Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021
Major field of study (based on the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Canada 2021)

Definition

Field of study refers to the discipline or area of learning or training associated with a particular course or program of study.

This 'Major field of study' variable refers to the predominant discipline or area of learning or training of a person's highest completed postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree, classified according to the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Canada 2021.

This variable can be used either independently or in conjunction with the 'Highest certificate, diploma or degree' variable. When the latter is used with 'Major field of study,' it should be noted that different fields of study will be more common for different types of postsecondary qualifications. At the detailed program level, some programs are only offered at certain levels of education.

There was an explicit instruction in the questionnaire which instructed respondents to be as specific as possible in indicating a subfield or subcategory of specialization within a broad discipline or area of training.

This variable is reported for persons aged 15 years and over in private households.

Statistical unit(s)

• Person

Classification(s)

• Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Canada 2021 Version 1.0

Reported in

2021 and 2016 (25% sample); 2011^{Footnote 1} (30% sample); 2006, 2001, 1996, 1991 and 1986 (20% sample).

Reported for

Population aged 15 years and over in private households

Question number(s)

Coded variable: Question 35

Responses

Major field of study was a write‑in response. This variable was created by assigning a field of study code from the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Canada 2021.

See Appendix 2.13 Major field of study – Classification based on the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Canada 2021 codes for the CIP Canada 2021 structure.

Respondents who completed a paper questionnaire selected 'No certificate, diploma or degree higher than high school' for persons without a postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree.

Respondents who completed an electronic questionnaire automatically skipped question 35 on major field of study when they indicated they had obtained no postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree in question 34.

Remarks

CIP Canada 2021 is subdivided into three levels:

• 50 'series' (a series represents the most general groupings of programs that are related in subject area, 2‑digit codes);
• 454 'subseries' (an intermediate grouping of programs that have comparable content and objectives, 4‑digit codes); and
• 2,119 instructional program classes (which represent the most detailed and specific subjects of study, 6‑digit codes).

There are also three variants of CIP Canada 2021:

• The primary groupings variant consists of 13 primary groupings, 12 of which are used for the Census of Population. (The category which includes courses in personal improvement and leisure is not used.) These are broader categories than the series; the series are placed within the primary groupings, except for series 30 (Multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary studies), which has its subseries broken up between multiple primary groupings.
• The alternative primary groupings variant is the same as the primary groupings, except that most of the subseries within series 30 are gathered into larger categories within the primary groupings (e.g., 'Interdisciplinary humanities' within the primary grouping of 'Humanities').
• The STEM/BHASE variant can be used to examine the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics and computer sciences) and BHASE (non-STEM; e.g. business, health, humanities, arts, social and behavioural sciences, education) fields of study.

Some series and their subcomponents are not used when coding major field of study: series 21, 32 to 37 and 53, which represent non‑credit and personal improvement fields of study.

For more information on the CIP classification, please see Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Canada 2021.

Note(s)

Related 2021 data products

• Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population (98-316-X2021001)
• Focus on Geography Series, 2021 Census of Population (98-404-X2021001)
• Census Program Data Viewer (CPDV) (98-507-X2021001)
• Employment income by occupation, major field of study and highest level of education: Canada (98-10-0412-01)
• Highest level of education by Indigenous identity, Indigenous geography and labour force status: Canada, provinces and territories (98-10-0423-01)
• Highest level of education by major field of study (summary) and Indigenous identity: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions with a population 5,000 or more (98-10-0415-01)
• Highest level of education by major field of study and Indigenous identity: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0414-01)
• Highest level of education by major field of study, visible minority and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts (98-10-0431-01)
• Highest level of education by major field of study, visible minority and immigrant status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0430-01)
• Labour force status by major field of study (detailed, 4-digit) and highest level of education: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0401-01)
• Labour force status by major field of study, highest level of education, location of study compared with location of residence, age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0445-01)
• Location of study compared with location of residence by highest level of education: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0395-01)
• Major field of study (Classification of Instructional Programs 2016, detailed, 4-digit) by highest level of education: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0394-01)
• Major field of study (detailed, 4-digit) by highest level of education: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0388-01)
• Major field of study by highest level of education: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (98-10-0390-01)
• Occupation by major field of study (detailed, 4-digit): Canada (98-10-0403-01)
• Occupation unit group by highest level of education, major field of study, age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories (98-10-0447-01)