Degrees

1. Associate degree – An award that requires completion of a program which shall normally be capable of completion in two academic years of full-time study, or its equivalent in part-time study, with an accumulation of not less than 60 semester credit hours.

2. Bachelor’s degree – An award that requires completion of  program which shall normally be capable of completion in four academic years of full-time study, or in case of five-year programs, five academic years of full-time study, or their equivalent in part-time study, with an accumulation of not less than 120 semester credit hours.

3. Master’s degree – An award that requires completion of a program which shall normally require a minimum of one academic year of full-time graduate level study, or its equivalent in part-time study, with an accumulation of not less than 30 semester hours. Research or a comparable occupational or professional experience shall be a component of each master’s degree program. The requirements for a master’s degree shall normally include at least one of the following: passing a comprehensive test, writing a thesis based on independent research or completing an appropriate special project.

4. Doctoral degree – An award that requires completion of a program that shall require a minimum of three academic years of full-time graduate level study after the baccalaureate degree, or their equivalent in part-time study. Doctoral studies shall include the production of a substantial report on original research, the independent investigation of a topic of significance to the field of study, the production of an appropriate creative work, or the verified development of advanced professional skills.

5. First-Professional degree – An award that requires completion of an organized program that meets all of the following criteria: (1) completion of the academic requirements to begin practice in the profession; (2) at least 2 years of college work prior to entering the program; and (3) a total of at least 6 academic years of college work to complete the degree program, including prior required college work plus the length of the professional program itself. The following degrees are considered first-professional: Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.); Doctor of Medicine (M.D.); Doctor of Optometry (O.D.); Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.); Doctor of Pharmacy (Phar. D.); Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (D.P.M.); Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.); Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.); Bachelor of Law (LL.B.); Doctor of Law (J.D.); Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.); and Master of Divinity (M. Div.).

Racial/Ethnic Categories

1. Non-Resident Alien - A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.

Note: Nonresident aliens are to be reported separately, in the columns provided, rather than in any of the five racial/ethnic categories, that follow. Resident aliens and other eligible (for financial aid purposes) non-citizens who are not citizens or nationals of the United States and who have been admitted as legal immigrants for the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who hold either an alien registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), a Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) with a notation that conveys legal immigrant status such as Section 207 Refugee, Section 208 Asylee, Conditional Entrant Parolee or Cuban-Haitian) are to be reported in the appropriate racial/ethnic categories along with United States citizens. 

2. Black, Non-Hispanic - A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa (except those of Hispanic origin).

3. American Indian or Alaskan Native - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America, and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.

4. Asian or Pacific Islander - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. This includes China, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, American Samoa, India, and Vietnam.

5. Hispanic - A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

6. White, Non-Hispanic - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East (except those of Hispanic origin).

The following notes pertain to changes made by the State Education Department to the federal file as of July 1998 to produce this report:

Degrees conferred upon students attending Teachers College have been included in the numbers reported for Columbia University. Degree programs at Teachers College are jointly registered with Columbia University, which grants all degrees.

1. Data for the following institutions have been partially or totally estimated from the best sources available at the time of this publication. The source used is identified next to the institution. NCES did not request these institutions to complete the IPEDS-C Survey, (1996-97). Some information could be gleaned from IPEDS-IC4 but just two of these institutions completed the specific question needed from that form pertaining to degrees awarded 1996-97:

Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, data from form NYSED-SC1

Interfaith Medical Center School of Nursing, data from IPEDS-IC4

Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary -Northeast Branch, data from form NYSED-SC1

New York Theological Seminary, data from prior year

Picower Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, data from IPEDS-IC4

Taylor Business Institute, data from prior year

Unification Theological Seminary, data from prior year 

4. The data submitted by Yeshiva University were categorized by HEGIS codes and needed to be crosswalked to CIP codes consistent with other institutions, which required some estimating. 

5. No data or estimates were added to this report for the following institutions which may or may not have conferred degrees during the July 1, 1996 through June 30, 1997 time period:

Gamla Institute (The) -A new institution, not in the federal universe for 1996-97.

Lynn University - A new institution not, in the federal universe for 1996-97.

New York Restaurant School - Form was not submitted. Prior year's data showed only certificates, no associate degrees. 

6. Data were added to the federal file for Bryant and Stratton - Eastern Hills Campus. An IPEDS-C form was submitted but the data did not appear on the federal file. We obtained a copy of the form and added the data.

7. Data in the file were revised for the following institutions:

General Theological Seminary - Inspection of the federal data revealed that enrollment had been reported rather than the desired count of degrees conferred. Corrected data were obtained from the institution and resubmitted to NCES.

Olean Business Institute - Inspection of the federal data revealed that enrollment had been reported rather than the desired count of degrees conferred. Corrected data were obtained from the institution and resubmitted to NCES.

St. Joseph's Seminary and College - Inspection of the federal data revealed that the degrees awarded by the Institute of Religious Studies, a part of the Seminary and College, had been omitted from the federal file. The institution was contacted and they provided the corrected data.