List of academic disciplines

An academic discipline, or field of study, is a branch of knowledge which is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part), and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and the learned societies and academic departments or faculties to which their practitioners belong.

Fields of study usually have several sub-disciplines or branches, and the distinguishing lines between these are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. [1]

Contents

Overview

The University of Paris in 1231 consisted of four faculties: Theology, Medicine, Canon Law and Arts.[2] Most academic disciplines have their roots in the mid- to late-19th century secularization of universities, when the traditional curricula were supplemented with non-classical languages and literatures, social sciences such as political science, economics and public administration, and natural science and technology disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering.

In the early 20th century, new disciplines such as education, sociology, and psychology were added. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was an explosion of new disciplines focusing on specific themes, such as media studies, women's studies, and black studies. Many disciplines designed as preparation for careers and professions, such as nursing, hospitality management, and corrections, also emerged in the universities. Finally, interdisciplinary scientific fields such as biochemistry and geophysics gained prominence as their contribution to knowledge became widely recognized.

There is no consensus on how some academic disciplines should be classified, e.g., whether anthropology and linguistics are social sciences disciplines or humanities disciplines. More generally, the proper criteria for organizing knowledge into disciplines are also open to debate.

An asterisk (*) denotes a field whose academic status has been debated among this article's editors.

Humanities

History

See also Branches of history

Languages and linguistics

See also List of languages, Branches of linguistics, Anthropological linguistics

Literature

Performing arts

Philosophy

See also Branches of philosophy

Religion

See also List of religions

Visual arts

Social sciences

Anthropology

See also Branches of anthropology

Archaeology

See also Branches of archaeology
  • Classical archaeology
  • Egyptology
  • Experimental archaeology
  • Maritime archaeology
  • Near Eastern archaeology
  • Paleoanthropology
  • Prehistoric archaeology

Area studies

See also Branches of area studies
  • American studies
  • Appalachian studies
  • African studies
  • Asian studies
  • Canadian studies
  • Celtic studies
  • European studies
  • German studies
  • Indology (Indian studies)
  • Iranian studies
  • Japanology (Japanese studies)
  • Latin American studies
  • Sinology (Chinese studies)
  • Scandinavian studies
  • Slavic studies

Cultural and ethnic studies

  • Asian studies
  • Asian American studies
  • Black studies or African American studies
  • Chicano studies
  • Childhood studies
  • Latino studies
  • Native American studies
  • Persian studies

Economics

Gender and sexuality studies

Geography

See also Branches of geography
  • Cartography
  • Human geography
    • Cultural geography
      • Feminist geography
    • Economic geography
      • Development geography
    • Historical geography
    • Time geography
    • Political geography & geopolitics
      • Military geography
      • Strategic geography
    • Population geography
    • Social geography
      • Behavioral geography
      • Children's geographies
      • Health geography
      • Tourism geography
    • Urban geography

Political science

See also Branches of political science

Psychology

See also Branches of psychology, Cognitive science, Affective science, and Behavioural science

Sociology

See also Branches of sociology

Natural sciences

Space sciences

See also Branches of astronomy

Earth sciences

See also Branches of earth sciences

Life sciences

See also Branches of life sciences

Chemistry

See also Branches of chemistry

Physics

See also Branches of physics

Formal sciences

Computer sciences

See also Branches of computer science and ACM Computing Classification System

Logic

  • Philosophical Logic
    • Modal logic
      • Deontic logic
      • Doxastic logic
    • Logical reasoning
  • Logic in computer science

Mathematics

See also Branches of mathematics and AMS Mathematics Subject Classification

Statistics

Systems science

Professions and Applied sciences

Agriculture

Architecture and design

Business

Divinity

Education

Engineering

See also Branches of engineering

Environmental studies and Forestry

  • Environmental management
    • Coastal management
    • Fisheries management
    • Land management
    • Natural resource management
    • Wildlife management

Family and consumer science

  • Consumer education
  • Housing*
  • Interior design

Health sciences

See also Branches of medicine

Human physical performance and recreation*

  • Leisure studies
  • Physical education / Pedagogy
  • Sociology of sport
  • Sexology
  • Sports journalism / sportscasting
  • Sport management
    • Athletic director
  • Sport psychology
  • Sports medicine
    • Athletic training
  • Toy and amusement design*

Journalism, media studies and communication

Law

Library and museum studies

  • Archival science
  • Bibliometrics
    • Citation analysis
  • Informatics
  • Information architecture
  • Museology
    • Museum administration

Military sciences

  • Military law
  • Military medicine
  • Naval science
  • Strategy
  • Tactics
    • Naval tactics

Public administration

Social work

  • Child welfare
  • Community practice
    • Community organizing
    • Social policy

Transportation

  • Highway safety
  • Infographics
  • Intermodal transportation studies

See also

Notes

  1. Andrew Abbott, Chaos of Disciplines University Of Chicago Press 2001 ISBN 0226001016
  2. History of Education, Encyclopædia Britannica (1977, 15th edition), Macropaedia Volume 6, p. 337

References

External links