Graduate Instructional Program Classification

As a companion to the Undergraduate Instructional Program classification, this classification examines the nature of graduate education, with a special focus on the mix of graduate programs across fields of study. In this classification, a single graduate-level degree qualifies an institution for inclusion. For more information regarding how this classification is calculated, please see below.

The classification is based on the level of graduate degrees awarded (master's degrees, and doctoral degrees categorized as either research/scholarship, professional practice, or other doctorate), the number of fields represented by the degrees awarded, and the mix or concentration of degrees by broad disciplinary domain. The classification has two parts: one for institutions that award at least one research/scholarship doctoral degrees (hereinafter referred to as research doctoral degrees), and one postbaccalaureate degree-granting institutions that either offer only master's degrees or that also offer professional practice or other doctoral degrees (based on the record of degree conferrals, not program offerings). Within each group, we then classify institutions with respect to the breadth of graduate offerings and the concentration of degrees in certain fields or combinations of fields.

For two categories of institutions offering research doctorates, we distinguish institutions offering medical education (defined as human or veterinary medical education, including allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine). Institutions in other categories may also offer medical education, but the numbers were not large enough to justify subcategories, and we judged it preferable to differentiate with respect to the other graduate fields, rather than with respect to the presence or absence of medical education.

NOTE: Because a single research doctoral degree (as defined in the IPEDS data collection of the National Center for Education Statistics) qualifies an institution for inclusion in the doctoral categories, institutions with large master's or professional programs and modest doctoral-level programs are currently classified according to their doctoral programs.

Graduate Instructional Program Methodology

For a flowchart illustrating the logic of the six all-inclusive Classifications, click here.

The instructional program classifications are based on degree conferrals (not offerings) for 2019-20 as reported to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) through the IPEDS Completions collection. These were the most current data available for all institutions. The advantage of using degree data is that degrees are reliable artifacts of instructional activity, and they permit detailed analysis by field of study. The trade-off is that they are inherently retrospective—it takes a few years for new programs to show up in the data. There is a time lag until graduates are produced, and a second lag for release of the data reporting those graduates. Similarly, degree data may include degrees for programs that have since been closed. Whatever time period is used, there will always be some schools where program changes are too recent to be reflected in the degree data.

Data Source

Degree conferral data come from the IPEDS Completions survey corresponding to degree conferrals from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. (These were the most recent data available for all institutions.)

In the Completions data, institutions report annual degree conferrals by degree level and field of study. Field of study is reported using a standard taxonomy known as the Classification of Instructional Programs, or CIP. The CIP groups fields under six-digit codes of the form xx.yyzz, which can be aggregated at the two-digit (xx) or four-digit (xx.yy) level.

Institutions Awarding Master's or Professional Practice/Other Doctoral Degrees

Colleges and universities that offer graduate training but that do not award research/scholarship doctorates are identified as having "Postbaccalaureate" graduate programs, because they include both master's programs and professional programs (such as a law school, medical school or other professional doctoral program). Among this group, an appreciable number offer graduate training in a single field. We classified these institutions separately, identifying those specializing in education, business, or another single field (education and business account for the largest share of master's degrees nationally).

Next, we identified those institutions with comprehensive offerings as indicated in the record of conferrals, where "comprehensive" is defined as awarding at least one master's or professional/other doctoral degree in each of the following disciplinary domains: humanities, social sciences, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and one or more professional fields (such as business, education, engineering, health professions, public policy, or social work).

The remaining institutions were separated into those whose offerings span arts & sciences and professional fields (including a small number with graduate programs exclusively in the arts & sciences) and those whose graduate programs are exclusively in professional fields. Finally, we divided each of these groups according to the plurality of degrees (arts & sciences, education, business, and other professional fields).

For this analysis, degrees reported in IPEDS as professional practice or "other" doctoral degrees are considered broadly as postbaccalaureate degrees and not "research doctoral degrees." We believe that institutions whose only graduate program is in such a field (such as a law school or seminary) are more appropriately included in the non-doctoral group. Institutions offering multiple professional doctoral programs, such as law and medicine, typically also award the research doctoral degrees (mostly, Ph.D. but also often including such degrees as Ed.D. when designated by the institution as a "research/scholarship" doctoral degree) and are thus automatically included in the research doctoral group.

Institutions Awarding Research Doctoral Degrees

We followed a similar procedure for research doctoral institutions (defined as institutions that awarded at least one research doctoral degree in 2019-20). First, we identified institutions with a single research doctoral program based on the degree record. Next, we identified institutions with comprehensive doctoral offerings: those awarding doctorates in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields, plus doctoral degrees (research/scholarship, professional practice, or other) in one or more professional fields (such as business, education, engineering, law, and medicine). Of these "comprehensive doctoral" institutions, we created two subcategories based on the presence or absence of medical or veterinary degrees (this includes allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine).

The remaining institutions were differentiated with respect to the plurality of research doctoral conferrals, in this case differentiating universities emphasizing the humanities and social sciences, STEM, and those emphasizing professional fields other than engineering.

The categories are listed below. The term "comprehensive" is used here to denote comprehensiveness of offerings across a range of fields.

Postbaccalaureate

Single program - Education

These institutions awarded master's or professional practice/other doctoral degrees in education as their only postbaccalaureate program.

Single program - Business

These institutions awarded master's or professional practice/other doctoral degrees in business as their only postbaccalaureate program.

Single program - Other

These institutions awarded master's or professional practice/other doctoral degrees in a single field other than education or business as their only postbaccalaureate program.

Comprehensive programs

These institutions awarded at least one master's degree or professional practice/other doctoral degrees in each of the humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields, as well as such graduate degrees in one or more professional fields.

Arts & sciences-dominant

These institutions awarded master's or professional practice/other doctoral degrees in some arts and sciences fields. They may also award master's or non-research doctoral degrees in other fields, but in lesser numbers.

Education-dominant, with arts & sciences

These institutions awarded master's or professional practice/other doctoral degrees in both arts and sciences and professional fields, and the field with the largest number of such graduate degrees was education.

Business-dominant, with arts & sciences

Other-dominant, with arts & sciences

Education-dominant, with other professional programs

These institutions awarded master's or professional practice/other doctoral degrees in professional fields only, and the field with the largest number of such graduate degrees was education.

Business-dominant, with other professional programs

These institutions awarded master's or professional practice/other doctoral degrees in professional fields only, and the field with the largest number of such graduate degrees was business.

Other-dominant, with other professional programs

These institutions awarded master's or professional practice/other doctoral degrees in professional fields only, and the field with the largest number of such graduate degrees was a field other than business or education.

Research Doctoral

Single program - Education

These institutions awarded research doctoral degrees in education but not in other fields (they may have more extensive offerings at the master's or professional practice/other doctoral level).

Single program - Other

These institutions awarded research doctoral degrees in a single field other than education (they may have more extensive offerings at the master's or professional practice/other doctoral level).

Comprehensive programs, with medical/veterinary school

These institutions awarded research doctoral degrees in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields, as well as in medicine, dentistry, and/or veterinary medicine. They also offer may also offer master's and professional practice/other doctoral degrees in other fields.

Comprehensive programs, no medical/veterinary school

These institutions awarded research doctoral degrees in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields. They may also offer master's or professional practice/other degrees in fields other than medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine.

Humanities/social sciences-dominant

These institutions awarded research doctoral degrees in a range of fields, with the largest number of research doctorates in the humanities or social sciences.

STEM-dominant

These institutions awarded research doctoral degrees in a range of fields, with the largest number of research doctorates in the STEM fields.

Professional-dominant

These institutions awarded research doctoral degrees in a range of fields, and the largest number of research doctorates were in professions other than engineering (such as education, health professions, law, public policy, or social work).

Classifications are time-specific snapshots of institutional attributes and behavior based on 2019-20 data.

Graduate Instructional Program Classification

Graduate Instructional Program Methodology

Data Source

Institutions Awarding Master's or Professional Practice/Other Doctoral Degrees

Institutions Awarding Research Doctoral Degrees

Postbaccalaureate

Research Doctoral

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