What level of education do parents of recent bachelor’s graduates have?

Notes:: Advanced degree = graduate degree (master’s, doctorate) or first-professional degree (e.g., MD, DDS, DVM, OD, PsyD).; Other race/ethnicity includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Pacific Islanders, Native Hawaiians, and non-Hispanic graduates with origins in two or more races.

Source:: US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2008–09 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:08/09): First Look, Table 2 (July 2011, NCES 2011-236), https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011236.pdf

Notes:: Advanced degree = graduate degree (master’s, doctorate) or first-professional degree (e.g., MD, DDS, DVM, OD, PsyD).; Other S&T = Other science and technology. Includes biological sciences, physical sciences, agricultural sciences, and science technology.; Other applied fields include architecture, communications, public administration and human services, design and applied arts, law and legal studies, library sciences, theology and religious vocations.

Source:: US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2008–09 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:08/09): First Look, Table 2 (July 2011, NCES 2011-236), https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011236.pdf

Main Finding

A majority (56%) of bachelor’s graduates in academic year 2007/08 have at least one parent who earned a bachelor’s or advanced degree. Male graduates are more likely than female graduates to have a parent with a bachelor’s or advanced degree. College degrees are also more common among parents of Asian and white graduates than among parents of Hispanic and black graduates.

More than 6 in 10 bachelor’s degree recipients who graduated with a science, engineering, or technology major in academic year 2007/08 have a parent who earned at least a bachelor's degree. More than 3 in 10 have a parent with an advanced degree.

Key Observations

Approximately 6 in 10 male bachelor’s graduates in academic year 2007/08, compared to around 5 in 10 female graduates, have a parent who earned at least a bachelor’s degree.
A third of male graduates and 28% of female graduates have a parent with an advanced degree.
About 6 in 10 Asian and white graduates have a parent who earned at least a bachelor’s degree, compared to fewer than 4 in 10 Hispanic and black graduates.
About 36% of Asian graduates and 32% of white graduates have a parent with an advanced degree, compared to 20% of both Hispanic and black graduates.

About two-thirds of graduates in engineering (66%), mathematics/other S&T (65%), and humanities (67%) have a parent who attained at least a bachelor's degree, as is also the case for 60% of graduates in social sciences/ psychology.
Less than half of bachelor’s graduates in computer/information sciences and health care fields (44% each) have a parent who earned a bachelor’s or higher-level degree.
Advanced degrees are more common among parents of bachelor’s graduates in humanities (39%), mathematics/other S&T (38%), and social sciences/psychology (36%) than among parents of bachelor’s graduates in other fields.