Outline of academic disciplines
An academic discipline or field of study is a branch of knowledge that is taught and researched as part of higher education. A scholar's discipline is commonly defined and received by the university faculties and learned societies to which he or she belongs and the academic journals in which he or she publishes 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.
There is no consensus on how some academic disciplines should be classified, for example whether anthropology and linguistics are discipline of social sciences or fields within the humanities.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to academic disciplines.
Contents
Arts[edit]
Performing arts[edit]
- Music (outline)
- Dance (outline)
- Television (outline)
- Theatre (outline)
- Film (outline)
Visual arts[edit]
Humanities[edit]
Geography[edit]
History[edit]
- African history
- American history
- Ancient history
- Asian history
- Australian history
- Economic history
- Environmental history
- European history
- Intellectual history
- Latin American history
- Modern history
- Political history
- Pre-Columbian era
- Russian history
- Scientific history
- Technological history
- World history
Languages and literature[edit]
- Linguistics (Outline of linguistics)
- Applied linguistics
- Composition studies
- Computational linguistics
- Discourse analysis
- English studies
- Etymology
- Grammar
- Historical linguistics
- History of linguistics
- Interlinguistics
- Lexicology
- Linguistic typology
- Morphology (linguistics)
- Natural language processing
- Philology
- Phonetics
- Phonology
- Pragmatics
- Psycholinguistics
- Rhetoric
- Semantics
- Semiotics (outline)
- Sociolinguistics
- Syntax
- Usage
- Word usage
- Comparative literature
- Creative writing
- English literature
- History of literature
- Literary theory
- Poetry
- World literature
Philosophy[edit]
- Aesthetics (outline) / Philosophy of Art
- Applied philosophy
- Epistemology (outline)
- Ethics (outline)
- History of philosophy
- Logic (outline)
- Meta-philosophy
- Metaphysics (outline)
- Philosophical traditions and schools
- Social philosophy and political philosophy
Theology[edit]
- Biblical studies
- History of the Church[disambiguation needed]
- Religious studies
- Biblical Hebrew, Biblical Greek, Aramaic
Social sciences[edit]
Anthropology[edit]
Economics[edit]
- Agricultural economics
- Anarchist economics
- Applied economics
- Behavioural economics
- Bioeconomics
- Complexity economics
- Computational economics
- Consumer economics
- Development economics
- Ecological economics
- Econometrics
- Economic geography
- Economic history
- Economic sociology
- Economic systems
- Energy economics
- Entrepreneurial economics
- Environmental economics
- Evolutionary economics
- Experimental economics
- Feminist economics
- Financial econometrics
- Financial economics
- Green economics
- Growth economics
- Human development theory
- Industrial organization
- Information economics
- Institutional economics
- International economics
- Islamic economics
- Labor economics
- Law and economics
- Macroeconomics
- Managerial economics
- Marxian economics
- Mathematical economics
- Microeconomics
- Monetary economics
- Neuroeconomics
- Participatory economics
- Political economy
- Public economics
- Public finance
- Real estate economics
- Resource economics
- Social choice theory
- Socialist economics
- Socioeconomics
- Transport economics
- Welfare economics
Law[edit]
Political science[edit]
- American politics
- Canadian politics
- Civics
- Comparative politics
- European studies
- Geopolitics (Political geography)
- International relations
- International organizations
- Nationalism studies
- Peace and conflict studies
- Policy studies
- Political behavior
- Political culture
- Political economy
- Political history
- Political philosophy
- Psephology
- Social choice theory
Psychology[edit]
- Abnormal psychology
- Applied psychology
- Asian psychology
- Biological psychology
- Black psychology
- Clinical neuropsychology
- Clinical psychology
- Cognitive psychology
- Community psychology
- Comparative psychology
- Conservation psychology
- Consumer psychology
- Counseling psychology
- Criminal psychology
- Cultural psychology
- Developmental psychology
- Differential psychology
- Ecological psychology
- Educational psychology
- Environmental psychology
- Evolutionary psychology
- Experimental psychology
- Group psychology
- Family psychology
- Feminine psychology
- Forensic developmental psychology
- Forensic psychology
- Health psychology
- Humanistic psychology
- Indigenous psychology
- Legal psychology
- Masculine psychology
- Mathematical psychology
- Media psychology
- Medical psychology
- Military psychology
- Moral psychology and Descriptive ethics
- Music psychology
- Neuropsychology
- Occupational health psychology
- Occupational psychology
- Organizational psychology
- Parapsychology (outline)
- Pediatric psychology
- Pedology (children study)
- Personality psychology
- Phenomenology
- Political psychology
- Positive psychology
- Psychoanalysis
- Psychobiology
- Psychology of religion
- Psychometrics
- Psychopathology
- Psychophysics
- Quantitative psychology
- Rehabilitation psychology
- School psychology
- Social psychology
- Sport psychology
- Traffic psychology
- Transpersonal psychology
Sociology[edit]
- Analytical sociology
- Applied sociology
- Architectural sociology
- Area studies
- Behavioral sociology
- Chinese sociology
- Collective behavior
- Community informatics
- Comparative sociology
- Conflict theory
- Criminology/Criminal justice (outline)
- Critical management studies
- Critical sociology
- Cultural sociology
- Cultural studies/ethnic studies
- Demography/Population
- Digital sociology
- Dramaturgical sociology
- Economic sociology
- Educational sociology
- Empirical sociology
- Environmental sociology
- Evolutionary sociology
- Feminist sociology
- Figurational sociology
- Futures studies (outline)
- Gender studies
- Historical sociology
- Human ecology
- Humanistic sociology
- Industrial sociology
- Interactionism
- Interpretive sociology
- Jealousy sociology
- Macrosociology
- Marxist sociology
- Mathematical sociology
- Medical sociology
- Mesosociology
- Microsociology
- Military sociology
- Natural resource sociology
- Organizational studies
- Phenomenological sociology
- Policy sociology
- Polish sociology
- Psychoanalytic sociology
- Science studies/Science and technology studies
- Sexology
- Social capital
- Social change
- Social conflict theory
- Social control
- Social economy
- Social philosophy
- Social policy
- Social psychology
- Social research
- Social stratification
- Social theory
- Social transformation
- Sociobiology
- Sociocybernetics
- Sociolinguistics
- Sociological theory
- Sociology of aging
- Sociology of agriculture
- Sociology of art
- Sociology of autism
- Sociology of childhood
- Sociology of conflict
- Sociology of culture
- Sociology of cyberspace
- Sociology of development
- Sociology of deviance
- Sociology of disaster
- Sociology of education
- Sociology of emotions
- Sociology of fatherhood
- Sociology of finance
- Sociology of food
- Sociology of gender
- Sociology of generations
- Sociology of globalization
- Sociology of government
- Sociology of health and illness
- Sociology of human consciousness
- Sociology of immigration
- Sociology of knowledge
- Sociology of language
- Sociology of law
- Sociology of leisure
- Sociology of literature
- Sociology of markets
- Sociology of marriage
- Sociology of motherhood
- Sociology of music
- Sociology of natural resources
- Sociology of organizations
- Sociology of peace, war, and social conflict
- Sociology of punishment
- Sociology of race and ethnic relations
- Sociology of religion
- Sociology of risk
- Sociology of science
- Sociology of scientific knowledge
- Sociology of social change
- Sociology of social movements
- Sociology of space
- Sociology of sport
- Sociology of technology
- Sociology of terrorism
- Sociology of the body
- Sociology of the family
- Sociology of the history of science
- Sociology of the Internet
- Sociology of work
- Sociomusicology
- Structural sociology
- Theoretical sociology
- Urban studies or Urban sociology/Rural sociology
- Victimology
- Visual sociology
Natural sciences[edit]
Biology[edit]
- Aerobiology
- Anatomy
- Biochemistry (outline)
- Bioinformatics
- Biophysics (outline)
- Biotechnology (outline)
- Botany (outline)
- Cell biology (outline)
- Chronobiology
- Computational biology
- Cryobiology
- Developmental biology
- Ecology (outline)
- Endocrinology
- Evolutionary biology
- Genetics (outline)
- Histology
- Human biology
- Immunology (outline)
- Limnology
- Linnaean taxonomy
- Marine biology
- Mathematical biology
- Microbiology
- Molecular biology
- Mycology
- Neuroscience (outline)
- Nutrition (outline)
- Paleobiology
- Parasitology
- Pathology
- Physiology
- Structural Biology
- Systematics (Taxonomy)
- Systems biology
- Virology
- Xenobiology
- Zoology (outline)
Chemistry[edit]
- Agrochemistry
- Analytical chemistry
- Astrochemistry
- Atmospheric chemistry
- Biochemistry (outline)
- Chemical biology
- Chemical engineering (outline)
- Cheminformatics
- Computational chemistry
- Cosmochemistry
- Electrochemistry
- Environmental chemistry
- Femtochemistry
- Flavor
- Flow chemistry
- Geochemistry
- Green chemistry
- Histochemistry
- Hydrogenation
- Immunochemistry
- Inorganic chemistry
- Marine chemistry
- Mathematical chemistry
- Mechanochemistry
- Medicinal chemistry
- Molecular biology
- Molecular mechanics
- Nanotechnology
- Natural product chemistry
- Neurochemistry
- Oenology
- Organic chemistry (outline)
- Organometallic chemistry
- Petrochemistry
- Pharmacology
- Photochemistry
- Physical chemistry
- Physical organic chemistry
- Phytochemistry
- Polymer chemistry
- Quantum chemistry
- Radiochemistry
- Solid-state chemistry
- Sonochemistry
- Supramolecular chemistry
- Surface chemistry
- Synthetic chemistry
- Theoretical chemistry
- Thermochemistry
Earth sciences[edit]
- Edaphology
- Environmental chemistry
- Environmental science
- Gemology
- Geochemistry
- Geodesy
- Geography (outline)
- Geology (outline)
- Geomorphology
- Geophysics (outline)
- Glaciology
- Hydrogeology
- Hydrology (outline)
- Meteorology (outline)
- Mineralogy
- Oceanography
- Paleontology
- Pedology
- Petrology
- Sedimentology
- Soil science
- Speleology
- Tectonics
- Volcanology
Space sciences[edit]
- Astrobiology
- Astronomy (outline)
- Astrophysics
- Interstellar medium
- Numerical simulations
- Physical cosmology
- Stellar astrophysics
- Planetary science
Physics[edit]
- Acoustics
- Applied physics
- Astrophysics
- Atomic, molecular, and optical physics
- Biophysics (outline)
- Computational physics
- Condensed matter physics
- Cryogenics
- Electromagnetism
- Elementary particle physics
- Experimental physics
- Fluid dynamics
- Geophysics (outline)
- Mathematical physics
- Mechanics
- Medical physics
- Molecular physics
- Newtonian dynamics
- Nuclear physics
- Optics
- Plasma physics
- Quantum physics
- Solid mechanics
- Solid state physics
- Statistical mechanics
- Theoretical physics
- Thermodynamics
- Vehicle dynamics
Formal sciences[edit]
Computer Science[edit]
Also a branch of electrical engineering
- Logic in computer science
- Algorithms
- Artificial intelligence (outline)
- Data structures
- Computer architecture
- Computer graphics
- Computer communications (networks)
- Computer security and reliability
- Computing in mathematics, natural sciences, engineering, and medicine
- Computing in social sciences, arts, humanities, and professions
- Community informatics
- Computational economics
- Computational finance
- Computational sociology
- Digital humanities (Humanities computing)
- History of computer hardware
- History of computer science (outline)
- Humanistic informatics
- Database (outline)
- Data management
- Data mining
- Information management
- Information retrieval
- Knowledge management
- Multimedia, hypermedia
- Distributed computing
- Human-computer interaction
- Information science (outline)
- Operating systems
- Parallel computing
- Programming languages
- Quantum computing
- Software engineering
- Theory of computation
- VLSI design
Mathematics[edit]
- See also: Branches of mathematics and Mathematics Subject Classification
- Mathematical logic and Foundations of mathematics
- Algebra (outline)
- Analysis
- Probability theory
- Geometry (outline) and Topology
- Number theory
Statistics[edit]
Applied sciences[edit]
Engineering[edit]
- Bioengineering
- Catalysis
- Materials engineering
- Molecular engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Polymer engineering
- Process design
- Process engineering
- Reaction engineering
- Thermodynamics
- Transport phenomena
- Coastal engineering
- Earthquake engineering
- Ecological engineering
- Environmental engineering
- Geotechnical engineering
- Hydraulic engineering
- Mining engineering
- Transportation engineering
- Structural engineering
- Structural mechanics
- Surveying
- Applied physics
- Computer engineering (outline)
- Computer science
- Control systems engineering
- Electronic engineering
- Engineering physics
- Information theory
- Mechatronics
- Power engineering
- Quantum computing
- Robotics (outline)
- Semiconductors
- Telecommunications engineering
Materials Science and Engineering
- Biomaterials
- Ceramic engineering
- Crystallography
- Nanomaterials
- Photonics
- Physical Metallurgy
- Polymer engineering
- Polymer science
- Semiconductors
- Aerospace engineering
- Acoustical engineering
- Automotive engineering
- Biomedical engineering
- Continuum mechanics
- Fluid mechanics
- Heat transfer
- Industrial engineering
- Manufacturing engineering
- Marine engineering
- Mass transfer
- Mechatronics
- Nanoengineering
- Ocean engineering
- Optical engineering
- Robotics
- Thermodynamics
- Vehicle engineering
- Chaos theory
- Complex system
- Complex systems
- Conceptual systems
- Control theory
- Cybernetics
- Network science
- Operations research
- Systems biology
- System dynamics
- Systems ecology
- Systems engineering
- Systems psychology
- Systems theory
- Systems theory in anthropology
Medicine and health sciences[edit]
- Alternative medicine
- Cardiology
- Clinical laboratory sciences/Clinical pathology/Laboratory medicine
- Clinical physiology
- Dentistry (outline)
- Dermatology
- Emergency medicine (outline)
- Endocrinology
- Gastroenterology
- Geriatrics
- Gynaecology
- Health informatics/Clinical informatics
- Hematology
- Infectious disease
- Intensive care medicine
- Internal medicine
- Medical toxicology
- Music therapy
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Nursing
- Nutrition (outline) and dietetics
- Obstetrics (outline)
- Occupational hygiene
- Occupational therapy
- Occupational toxicology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Optometry
- Orthoptics
- Otolaryngology
- Pathology
- Pediatrics
- Pharmaceutical sciences
- Physical fitness
- Group Fitness / aerobics
- Kinesiology / Exercise science / Human performance
- Personal fitness training
- Physical therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Podiatry
- Preventive medicine
- Primary care
- Psychiatry (outline)
- Psychology (outline)
- Public health
- Pulmonology
- Radiology
- Recreational therapy
- Rehabilitation medicine
- Respiratory therapy
- Rheumatology
- Sleep medicine
- Speech-language pathology
- Sports medicine
- Surgery
- Urology
- Veterinary medicine
See also[edit]
- Academia (outline)
- Academic genealogy
- Curriculum
- Multidisciplinary approach
- Interdisciplinarity
- Transdisciplinarity
- Professions
- Classification of Instructional Programs
- Joint Academic Coding System
- List of fields of doctoral studies in the United States
References[edit]
- 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[edit]
- 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) 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.
