees, 6 percent; bachelor's degrees, 37 percent; master's degrees, 33 percent; doctor's degrees, 15 percent; other degrees, 9 percent. 3. The largest number of different degrees currently conferred are found in the engineering fields, with almost 350; followed by the field of education, with more than 250; by business, with more than 175; and by the medical sciences, with almost 150. 4. Instead of the common Bachelor of Arts, now awarded by more than 1,000 institutions to men and women graduates, some colleges for women in the 19th century felt it was more appropriate to confer such degrees as Mistress of Arts, Maid of Arts, Sister of Arts, and Mistress of English Literature, but these distinctly feminine degrees of baccalaureate level are no longer used. 5. At least 235 different honorary degrees have been conferred by American institutions of higher education, but only half of these are in current use. Those used most frequently, each by 100 or more institutions, are, in order: Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Humane Letters, Doctor of Divinity, Doctor of Science, Doctor of Literature, Doctor of Letters, and Doctor of Music. 6. More than 250 "spurious" degrees have been offered by so-called "degree mills" or spurious institutions. More than 100 of them are duplicates of degrees offered by legitimate institutions; but almost 150 are unique, such as Master of Character Analysis, Doctor of Naturaltrics, Diplomat of Massotherapy, or Philosopher Metaphysics. of 7. Almost 2,600 different abbreviations are used for 1,600 of the degrees listed. In some cases a dozen or more abbreviations are used for the same degree. 8. A total of almost 2,700 degrees are listed, including more than 100 Latin forms of degrees, and more than 100 others which are used as both honorary and earned degrees. 9. A marked need exists for reduction in number of different degrees offered by American colleges and universities, and for greater uniformity in their designations and in the abbreviations used for them. Bulletin 1960, No. 28 ACADEMIC Earned and Honorary Degrees Conferred by Institutions of Higher Education in the United States WALTER CROSBY EELLS, Consultant and HAROLD A. HASWELL, Director Higher Education Programs Branch U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION Lawrence G. Derthick, Commissioner |