New Report Examines Demand for Degree Programs

April 25, 2022

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Title: The 2022 EducationDynamics eLearning Index

Source: EducationDynamics

EducationDynamics recently released the 2022 edition of its annual report on the demand for degree programs among college students and the labor market.

The report analyzed over 3,000 degree and certificate programs offered by more than 300 accredited colleges and universities across the country. Results indicated that analytics, healthcare (including mental health), engineering, and education showed the highest level of student and labor market demand and growth opportunity across multiple degree levels.

The report presented two indices to identify subject areas with the highest level of student and labor market demand by degree level and region. The Student Demand Index was measured by the total number of degree completers for a given subject area and the five-year growth rate in degree completion between 2016 and 2020. The Labor Demand Index was measured by the total number of jobs for a given occupation and the projected 10-year growth rate based on the 2018-28 occupational projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The trends varied slightly by degree level:

For the associate degree level, healthcare, veterinary technology, legal studies, early childhood education, and engineering were the top five subject areas.
For bachelor’s degree level, analytics, finance, healthcare, and network security showed the highest level of demand and growth rates among students and the labor market.
For master’s degree level, education, social work, and healthcare were among the top fields.
For the doctoral degree level, education, healthcare, and law fields showed the highest level of demand and growth rates in student completion and the labor market.

While healthcare was the most popular area across all four geographic regions of the country, other differences emerged:

In the Midwest, business/marketing, and engineering showed the highest level of demand and growth opportunity in student enrollment and the labor market, in addition to healthcare fields.
In the Northeast, analytics, finance, social sciences, and computer/informational science were among the most popular areas.
In the South, legal studies, management/marketing, and postsecondary education were among the most popular.
In the West, early childhood and postsecondary education, management/marketing, statistics, social work, and computer/informational science were among the most popular.

To read the full report, click here. You can also find more detailed information on the methodology and data used for the report in a webinar hosted by EducationDynamics.

—Ji Hye “Jane” Kim

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