The latest federal statistics compiled by Governing suggest the upward trend in numbers of degrees awarded has halted for several public sector fields. With the exceptions of public health and fire prevention degrees, all other top government-related majors reviewed have either plateaued or started to decline in recent years.
Nationally, increases in degree completions for all fields, including those not related to the public sector, have also slowed in recent years. The decline for government-related fields has been somewhat more pronounced, however.
Annual Totals by Degree Field
Corrections Degrees
Criminal Justice Degrees
Education Administration and Supervision Degrees
Fire Prevention Degrees
Library Science Degrees
Political Science and Government Degrees
Public Administration and Public Policy Degrees
Public Health Degrees
About the Data
Degree statistics were compiled from data schools report to the National Center for Education Statistics, published in annual Digest of Education Statistics reports. Degrees are categorized using Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes. Graduation figures listed for fire prevention, education administration and supervision and public health degrees represent aggregate totals of multiple related degrees. Figures reflect national totals for the vast majority of all institutions. They do not include, however, a small number of schools not eligible to participate in Title IV financial aid programs or non degree-granting institutions.Public Administration and Public Policy Degree Completions
Numbers of public administration graduates have declined slightly the past two years after steady growth. Totals reported for public policy analysis graduates depict similar trends.| Year | Public Administration Bachelor's | Public Administration Master's | Public Policy Bachelor's | Public Policy Master's |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 3,304 | 12,813 | 1,462 | 2,791 |
| 2013-14 | 3,247 | 13,252 | 1413 | 2960 |
| 2012-13 | 3,240 | 13,562 | 1356 | 2980 |
| 2011-12 | 3,259 | 12,926 | 1175 | 2819 |
| 2010-11 | 2,930 | 11,957 | 1226 | 2679 |
| 2009-10 | 2,796 | 10,801 | 963 | 2476 |
| 2008-09 | 2,548 | 9,669 | 994 | 2163 |
| 2007-08 | 2,587 | 9,669 | 876 | 2163 |
| 2006-07 | 2,582 | 9,163 | 887 | 2019 |
| 2005-06 | 2,567 | 9,149 | 820 | 1838 |
| 2004-05 | 2,630 | 8,982 | 799 | 1865 |
| 2003-04 | 2,515 | 8,129 | 808 | 1658 |
| 2002-03 | 2,394 | 7,504 | 760 | 1366 |
| 2001-02 | 2,318 | 7,411 | 704 | 988 |
| 2000-01 | 2,230 | 7,293 | 638 | 864 |
Political Science and Government Degree Completions
Degree completions for general political science and government degrees have fluctuated little over the past decade, but have started to decline more recently.| Year | Bachelor's Degrees | Master's Degrees |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 34,321 | 1,803 |
| 2013-14 | 36,258 | 2,018 |
| 2012-13 | 37,378 | 2,077 |
| 2011-12 | 38,789 | 2,226 |
| 2010-11 | 39,123 | 2,247 |
| 2009-10 | 38,534 | 2,136 |
| 2008-09 | 38,394 | 2,051 |
| 2007-08 | 39,369 | 1,984 |
| 2006-07 | 38,915 | 1,941 |
| 2005-06 | 38,384 | 1,907 |
| 2004-05 | 37,198 | 1,890 |
| 2003-04 | 34,761 | 1,748 |
| 2002-03 | 32,501 | 1,570 |
| 2001-02 | 29,354 | 1,641 |
| 2000-01 | 27,792 | 1,596 |
Criminal Justice Degree Completions
Criminal justice degrees are primarily classified as either related to law enforcement administration or safety studies. Degrees awarded for both types have increased sharply over the longer term.| Year | Law Enforcement Administration Bachelor's | Law enforcement Administration Master's | Safety Studies Bachelor's | Safety Studies Master's |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 18,817 | 3,023 | 31,288 | 3,027 |
| 2013-14 | 19,363 | 3,039 | 31,415 | 2,869 |
| 2012-13 | 18,849 | 2,813 | 30,698 | 2,938 |
| 2011-12 | 16,435 | 2,240 | 28,064 | 3,641 |
| 2010-11 | 14,940 | 2,167 | 25,125 | 3,192 |
| 2009-10 | 14,574 | 2,932 | 23,230 | 2,028 |
| 2008-09 | 13,224 | 1,846 | 22,137 | 2,024 |
| 2007-08 | 11,028 | 1,666 | 23,087 | 2,059 |
| 2006-07 | 10,592 | 1,382 | 22,684 | 2,061 |
| 2005-06 | 9,015 | 1,373 | 21,185 | 1,827 |
| 2004-05 | 7,771 | 1,582 | 18,867 | 1,562 |
| 2003-04 | 7,228 | 1,683 | 17,416 | 1,370 |
| 2002-03 | 8,424 | 1,378 | 14,401 | 1,068 |
| 2001-02 | 7,485 | 1,391 | 14,840 | 1,195 |
| 2000-01 | 7,282 | 1,117 | 14,536 | 1,054 |
Corrections/Correctional Administration Degree Completions
Degree completions for corrections have changed little in recent years.| Year | Bachelor's Degrees | Master's Degrees |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 592 | 25 |
| 2013-14 | 601 | 35 |
| 2012-13 | 590 | 44 |
| 2011-12 | 712 | 26 |
| 2010-11 | 587 | 19 |
| 2009-10 | 521 | 17 |
| 2008-09 | 540 | 19 |
| 2007-08 | 504 | 16 |
| 2006-07 | 585 | 20 |
| 2005-06 | 553 | 14 |
| 2004-05 | 573 | 32 |
| 2003-04 | 591 | 44 |
| 2002-03 | 577 | 35 |
| 2001-02 | 602 | 16 |
| 2000-01 | 617 | 37 |
Education Administration and Supervision Degree Completions
Education administration and supervision is a broad category that includes the following degrees: educational leadership and administration, general; administration of special education; adult and continuing education administration; educational, instructional, and curriculum supervision; higher education/higher education administration; community college education; elementary and middle school administration/principalship; secondary school administration/principalship; urban education and leadership; superintendency and educational system administration; educational administration and supervision, other.Education administration master's degrees have dipped slightly over the past few years.
| Year | All Bachelor's Degrees | All Master's Degrees | Higher Education Administration only (Master's) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 356 | 24,411 | 2,780 |
| 2013-14 | 242 | 26,277 | 2,712 |
| 2012-13 | 202 | 26,629 | 2,578 |
| 2011-12 | 142 | 27,326 | 2,315 |
| 2010-11 | 139 | 28,157 | 2,053 |
| 2009-10 | 119 | 29,967 | 2,410 |
| 2008-09 | 222 | 27,500 | 2,065 |
| 2007-08 | 164 | 25,917 | 1,888 |
| 2006-07 | 138 | 24,864 | 1,541 |
| 2005-06 | 133 | 23,901 | 1,056 |
| 2004-05 | 146 | 22,745 | 786 |
| 2003-04 | 170 | 21,343 | 676 |
| 2002-03 | 66 | 19,326 | 608 |
| 2001-02 | 30 | 17,187 | 491 |
| 2000-01 | 47 | 16,033 | 431 |
Public Health Degree Completions
Statistics for public health degrees encompass aggregate totals for several related degrees. They include public health, general; environmental health; health/medical physics; occupational health and industrial hygiene; public health education and promotion; community health and preventive medicine; maternal and child health; international public health/international health; health services administration; behavioral aspects of health; public health, other.| Year | Total Public Health Degrees (Bachelor's) | Total Public Health Degrees (Master's) | Public Health Education and Promotion only (Bachelor's) | Public Health Education and Promotion only (Master's) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 10,592 | 12,129 | 2,455 | 777 |
| 2013-14 | 9,308 | 11,833 | 2,493 | 815 |
| 2012-13 | 7,801 | 11,088 | 2,299 | 853 |
| 2011-12 | 6,203 | 10,708 | 1,872 | 758 |
| 2010-11 | 5,090 | 9,811 | 1,632 | 616 |
| 2009-10 | 4,308 | 8,935 | 1,403 | 569 |
| 2008-09 | 3,671 | 8,148 | 1,330 | 536 |
| 2007-08 | 3,209 | 7,568 | 1,228 | 502 |
| 2006-07 | 2,699 | 7,198 | 952 | 444 |
| 2005-06 | 2,095 | 6,764 | 666 | 479 |
| 2004-05 | 1,734 | 6,295 | 498 | 434 |
| 2003-04 | 1,407 | 5,946 | 403 | 423 |
| 2002-03 | 1,309 | 4,890 | 345 | 377 |
Library Science Degree Completions
Numbers of library science master's degree graduates had gradually climbed, but have since decreased each of the past four years.| Year | Bachelor's Degrees | Master's Degrees |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 99 | 5,259 |
| 2013-14 | 127 | 5,839 |
| 2012-13 | 102 | 6,983 |
| 2011-12 | 95 | 7,441 |
| 2010-11 | 96 | 7,727 |
| 2009-10 | 85 | 7,448 |
| 2008-09 | 78 | 7,091 |
| 2007-08 | 68 | 7,162 |
| 2006-07 | 82 | 6,767 |
| 2005-06 | 76 | 6,448 |
| 2004-05 | 76 | 6,213 |
| 2003-04 | 72 | 6,015 |
| 2002-03 | 99 | 5,314 |
| 2001-02 | 74 | 5,113 |
| 2000-01 | 52 | 4,727 |
Fire Prevention Degree Completions
Total fire prevention degrees shown here include the following degree classifications: fire prevention and safety technology/technician, fire services administration, fire science/firefighting, fire/arson investigation and prevention and fire protection, other.| Year | Bachelor's Degrees | Master's Degrees |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 1,448 | 215 |
| 2013-14 | 1,390 | 135 |
| 2012-13 | 1,398 | 86 |
| 2011-12 | 1,118 | 44 |
| 2010-11 | 1,024 | 60 |
| 2009-10 | 900 | 83 |
| 2008-09 | 734 | 121 |
| 2007-08 | 613 | 103 |
| 2006-07 | 530 | 54 |
| 2005-06 | 448 | 49 |
| 2004-05 | 389 | 53 |
| 2003-04 | 393 | 53 |
| 2002-03 | 361 | 82 |
Visit Governing U, our an index of public sector management and policy degrees from universities across the country. It provides a single source for browsing offerings from Master of Public Administration (MPA) , the Master of Public Policy (MPP) and the Executive MPA and certificate and other professional programs designed specifically for the education needs of working professionals in public service.
