Fields of study
42 CIP families · NCES CIP–SOC 2020 crosswalk
The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is the U.S. Department of
Education's canonical taxonomy of fields of study. Through the official CIP–SOC 2020 crosswalk,
each field connects to the occupations it prepares people for. These
41 families span 1,948 detailed
programs and connect to roughly 218,915,590 workers. Pick a
field to see where it leads and what those jobs pay.
| Field of study | Programs | Occupations | Median pay | AI exposure |
| Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences | 84 | 46 | $59,330 | Low |
| Architecture and Related Services | 18 | 13 | $74,545 | Moderate |
| Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies | 50 | 2 | $71,865 | High |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences | 92 | 35 | $83,945 | High |
| Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services | 100 | 132 | $77,070 | High |
| Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs | 24 | 25 | $73,765 | High |
| Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services | 15 | 15 | $57,695 | Low |
| Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services | 30 | 25 | $100,750 | High |
| Construction Trades | 24 | 37 | $58,140 | Low |
| Culinary, Entertainment, and Personal Services | 31 | 31 | $41,785 | Low |
| Dental, Medical, and Veterinary Residency Programs | 138 | 9 | $135,370 | Low |
| Education | 106 | 61 | $74,880 | Moderate |
| Engineering | 59 | 34 | $107,630 | Moderate |
| Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians | 73 | 53 | $68,620 | Low |
| English Language and Literature/Letters | 13 | 7 | $75,260 | High |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences | 33 | 32 | $69,780 | Moderate |
| Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 84 | 6 | $77,640 | High |
| Health Professions and Related Programs | 237 | 153 | $78,365 | Low |
| History | 9 | 9 | $69,315 | Moderate |
| Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services | 37 | 34 | $77,185 | Moderate |
| Legal Professions and Studies | 32 | 12 | $67,510 | High |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 3 | 1 | $78,490 | — |
| Library Science | 5 | 5 | $64,320 | High |
| Mathematics and Statistics | 18 | 15 | $101,350 | High |
| Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians | 41 | 50 | $58,920 | Low |
| Medical Residency/Fellowship Programs | 191 | 22 | $129,210 | Moderate |
| Military Science, Leadership and Operational Art | 9 | 7 | — | — |
| Military Technologies and Applied Sciences | 20 | 13 | $79,830 | Low |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies | 62 | 86 | $83,590 | High |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | 22 | 27 | $74,575 | Moderate |
| Parks, Recreation, Leisure, Fitness, and Kinesiology | 10 | 13 | $58,160 | Low |
| Philosophy and Religious Studies | 16 | 5 | $84,290 | High |
| Physical Sciences | 45 | 28 | $94,710 | Moderate |
| Precision Production | 17 | 35 | $48,310 | Low |
| Psychology | 31 | 23 | $93,330 | Moderate |
| Public Administration and Social Service Professions | 14 | 28 | $74,150 | Moderate |
| Science Technologies/Technicians | 9 | 10 | $58,180 | Low |
| Social Sciences | 40 | 31 | $84,005 | High |
| Theology and Religious Vocations | 22 | 10 | $62,245 | Moderate |
| Transportation and Materials Moving | 16 | 42 | $59,110 | Low |
| Visual and Performing Arts | 68 | 38 | $67,620 | Moderate |
The CIP–SOC crosswalk shows which occupations a field of study is related to — not a
guarantee of entry, and many people work outside the field they studied. Median pay is
aggregated from BLS OEWS (national, cross-industry, May 2024) across the occupations each field
leads to, and describes the field rather than any one job or graduate.