A new Vox article reports on the growth of Master's degrees in the U.S. where about eight percent of the population holds a Master's degree, a 43 percent increase since 2002.




Looking at Master's degrees trends over the last 40 years indicates that:

• A graduate degree is associated with a boost in earnings, but also larger student debt.  The median amount of debt accrued by graduate degree holders has increased from $40,000 in 2004, to $57,000 in 2012.
• In 1971, education and business made up 37.2 percent and 11.2 percent of Master's degrees.  By 2012, business was the most popular field, and professionally-oriented degrees (health professions and public administration and social services, in particular) had gained ground.
• The fastest growing fields for Master's degrees are: law enforcement (+186.3 percent), leisure and fitness studies (+173.1 percent), engineering (+122.1 percent), multidisciplinary studies (+113.1 percent), and health professions (+92.6 percent).

Read more:
http://www.vox.com/2014/5/20/5734816/masters-degrees-are-as-common-now-as-bachelors-degrees-were-in-the-60s

TeachingwithData.org resources:
Economics of Education (http://www.teachingwithdata.org/resource/2916)
Without a High-School Education (http://www.teachingwithdata.org/resource/3861)
Men's real hourly wage by education, 1973-2007 (http://www.teachingwithdata.org/resource/2947)
Do Blacks Earn Less than Whites and Why? (http://www.teachingwithdata.org/resource/3162)
Women's Education (http://www.teachingwithdata.org/resource/3104)
Education and Earnings: Does Education Pay? (http://www.teachingwithdata.org/resource/3107)
Education in America (http://www.teachingwithdata.org/resource/3124)
Exploring Education Attainment of U.S. Native-born and Foreign-born (http://www.teachingwithdata.org/resource/3131)
The Value of College (http://www.teachingwithdata.org/resource/3866)