An academic discipline or field of study is a branch of knowledge, taught and researched as part of higher education. A scholar's discipline is commonly defined by the university faculties and learned societies to which they belong and the academic journals in which they publish research.

Disciplines vary between well-established ones that exist in almost all universities and have well-defined rosters of journals and conferences, and nascent ones supported by only a few universities and publications. A discipline may have branches, and these are often called sub-disciplines.

The following outline provides an overview of and topical guide to academic disciplines. In each case an entry at the highest level of the hierarchy (e.g., Humanities) is a group of broadly similar disciplines; an entry at the next highest level (e.g., Music) is a discipline having some degree of autonomy and being the basic identity felt by its scholars; and lower levels of the hierarchy are sub-disciplines not normally having any role in the structure of the university's governance.

Humanities

Performing arts

Visual arts

History

Also regarded as a Social science

Languages and literature

Linguistics listed in Social science

Law

Also regarded as a Social science

Also listed in Applied science

Philosophy

Also regarded as the separate, an entry at the highest level of the hierarchy

Religious studies

Also regarded as a social science

Divinity

Theology

Social science

Anthropology

• Biological anthropology
• Linguistic anthropology
• Cultural anthropology
• Social anthropology
• Palaeoanthropology

Archaeology

• Biocultural anthropology
• Evolutionary anthropology
• Feminist archaeology
• Forensic anthropology
• Maritime archaeology

Economics

Geography

Linguistics

Also regarded as a formal science

Political science

Psychology

Sociology

Natural science

Biology

Chemistry

Earth science

• Chronology
• Edaphology
• Environmental chemistry
• Environmental science
• Gemology
• Geochemistry
• Geodesy
• Physical geography (outline)
  • Atmospheric science / Meteorology (outline)
  • Biogeography / Phytogeography
  • Climatology / Paleoclimatology / Palaeogeography
  • Coastal geography / Oceanography
  • Edaphology / Pedology or Soil science
  • Geobiology
  • Geology (outline) (Geomorphology, Mineralogy, Petrology, Sedimentology, Speleology, Tectonics, Volcanology)
  • Geostatistics
  • Glaciology
  • Hydrology (outline)/ Limnology / Hydrogeology
  • Landscape ecology
  • Quaternary science
• Geophysics (outline)
• Paleontology
  • Paleobiology
  • Paleoecology

Astronomy

• Astrobiology
• Observational astronomy
  • Gamma ray astronomy
  • Infrared astronomy
  • Microwave astronomy
  • Optical astronomy
  • Radio astronomy
  • UV astronomy
  • X-ray astronomy
• Astrophysics
  • Gravitational astronomy
    • Black holes
• Cosmology
  • Physical cosmology
• Interstellar medium
• Numerical simulations
  • Astrophysical plasma
  • Galaxy formation and evolution
  • High-energy astrophysics
  • Hydrodynamics
  • Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Star formation
• Stellar astrophysics
  • Helioseismology
  • Stellar evolution
  • Stellar nucleosynthesis
• Planetary science

Physics

Formal science

Computer science

Also a branch of electrical engineering

Mathematics

Pure mathematics

Applied mathematics

Applied science

Agriculture

Architecture and design

Business

Education

Engineering and technology

Environmental studies and forestry

Family and consumer science

Human physical performance and recreation

Journalism, media studies and communication

Law

Also regarded as a social science

Also listed in Humanities

Library and museum studies

Medicine and health

Military sciences

Public administration

Public policy

Social work

Transportation

See also

• Academia (outline)
• Academic genealogy
• Curriculum
• Interdisciplinarity
• Transdisciplinarity
• Professions
• Classification of Instructional Programs
• Joint Academic Coding System
• List of fields of doctoral studies in the United States
• List of academic fields
• International Academic Association for the Enhancement of Learning in Higher Education

References

Further reading

• Abbott, Andrew (2001). Chaos of Disciplines. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-00101-2.
• Oleson, Alexandra; Voss, John (1979). The Organization of knowledge in modern America, 1860–1920. ISBN 0-8018-2108-8.
• US Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences. Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). National Center for Education Statistics.

External links

• Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP 2000): Developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics to provide a taxonomic scheme that will support the accurate tracking, assessment, and reporting of fields of study and program completions activity.
• Complete JACS (Joint Academic Classification of Subjects) from Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in the United Kingdom
• Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC 2008) (web-page Archived 2010-12-12 at the Wayback Machine) Chapter 3 and Appendix 1: Fields of research classification.
• Fields of Knowledge, a zoomable map allowing the academic disciplines and sub-disciplines in this article be visualised.
• Sandoz, R. (ed.), Interactive Historical Atlas of the Disciplines, University of Geneva