For Both Blacks and Whites, Business Management is the Most Popular College Major

Data from the U.S. Department of Education on bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2006 shows that for both blacks and whites, business management was by a large margin the most popular major. Blacks earned 36,195 bachelor’s degrees in the field of business management and administration in the 2005-06 academic year. This was 25.4 percent of all bachelor’s degrees earned by blacks. More than 20 percent of all white bachelor’s degrees were earned in the field of business.

The next most popular field of study for blacks who earned bachelor’s degrees was the social sciences. This includes sociology, economics, and political science. Education was the second most popular major among whites. The fields of psychology, communications, and health sciences were popular majors among both racial groups. It is noteworthy that computer science was the eighth most popular major among blacks but it was not among the 10 most popular majors for whites.

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