An academic discipline or field of study is a branch of study, taught and researched as part of higher education. A scholar's discipline is commonly defined by the university faculties and learned society to which they belong and the in which they publish research.
Disciplines vary between well-established ones in almost all universities with well-defined rosters of journals and conferences and nascent ones supported by only a few universities and publications. A discipline may have branches, which 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 fundamental identity felt by its scholars. Lower levels of the hierarchy are sub-disciplines that do generally not have any role in the title of the university's governance. The proper criteria for organizing knowledge into disciplines is open to debate.
Humanities
Performing arts
Visual arts
History
Also regarded as a Social science
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African history
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South African history
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Egyptian history
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East and Central African history
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Nigerian history
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American history
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Pan-American history
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North American history
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American history
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Canadian history
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Mexican history
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Cuban history
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South American history
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Latin American history
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Brazilian history
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Colombian history
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Venezuelan history
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Peruvian history
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Argentine history
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Pre-Columbian era
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Mayan history
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Aztec history
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Inca history
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Mississippian culture
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Ancient history
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Art History
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Asian history
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Chinese history
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Japanese history
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Korean history
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Mongolian history
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Indian history (outline)
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Indonesian history
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Turkish history
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Iranian history
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Vietnamese history
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Philippine history
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Australian history
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Cultural history
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Ecclesiastical history of the Catholic Church
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Economic history
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Environmental history
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European history
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British history
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French history
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German history
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Dutch history
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Italian history
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Spanish history
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Portuguese history
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Polish history
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Balkan history
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Scandinavian history
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Swedish history
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Norwegian history
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Danish history
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Finnish history
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Icelandic history
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Russian history
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Intellectual history
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Jewish history
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Latin American history
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Modern history
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Philosophical history
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Ancient philosophy
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Contemporary philosophy
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Medieval philosophy
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Modern philosophy
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Political history
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History of political thought
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Pre-Columbian era history
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Prehistory
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Public history
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Russian history
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Scientific history
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Technological history
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World history
Languages and literature
Linguistics listed in Social science
Law
Also regarded as a Social science
Philosophy
Also regarded as the separate, an entry at the highest level of the hierarchy
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Aesthetics (outline) / Philosophy of art
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Applied philosophy
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Philosophy of economics
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Philosophy of education
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Philosophy of engineering
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Philosophy of history
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Philosophy of language
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Philosophy of law
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Philosophy of mathematics
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Philosophy of music
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Philosophy of psychology
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Philosophy of economics
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Philosophy of religion
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Philosophy of physical sciences
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Philosophy of biology
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Philosophy of chemistry
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Philosophy of physics
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Philosophy of social science
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Philosophy of technology
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Systems philosophy
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Political philosophy and Social philosophy
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Epistemology (outline)
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Justification
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Reasoning errors
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Ethics (outline)
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Logic (outline)
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Mathematical logic
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Philosophical logic
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Meta-philosophy
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Metaphysics (outline)
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Philosophical traditions and schools
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African philosophy
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Analytic philosophy
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Aristotelianism
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Continental philosophy
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Eastern philosophy
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Feminist philosophy
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Islamic philosophy
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Platonism
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History of philosophy
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Ancient philosophy
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Medieval philosophy
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Modern philosophy
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Contemporary philosophy
Religious studies
Also regarded as a social science
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History of Religion
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Anthropology of Religion
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Sociology of Religion
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Psychology of Religion
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Phenomenology of Religion
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Philosophy of Religion
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Comparative religion
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Mythology and Folklore
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Theism
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Irreligion
Divinity
Theology
Religion
Social science
Anthropology
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Archaeology (outline)
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Biocultural anthropology
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Feminist archaeology
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Maritime archaeology
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Biological anthropology
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Anthrozoology
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Paleoanthropology
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Evolutionary anthropology
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Forensic anthropology
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Linguistic anthropology
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Sociocultural anthropology
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Anthropological criminology
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Anthropological linguistics
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Anthrozoology
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Biological anthropology
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Gene-culture coevolution
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Evolutionary anthropology
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Forensic anthropology
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Human behavioral ecology
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Human evolution
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Medical anthropology
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Molecular anthropology
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Neuroanthropology
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Nutritional anthropology
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Paleoanthropology
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Population genetics
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Primatology
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Biocultural anthropology
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Cultural anthropology
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Linguistic anthropology
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Social anthropology
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Anthropology of art
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Anthropology of institutions
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Anthropology of media
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Visual anthropology
Archaeology
Business
Economics
Futurology
(also known as future studies or prospective studies)
Main articles: Outline of futures studies and Futures studies
Geography
Linguistics
Also regarded as a formal science
Political science
Psychology
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Abnormal psychology
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Applied psychology
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Biological psychology
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Clinical neuropsychology
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Clinical psychology
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Cognitive psychology
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Community psychology
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Comparative psychology
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Conservation psychology
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Consumer psychology
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Counseling psychology
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Criminal psychology
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Cultural psychology
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Developmental psychology
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Differential psychology
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Ecological psychology
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Educational psychology
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Environmental psychology
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Evolutionary psychology
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Experimental psychology
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Group dynamics
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Family psychology
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Feminine psychology
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Forensic developmental psychology
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Forensic psychology
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Health psychology
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Humanistic psychology
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Indigenous psychology
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Legal psychology
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Mathematical psychology
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Media psychology
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Medical psychology
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Military psychology
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Moral psychology and Descriptive ethics
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Music psychology
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Neuropsychology
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Occupational health psychology
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Occupational psychology
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Organizational psychology (a.k.a., Industrial Psychology)
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Parapsychology (outline)
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Pediatric psychology
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Pedology (children study)
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Personality psychology
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Phenomenology
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Political psychology
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Positive psychology
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Problem solving
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Psychoanalysis
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Psychobiology
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Psychology of religion
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Psychometrics
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Psychopathology
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Psychophysics
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Quantitative psychology
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Rehabilitation psychology
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School psychology
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Social psychology
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Sport psychology
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Traffic psychology
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Transpersonal psychology
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Travel psychology
Sociology
Interdisciplinary studies
Area studies
Ethnic and cultural studies
Organizational studies
Natural science
Physical Science
Space sciences
Astronomy
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Astronomy (outline)
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Archaeoastronomy
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Astrometry
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Amateur astronomy
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Forensic astronomy
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Extragalactic astronomy
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Galactic astronomy
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High-energy astronomy
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Observational astronomy
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Radio astronomy
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Microwave astronomy
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Submillimetre astronomy
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Infrared astronomy
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Optical astronomy
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UV astronomy
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X-ray astronomy
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Gamma-ray astronomy
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Cosmic-ray astronomy
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Neutrino astronomy
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Gravitational wave astronomy
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Photometry
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Spectroscopy
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Stellar astronomy
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Astrophysics
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Celestial mechanics
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Compact objects
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Computational astrophysics
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Gravity
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Interstellar medium
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Numerical simulations
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Orbital mechanics
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Physical cosmology
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Relativistic astrophysics
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Star
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Space plasma physics
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Planetary science (alternatively, a part of earth science)
Physics
Chemistry
Earth science
Life science
Biology
Formal science
Computer science
Also a branch of electrical engineering
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Logic in computer science
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Operating systems
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Computational geometry
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Distributed algorithms
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Parallel algorithms
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Randomized algorithms
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Artificial intelligence (outline)
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Database
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Data science
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Data structures
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Computer architecture
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Computer graphics
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Computer communications (networks)
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Computer security and reliability
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Computing in mathematics, , engineering, and medicine
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Algebraic (symbolic) computation
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Computational biology (bioinformatics)
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Computational chemistry
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Computational mathematics
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Computational neuroscience
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Computational number theory
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Computational physics
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Computer-aided engineering
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Computational fluid dynamics
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Finite element analysis
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Numerical analysis
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Algebraic (symbolic) computation
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Scientific computing (Computational science)
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Computing in , The arts, humanities, and
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Community informatics
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Computational economics
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Computational finance
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Computational sociology
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Digital humanities (Humanities computing)
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History of computer hardware
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History of computer science (outline)
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Humanistic informatics
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(outline)
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Distributed databases
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Relational databases
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Data management
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Data mining
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Information science (outline)
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Information architecture
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Information management
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Information retrieval
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Information system
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Information technology
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Knowledge management
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Multimedia, hypermedia
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Sound and music computing
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Distributed computing
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Human-computer interaction
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Operating systems
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Parallel computing
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High-performance computing
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Computer program
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Computer programming
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Programming languages
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Compilers
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Programming paradigms
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Concurrent programming
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Functional programming
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Imperative programming
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Logic programming
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Object-oriented programming
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Program semantics
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Type theory
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Quantum computing
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Software engineering
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Theoretical computer science
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Theory of computation
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VLSI design
Logic
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Mathematical logic
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Philosophical logic
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Logic in computer science
Mathematics
Pure mathematics
Applied mathematics
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Approximation theory
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Combinatorics (outline)
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Cryptography
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Dynamical systems
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Game theory
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Graph theory
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Information theory
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Mathematical physics
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Quantum field theory
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Quantum gravity
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Quantum mechanics
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Statistical mechanics
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Numerical analysis
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Operations research
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Assignment problem
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Decision analysis
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Dynamic programming
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Inventory theory
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Linear programming
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Mathematical optimization
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Optimal maintenance
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Real options analysis
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Scheduling
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Stochastic processes
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Systems analysis
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Statistics (outline)
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Computational mathematics
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Theory of computation
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Computational complexity theory
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Information theory
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Cryptography
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Steganography
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Mathematical game
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Mathematical puzzle
Statistics
Applied science
Agriculture
Architecture and design
Education
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Comparative education
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Critical pedagogy
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Curriculum and instruction
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Alternative education
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Early childhood education
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Elementary education
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Secondary education
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Higher education
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Mastery learning
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Cooperative learning
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Agricultural education
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Art education
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Bilingual education
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Chemistry education
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Counselor education
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Language education
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Legal education
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Mathematics education
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Medical education
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Military education and training
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Music education
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Nursing education
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Outdoor education
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Peace education
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Physical education/Sports coaching
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Physics education
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Reading education
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Religious education
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Science education
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Special education
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Sex education
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Sociology of education
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Technology education
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Vocational education
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Educational leadership
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Educational philosophy
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Educational psychology
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Educational technology
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Distance education
Engineering and technology
Chemical engineering
Civil engineering
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Coastal engineering
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Earthquake engineering
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Ecological engineering
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Environmental engineering
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Geotechnical engineering
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Hydraulic engineering
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Mining engineering
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Transportation engineering
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Structural engineering
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Architectural engineering
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Structural mechanics
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Surveying
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Agricultural engineering
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Construction
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Infrastructure
Educational technology
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Instructional design
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Distance education
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Instructional simulation
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Human performance technology
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Knowledge management
Electrical engineering
Materials science
Mechanical engineering
Systems science
Environmental studies and forestry
Family and consumer science
Human physical performance and recreation
Journalism, media studies and communication
Library and museum studies
Medicine and health
Military sciences
Public administration
Public policy
Social work
Transportation
See also
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Academia (outline)
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Branches of science (outline)
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Classification of Instructional Programs
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Joint Academic Coding System
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List of fields of doctoral studies in the United States
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Art school
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Academic genealogy
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Curriculum
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Interdisciplinarity
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Knowledge organization
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Transdisciplinarity
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Classification of Instructional Programs
Notes
Further reading
External links