This report presents tabulations from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) regarding the educational attainment and associated social, economic, and demographic characteristics of the population of the United States. Education is often measured by the number of years of schooling an individual has completed. In this report, educational attainment is based on formal degrees received and the field of study in which the degrees were obtained. The primary tabulations in this report show numbers of persons by their highest attained degree and the field of the degree, along with some basic measures of their current economic and employment status. Another tabulation provides information about the type of work-related training programs in which individuals have been involved. This report also includes tabulations not available in previous versions. The new tabulations show the number of persons by highest degree, field, and current occupation, as well as some information on the average length of time spent in obtaining bachelor’s and higher degrees.

This analysis is based on data collected as part of the second wave (interview) of the 1990 SIPP panel. These data were gathered in the 4-month period from June through September 1990.