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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 societies to which they belong and the academic journals in which they publish research.
Contents
- Humanities
- Performing arts
- Visual arts
- History
- Languages and literature
- Law
- Philosophy
- Religious studies
- Divinity
- Theology
- Religion
- Social science
- Anthropology
- Business
- Economics
- Futurology
- Geography
- Linguistics
- Political science
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Interdisciplinary studies
- Natural science
- Physical Science
- Life science
- Formal science
- Computer science
- Logic
- Mathematics
- Applied science
- Agriculture
- Architecture and design
- Education
- Engineering and technology
- 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
- Notes
- Further reading
- External links
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 tite of the university's governance. The proper criteria for organizing knowledge into disciplines is open to debate.