Percentage of 2016-17 Master's Degree Earners Who Entered Higher Education in Community College (by Master's Degree Fiel
Snapshot
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REPORT
From Community College to Master’s Degree Community colleges provide an important entry point on the pathway to graduate and professional degree completion. Nearly 20 percent of 2016-17 master’s degree earners originally entered higher education in a community college, and nearly 12 percent earned an associate degree from a community college. Students who earned master’s degrees in health and clinical sciences were most likely to have entered higher education in a community college. Over 26 percent of master’s degree earners in this field entered higher education in a community college, while 18.5 percent earned an associate degree from a community college.
With data current through August 2017
Figure 1. Percentage of 2016-17 Master’s Degree Earners Who Entered Higher Education
in Community College (by Master’s Degree Field of Study Category)
30%
Fall 2017
26.3%
25%
23.6%
22.1%
20%
19.5%
19.7%
18.5% 13.8%
10%
Entered Higher Education in a Community College
16.3%
15%
11.7%
12.8%
Earned Associate Degree from a Community College
11.5% 8.2%
9.0%
5%
4.7% 0% All Fields of Study
In contrast, only nine percent of master’s degree earners in science and engineering originally entered higher education in a community college. Note: Counts of students who earned associate degrees from a community college are not limited to students who entered higher education at a community college.
FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES
N=710,407
Health and Social Sciences Education Business Humanities Clinical and Psychology Sciences N=96,950 N=93,029 N=128,253 N=157,616 N=45,500
Science and Engineering N=126,658
Master’s Degree Field of Study Category Baccalaureate-granting institutions that predominantly award associate degrees (at least 55 percent of undergraduate degrees awarded are associate degrees) are classified as community colleges. A mapping of Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) family codes to broad field of study categories is included at end of this report. A student is considered to have entered higher education in a community college if their earliest postsecondary enrollment at age 18 or above occurred at a community college.
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FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES
With data current through August 2017
Years from Associate to Master’s Degree For students who earned both an associate degree and a master’s degree, an average of nearly 10 years separated the completion dates of the two credentials. The longest average timespans from associate to master’s were in education (10.7 years), health and clinical sciences (10.5 years), and business (10.0 years), suggesting that students often earn master’s degrees in these fields after various periods of part-time study or non-enrollment. The shortest average timespans from associate to master’s were in social sciences and psychology (8.5 years) and science and engineering (9.0 years).
Figure 2. 2016-17 Master’s Degree Earners with Prior Associate Degree:
Mean Years from Associate Degree to Master’s Degree
20 18 16 14 12 10 8
9.9
10.7
10.5
10.0
9.9
9.0
8.5
6 4 2 0 All Fields of Study
Education
N=82,825
N=16,415
Health and Clinical Sciences N=17,920
Business N=18,053
Humanities Science and Engineering N=3,722
N=5,904
Social Sciences and Psychology N=12,822
Master’s Degree Field of Study Category A mapping of Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) family codes to broad field of study categories is included at end of this report. Timespans represent the difference in years between the completion date of associate degree and completion date of graduate or professional degree, and therefore include any breaks in college enrollment.
Fall 2017
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From Community College to DoctoralResearch Degree Nearly 11 percent of 201617 doctoral-research degree earners originally entered higher education in a community college, and nearly six percent earned an associate degree from a community college. Students who earned doctoralresearch degrees in health and clinical sciences were most likely to have entered higher education in a community college. Almost 22 percent of doctoral-research degree earners in this field entered higher education in a community college, while over 15 percent previously earned an associate degree from a community college. In contrast, under six percent of doctoral-research degree earners in science and engineering had originally entered higher education in a community college. Examples of doctoral-research degrees include Ph.D., Ed.D., D.M.A., D.B.A., D.Sc., D.A., or D.M, and others, as designated by the awarding institution.
Fall 2017
FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES
With data current through August 2017
Figure 3. Percentage of 2016-17 Doctoral-Research Degree Earners Who Entered Higher
Education in Community College (by Doctoral-Research Degree Field of Study Category)
30%
25%
21.5%
20%
15%
10%
15.3%
14.6%
13.5%
10.7%
Earned Associate Degree from a Community College
10.3% 8.5%
5%
Entered Higher Education in a Community College
7.9%
5.8%
7.7% 5.7%
5.1% 3.2%
0% All Fields of Study N=70,230
Health and Clinical Sciences N=8,998
Education
Business
N=11,505
N=2,477
Social Sciences Humanities and Psychology N=9,500
N=6,417
2.1% Science and Engineering N=26,944
Doctoral-Research Degree Field of Study Category Baccalaureate-granting institutions that predominantly award associate degrees (at least 55 percent of undergraduate degrees awarded are associate degrees) are classified as community colleges. A mapping of Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) family codes to broad field of study categories is included at end of this report. A student is considered to have entered higher education in a community college if their earliest postsecondary enrollment at age 18 or above occurred at a community college.
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FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES
With data current through August 2017
Years from Associate to Doctoral-Research Degree For those students who earned both an associate degree and a doctoral-research degree, an average of 16 years separated the completion dates of the two credentials. The longest timespans from associate to doctoral-research degree were in business and education. In these two fields, students earned a doctoralresearch degree nearly 20 years after earning their associate degree, on average.
Figure 4. 2016-17 Doctoral-Research Degree Earners with Prior Associate Degree:
Mean Years from Associate Degree to Doctoral-Research Degree
20
19.6
18
19.5
16 14
16.0
15.3
15.0
14.9
12
12.2
10 8 6 4
The shortest average timespan from associate to doctoral-research degree was in science and engineering (12.2 years).
2 0 All Fields of Study
Business
Education
N=4,065
N=195
N=979
Health and Social Sciences Humanities Clinical and Psychology Sciences N=1,376 N=488 N=206
Science and Engineering N=577
Doctoral-Research Degree Field of Study Category A mapping of Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) family codes to broad field of study categories is included at end of this report. Timespans represent the difference in years between the completion date of associate degree and completion date of graduate or professional degree, and therefore include any breaks in college enrollment.
Fall 2017
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FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES
With data current through August 2017
From Community College to Professional Degree Over 13 percent of 2016-17 professional degree earners originally entered higher education in a community college, and almost six percent earned an associate degree from a community college. Students who earned professional degrees in medicine were about as likely to have entered higher education in a community college as students who earned professional degrees in law. Examples of professional degrees included here under the broad category of Medicine include: chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.); dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.); medicine (M.D.); optometry (O.D.); osteopathic medicine (D.O); pharmacy (Pharm.D.); podiatry (D.P.M., Pod.D., D.P.); veterinary medicine (D.V.M.), and others, as designated by the awarding institution.
Figure 5. Percentage of 2016-17 Professional Degree Earners Who Entered Higher
Education in Community College (by Professional Degree Field of Study Category)
30%
25%
20% Entered Higher Education in a Community College
15%
13.5%
13.3%
10%
5%
5.7%
Earned Associate Degree from a Community College
13.0%
5.5%
6.2%
0% Combined (Medicine and Law)
Medicine
Law
N=83,219
N=53,615
N=29,604
Professional Degree Field of Study Category Baccalaureate-granting institutions that predominantly award associate degrees (at least 55 percent of undergraduate degrees awarded are associate degrees) are classified as community colleges. A mapping of Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) family codes to broad field of study categories is included at end of this report. A student is considered to have entered higher education in a community college if their earliest postsecondary enrollment at age 18 or above occurred at a community college.
Fall 2017
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FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES
With data current through August 2017
Years from Associate to Professional Degree For students who earned both an associate degree and a professional degree, an average of eight years separated the completion dates of the two credentials. Notably, the average timespan from associate degree to professional degree (7.8 years) was shorter than both the average timespan from associate degree to master’s degree (9.9 years) and the average timespan from associate degree to doctoralresearch degree (16.0 years). This is one indication that students who enter higher education in community college and eventually earn professional degrees tend to persist in their postsecondary educations on a full-time basis and with few breaks in attendance.
Figure 6. 2016-17 Professional Degree Earners with Prior Associate Degree:
Mean Years from Associate Degree to Professional Degree
20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6
7.9
7.8
Combined (Medicine and Law)
Law
Medicine
N=4,770
N=2,938
N=3,860
7.8
4 2 0
Professional Degree Field of Study Category A mapping of Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) family codes to broad field of study categories is included at end of this report. Timespans represent the difference in years between the completion date of associate degree and completion date of graduate or professional degree, and therefore include any breaks in college enrollment.
Fall 2017
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FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES
With data current through August 2017
Field of Study Distributions This figure shows the field of study distributions at each graduate and professional degree level, differentiating between students who entered higher education in community colleges and those who entered higher education in other institutions. At the master’s and doctoral-research levels, the health and clinical sciences field is more prevalent among students who entered higher education in community colleges. Science and engineering, however, is far more prevalent among students who entered college in other institutions. At the master’s and doctoralresearch levels, education is also somewhat more prevalent among students who entered higher education in community colleges.
Figure 7. 2016-17 Graduate and Professional Degree Earners: Field of Study Distribution (by Degree Level and Entering Institution Type) 100%
14%
18%
13%
14%
15%
36%
14%
35%
36%
90% 80% 70% 60%
Social Science
19% 1% 7% 15%
9% 6% 20%
50% 40%
20%
22%
22%
24%
24%
25%
42% Science and Engineering
1% 7% 14% 19%
30% 20%
41%
24%
64%
8% 27% 10%
14%
12%
17%
64%
Law
Humanities
10% 22%
65%
Health and Clinical Sciences (Medicine)
Education
17%
Business
10% 0% All
(N=710,407)
Entered in Entered in Other Community Institutions College (N=128,949) (N=581,458)
Master’s Degree Earners
4%
4%
4%
All
Entered in Community College (N=6,325)
Entered in Other Institutions (N=63,905)
(N=70,230)
Doctoral-Research Degree Earners
All
(N=83,219)
Entered in Community College (N=10,691
Entered in Other Institutions (N=72,528)
Professional Degree Earners
A mapping of Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) family codes to broad field of study categories is included at end of this report.
Fall 2017
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Additional Notes on the Data
FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES
Analysis in this report is based on credentials reported to the Clearinghouse through its DegreeVerifySM service. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has estimated that credentials being reported through the DegreeVerify service account for 89 percent of associate degrees, 98 percent of bachelor’s degrees, 95 percent of master’s degrees, and 93 percent of doctoral degrees awarded in 2016-17. These estimates are based on comparing Clearinghouse degree counts to IPEDS degree counts for each degree level. In this analysis, baccalaureate-granting institutions that predominantly award associate degrees (at least 55 percent of the undergraduate degrees awarded are associate degrees) are classified as community colleges. A student is considered to have entered higher education in a community college if his or her earliest postsecondary enrollment at age 18 or above occurred at a community college. In this report, counts of students who earned associate degrees from a community college are not limited to students who entered higher education at a community college. Classification of Instructional Family codes were mapped to broad field of study categories according to the crosswalk on the following page of this report.
Fall 2017
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FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES Crosswalk: Classification of Instructional Family Codes to Broad Field of Study Categories
Fall 2017
CIP Family
CIP Family Title
Field of Study Category
01
Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences
Other
03
Natural Resources and Conservation
Science and Engineering
04
Architecture and Related Services
Humanities
05
Area, Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Studies
Social Sciences and Psychology
09
Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs
Social Sciences and Psychology
10
Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services
Social Sciences and Psychology
11
Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services
Science and Engineering
12
Personal and Culinary Services
Other
13
Education
Education
14
Engineering
Science and Engineering
15
Engineering Technologies/Technicians
Science and Engineering
16
Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Humanities
19
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
Other
22
Legal Professions and Studies
Law
23
English Language and Literature/Letters
Humanities
24
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
Humanities
25
Library Science
Other
26
Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Science and Engineering
27
Mathematics and Statistics
Science and Engineering
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FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES Crosswalk: Classification of Instructional Family Codes to Broad Field of Study Categories
Fall 2017
CIP Family
CIP Family Title
Field of Study Category
28
Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC, ROTC)
Other
29
Military Technologies
Other
30
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
Other
31
Parks, Recreation, Leisure and Fitness Studies
Other
32
Basic Skills
Other
33
Citizenship Activities
Other
34
Health-Related Knowledge and Skills
Other
35
Interpersonal and Social Skills
Other
36
Leisure and Recreational Activities
Other
37
Personal Awareness and Self-Improvement
Other
38
Philosophy and Religious Studies
Humanities
39
Theology and Religious Vocations
Humanities
40
Physical Sciences
Science and Engineering
41
Science Technologies/Technicians
Science and Engineering
42
Psychology
Social Sciences and Psychology
43
Security and Protective Services
Other
44
Public Administration and Social Service Professions
Social Sciences and Psychology
45
Social Sciences
Social Sciences and Psychology
46
Construction Trades
Other
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FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES Crosswalk: Classification of Instructional Family Codes to Broad Field of Study Categories
Fall 2017
CIP Family
CIP Family Title
Field of Study Category
47
Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians
Other
48
Precision Production
Other
49
Transportation and Materials Moving
Other
50
Visual and Performing Arts
Humanities
51
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences
Health and Clinical Sciences
52
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support
Business
53
High School/Secondary Diplomas and Certificates
Other
54
History
Humanities
60
Residency Programs
Other
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