REGENTS REPORT
REGENTS REPORT
South Dakota Higher Education: Good Investment. Great Future. NO. 84, 11/26/97
Degrees Conferred
Looking at the degrees conferred provides useful information about the university system. This report will look at the total numbers of degrees awarded, disciplines in which degrees are awarded, the type of degrees awarded, and some of the changes that have taken place over the years.
Degrees Conferred by Year
Between FY87 and FY97, the number of degrees conferred by South Dakota’s public universities has increased over 21%. The graph below shows the total number of degrees awarded in that period.
Degrees Conferred by Academic Disciplines
Over the last ten years some changes in the popularity of degrees have occurred. However, education, engineering, business management, social sciences, and health related are always in or near the top five in number of degrees conferred. Below are two tables, the first of which shows the top ten disciplines for degrees conferred in FY97 and the second shows the top ten in FY87. Both tables include only baccalaureate degrees.
Top Ten Disciplines - FY97 |
Top Ten Disciplines - FY87 |
|||||||
| Discipline | # of Degrees |
% of Total |
Discipline | # of Degrees |
% of Total |
|||
1 |
Education | 498 |
14% |
1 |
Education | 504 |
17% |
|
2 |
Business Management | 388 |
11% |
2 |
Engineering | 503 |
17% |
|
3 |
Social Sciences | 375 |
11% |
3 |
Business Management | 484 |
16% |
|
4 |
Health Professions/Related Sciences | 360 |
10% |
4 |
Social Sciences | 317 |
11% |
|
5 |
Engineering | 318 |
9% |
5 |
Health Professions/Related Sciences | 234 |
8% |
|
6 |
Life Sciences | 213 |
6% |
6 |
Life Sciences | 125 |
4% |
|
7 |
Psychology | 200 |
6% |
7 |
Agricultural Sciences | 90 |
3% |
|
8 |
Agricultural Sciences | 134 |
4% |
8 |
Communications | 79 |
3% |
|
9 |
Letters | 115 |
3% |
9 |
Computer/Information Sciences | 79 |
3% |
|
10 |
Parks & Recreation | 115 |
3% |
10 |
Psychology | 65 |
2% |
|
Degrees Conferred by Type
Over 70% of all the degrees conferred by South Dakota’s public universities in FY97 were baccalaureate degrees. The graph below shows the degrees conferred by level for FY87 and FY97.
E-mail us at: info@bor.state.sd.us
Conclusion
In the last ten years, the number of degrees conferred has increased over 21%. Degrees conferred information provides a view of student interests and how that may affect the state’s current and future economy.