Downloadable lists of the changes:
- HERD 2016 Fields Changes from FY 2015 HERD Survey - List Format [PDF]
- HERD 2016 Fields Changes from FY 2015 HERD Survey - Table Format [PDF]
A. Computer and Information Sciences
- Artificial intelligence
- Computer and information technology administration and management
- Computer science
- Computer software and media applications
- Computer systems analysis
- Computer systems networking and telecommunications
- Data processing
- Information sciences, studies
- Information technology
- Management information systems (moved to Non‐S&E Fields, Business Management and Business Administration)
B. Engineering
1. Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical Engineering
- Aerodynamics
- Aerospace engineering
- Space technology
2. Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering
- Biological and biosystems engineering
- Biomaterials engineering
- Biomedical technology
- Medical engineering
3. Chemical Engineering
- Biochemical engineering
- Chemical and biomolecular engineering
- Engineering chemistry
- Paper science
- Petroleum engineering (moved to Other Engineering)
- Petroleum refining process
- Polymer, plastics engineering
- Wood science (moved to Life Sciences, Agricultural Sciences)
4. Civil Engineering
- Architectural engineering
- Architecture (moved to Non‐S&E Fields, Other Non‐S&E Fields)
- Construction engineering
- Engineering management, administration
- Environmental, environmental health engineering
- Geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering
- Sanitary engineering
- Structural engineering
- Surveying engineering
- Transportation and highway engineering
- Water resources engineering
5. Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering
- Communications engineering
- Computer engineering
- Computer hardware engineering
- Computer software engineering
- Electrical and electronics engineering
- Laser and optical engineering
- Power
- Telecommunications engineering
6. (NEW) Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
- Industrial engineering (moved from Other Engineering)
- Manufacturing engineering (moved from Other Engineering)
- Operations research (moved from Mathematics and Statistics)
- Systems engineering (moved from Other Engineering)
7. Mechanical Engineering
- Electromechanical engineering
- Engineering mechanics (moved to Other Engineering)
- Mechatronics, robotics, and automation engineering
8. Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
- Ceramic sciences and engineering
- Geophysical, geological engineering
- Materials engineering
- Materials science (moved to Physical Sciences, Materials Science)
- Metallurgical engineering
- Mining and mineral engineering
- Textile sciences and engineering
- Welding
9. Other Engineering
- Agricultural engineering
- Engineering design
- Engineering mechanics, physics, and science (moved from Mechanical Engineering)
- Forest engineering
- Industrial engineering (moved to Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering)
- Manufacturing engineering (moved to Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering)
- Nanotechnology
- Naval architecture and marine engineering
- Nuclear engineering
- Ocean engineering
- Petroleum engineering (moved from Chemical Engineering)
- Systems engineering (moved to Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering)
- Other engineering fields that cannot be classified using the fields above
C. Geosciences, Atmospheric, and Ocean Sciences (previously Environmental Sciences)
1. Atmospheric Science and Meteorology
- Aeronomy
- Atmospheric chemistry and climatology
- Atmospheric physics and dynamics
- Extraterrestrial atmospheres
- Meteorology
- Solar
- Weather modification
2. Geological and Earth Sciences
- Cartography (moved to Social Sciences, Other Social Sciences)
- Earth and planetary sciences
- Geochemistry
- Geodesy and gravity
- Geology
- Geomagnetism
- Geophysics and seismology
- Hydrology and water resources
- Minerology and petrology
- Paleomagnetism
- Paleontology
- Physical geography
- Stratigraphy and sedimentation
- Surveying
3. Ocean Sciences and Marine Sciences
- Biological oceanography
- Geological oceanography
- Marine biology
- Marine oceanography
- Marine sciences
- Oceanography, chemical and physical
4. Other Geosciences, Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences
- Other fields that cannot be classified using the fields listed above
D. Life Sciences
1. Agricultural Sciences
- Agricultural business and management
- Agricultural chemistry
- Agricultural economics (moved from Social Sciences, Economics)
- Agricultural engineering—report in Engineering
- Agricultural production operations
- Animal sciences
- Applied horticulture and horticultural business services
- Aquaculture
- Conservation (moved to Natural Resources and Conservation)
- Fishing and fisheries sciences and management
- Food science and technology
- Forestry
- International agriculture
- Landscape architecture (moved to Non S&E Fields, Other Non‐S&E Fields)
- Plant sciences
- Renewable natural resources (moved to Natural Resources and Conservation)
- Soil sciences
- Veterinary medicine (moved to Health Sciences)
- Wood science (moved from Engineering, Chemical Engineering)
2. Biological and Biomedical Sciences (previously Biological Sciences)
- Allergies and immunology
- Biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular biology
- Biogeography
- Biology and biomedical sciences, general
- Biomathematics, bioinformatics, and computational biology
- Biotechnology
- Botany and plant biology
- Cell, cellular biology, and anatomical sciences
- Epidemiology, ecology and population biology
- Foods and nutrition studies (moved to Non‐S&E Fields, Other Non‐S&E Fields)
- Genetics
- Microbiological sciences and immunology
- Molecular medicine
- Neurobiology and neuroscience (moved from Health Sciences)
- Nutritional sciences (renamed Dietetics and clinical nutrition services and moved to Health Sciences)
- Pharmacology and toxicology
- Physical anthropology (moved to Social Sciences, Anthropology)
- Physiology, pathology and related sciences
- Veterinary medicine (moved to Health Sciences)
- Zoology, animal biology
3. Health Sciences (previously Medical Sciences)
- Advanced, graduate dentistry and oral sciences
- Allied health and medical assisting services
- Bioethics, medical ethics
- Clinical/medical laboratory science/research and allied professions (moved from Other Life Sciences)
- Clinical medicine research (includes several medical fields that had been previously listed separately)
- Communication disorders sciences and services (moved from Other Life Sciences)
- Dentistry
- Dietetics and clinical nutrition services (previously Nutritional sciences; moved from Biological and Biomedical Sciences)
- Gerontology, health sciences (moved from Other Life Sciences)
- Health and medical administrative services (moved from Other Life Sciences)
- Health, medical preparatory programs
- Kinesiology and exercise science
- Medical clinical science, graduate medical studies
- Medical illustration and informatics
- Medicine
- Mental health
- Neurosciences (moved to Biological and Biomedical Sciences)
- Nursing (moved from Other Life Sciences)
- Optometry
- Osteopathic medicine, osteopathy
- Pharmacology (moved to Biological and Biomedical Sciences)
- Pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, and administration
- Podiatric medicine, podiatry
- Public health
- Radiological science
- Registered nursing, nursing administration, nursing research and clinical nursing (moved from Other Life Sciences)
- Rehabilitation and therapeutic professions (Some subdisciplines moved from Other Life Sciences.)
- Veterinary biomedical and clinical sciences
- Veterinary medicine (Some subdisciplines moved from Agricultural Sciences or Biological and Biomedical Sciences.)
4. (NEW) Natural Resources and Conservation
- Natural resources conservation and research (moved from Agricultural Sciences)
- Natural resources economics (moved from Social Sciences, Economics)
- Natural resources management and policy
- Renewable natural resources (moved from Agricultural Sciences)
- Wildlife and wildlands science and management
5. Other Life Sciences
- Clinical/medical laboratory technologies (moved to Health Sciences)
- Communication disorders sciences and services (moved to Health Sciences)
- Gerontology, health sciences (moved to Health Sciences)
- Health and medical administrative services (moved to Health Sciences)
- Nursing (moved to Health Sciences)
- Occupational therapy (part of Rehabilitation and therapeutic professions; moved to Health Sciences)
- Physical therapy (part of Rehabilitation and therapeutic professions; moved to Health Sciences)
- Registered nursing, nursing administration, nursing research and clinical nursing (moved to Health Sciences)
- Rehabilitation services (part of Rehabilitation and therapeutic professions; moved to Health Sciences)
- Therapeutic services (part of Rehabilitation and therapeutic professions; moved to Health Sciences)
- Other life sciences that cannot be classified using the fields listed above
E. Mathematics and Statistics
- Applied mathematics
- Mathematics
- Operations research (moved to Engineering, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering)
- Statistics
F. Physical Sciences
1. Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Astronomy
- Astrophysics
- Planetary astronomy and science
2. Chemistry (except Biochemistry—report in Biological and Biomedical Sciences)
- Analytical chemistry
- Chemical physics (moved from Physics)
- Environmental chemistry
- Forensic chemistry
- Inorganic chemistry
- Organic chemistry
- Organo-metallic chemistry
- Pharmaceutical chemistry (moved to Life Sciences, Health Sciences)
- Physical chemistry
- Polymer chemistry
- Theoretical chemistry
3. (NEW) Materials Science
- Materials chemistry
- Materials science (moved from Engineering, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering)
4. Physics
- Acoustics
- Atomic, molecular physics
- Chemical physics (moved to Chemistry)
- Condensed matter and materials physics
- Elementary particle physics
- Mathematical physics
- Nuclear physics
- Optics, optical sciences
- Plasma, high‐temperature physics
- Theoretical physics
5. Other Physical Sciences
- Other physical sciences that cannot be classified using the fields listed above
G. Psychology
- Animal behavior (part of Zoology; moved to Life Sciences, Biological and Biomedical Sciences)
- Art therapy (part of Rehabilitation and therapeutic professions; moved to Life
- Sciences, Health Sciences)
- Clinical psychology
- Counseling and applied psychology
- Human development
- Research and experimental psychology
H. Social Sciences
1. (NEW) Anthropology
- Cultural anthropology (moved from Sociology, Demography, and Population Studies)
- Medical anthropology
- Physical and biological anthropology (moved from Life Sciences, Biological and Biomedical Sciences)
2. Economics
- Agricultural economics (moved to Life Sciences, Agricultural Sciences)
- Applied economics
- Business development
- Development economics and international development
- Econometrics and quantitative economics
- Industrial economics
- International economics
- Labor economics
- Managerial economics
- Public finance and fiscal policy
- Resource economics (moved to Life Sciences, Natural Resources and Conservation)
3. Political Science and Government
- Comparative government
- Government
- International relations and affairs (moved to Other Social Sciences)
- Legal systems
- Political economy
- Political science
- Political theory
- Public administration (moved to Non‐S&E Fields, Other Non‐S&E fields)
- Public policy analysis (moved to Other Social Sciences)
- Regional studies (moved to Other Social Sciences)
4. Sociology, Demography, and Population Studies
- Anthropology, cultural and social (moved to Anthropology)
- Comparative and historical sociology
- Complex organizations
- Cultural and social structure
- Demography and population studies
- Group interactions
- Rural sociology
- Social problems and welfare theory
- Sociology
5. Other Social Sciences
- Archeology
- Area, ethnic, cultural, gender, and group studies
- Cartography (moved from Geosciences, Atmospheric, and Ocean Sciences, Geological and Earth Sciences)
- City, urban, community and regional planning
- Criminal science and corrections
- Criminology
- Geography
- Gerontology, social sciences
- History of science (moved to Non‐S&E Fields, Humanities)
- International relations and national security studies (moved from Political Science and Government)
- Linguistics
- Public policy analysis (moved from Political Science and Government)
- Regional studies (moved from Political Science and Government)
- Urban studies, affairs
I. Other Sciences
Use this category for R&D that involves at least one S&E field (rows A–H) if it is impossible to report multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary R&D expenditures in specific fields.
J. Non‐S&E Fields
1. Education
- Education administration and supervision
- Education research
- Teacher education, specific levels and methods
- Teaching fields
2. Law
- Law
- Legal studies
3. Humanities
- English language and literature, letters
- Foreign languages and literatures
- History, including history and philosophy of science and technology
- Humanities, general
- Liberal arts and sciences
- Philosophy and religious studies
- Theology and religious vocations
4. Visual and Performing Arts
- Drama, theatre arts and stagecraft
- Film, video, and photographic arts
- Fine and studio arts
- Music
5. Business Management and Business Administration (previously Business and Management)
- Business administration
- Business management
- Business, managerial economics
- Fields of R&D for the FY 2016 Higher Education
- Research and Development Survey
- Management information systems and services (moved from Computer and Information Sciences)
- Marketing management and research
6. Communication and Communications Technologies (previously Communication, Journalism, and Library Science)
- Communication and media studies
- Communications technologies
- Journalism
- Library science (moved to Other Non‐S&E Fields)
- Radio, television, and digital communication
7. Social Work
- (no specific examples)
8. Other Non‐S&E Fields
- Architecture (moved from Engineering, Civil Engineering)
- Family, consumer sciences and human sciences
- Foods, nutrition, and wellness studies (moved from Life Sciences, Biological
- and Biomedical Sciences)
- Landscape architecture (moved from Life Sciences, Agricultural Sciences)
- Library science (moved from Communication and Communications
- Technologies)
- Military technology and applied science
- Parks, sports, recreation, leisure and fitness
- Public administration and public affairs (moved from Social Sciences, Political Science and Government)
- Other non‐S&E fields that cannot be classified using the fields listed above.
- Also, use this category for R&D that involves multiple non‐S&E fields if it is impossible to report multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary R&D expenditures in specific fields.