The 50 Most Popular College Majors, According to Web Searches

Anyone with a college degree knows that picking a major and sticking to it isn’t easy. The University of Tulsa states that roughly 80 percent of college students change their major at least once. If you’re trying to decide which subject is best for you, take a look at the 50 most-searched majors in 2024.

The online tutoring website Wiingy created this data set using Google’s Keyword Planner, a free resource that shows how many searches keywords get per month. After compiling a list of common college majors, the researchers gathered data for specific keywords and phrases such as “[major] college courses,” “which school has the best [major] program,” and “best school for [major].” Wiingy combined the total search volume for each term and then listed the results from most popular to least. The data was sampled from a 12-month period.

Psychology majors came out on top, with an average monthly search volume of 37,950. The study of the human mind encompasses many subtopics, including social, child, and developmental psychology. Although the major is No.1 on the popularity scale, many undergraduates who major in social and behavioral sciences end up regretting their choice, according to one recent survey.

Next on the list is computer science, which focuses on the theory behind programming, computation, and operating systems. The major received 27,944 average monthly searches, and with good reason. Computer science degrees offer one of the highest returns on investment, placing third in a 2024 list of the most lucrative majors. Those specializing in this profession go on to earn a median early career salary of $78,000.

The third most popular major is business administration. In short, this career teaches students how to run an organization well. Courses range from learning to analyze data and make sound business decisions to coordinating resources and finances. The degrees earned an average monthly search volume of 27,480.

The 50 most popular degrees vary widely, from music to marine biology. You can find the entire list below.

Rank	Major	Average Monthly Search Volume
1	Psychology	37,950
2	Computer Science	27,944
3	Business Administration	27,480
4	Music	27,129
5	Communications	26,805
6	Criminal Justice	25,259
7	Social Work	23,698
8	Accounting	19,721
9	Business Management	18,811
10	Finance	18,526
11	Engineering	16,823
12	Nursing	16,242
13	Marketing	15,900
14	Biology	14,480
15	Forensic Science	12,370
16	Hospitality	12,248
17	Economics	11,890
18	Italian	11,007
19	Kinesiology	10,066
20	Architecture	9743
21	Neuroscience	9708
22	Mathematics	9568
23	Spanish	9214
24	Pharmacy	9143
25	Sociology	8904
26	Nutrition	8653
27	Interior Design	7073
28	Graphic Design	6483
29	Anthropology	6319
30	Politics	6268
31	Education	6020
32	Public Relations	5816
33	History	5345
34	Chemistry	5275
35	Zoology	5034
36	International Relations	4951
37	Counseling	4873
38	Criminology	4822
39	Physics	4803
40	Environmental Science	4802
41	Journalism	4737
42	Theology	4730
43	Biochemistry	4429
44	Animal Science	4378
45	Photography	4262
46	Film	4256
47	Agriculture	4151
48	Pre-law	4133
49	Computer Engineering	4032
50	Marine Biology	3861

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