The Three-way Stratification of Postsecondary Education: The Effect of Degree, Prestige, and Major on Income

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Abstract

Considering the constant expansion of higher education during the recent decades in the United States, this study delves into the stratified structure of postsecondary education and its effect on individual earnings. Postsecondary education is stratified not only vertically by academic degrees, but also horizontally by college prestige and the field of study. These vertical and horizontal factors of the educational stratification have the life long lasting effect on socioeconomic outcomes of college degree holders.
Using the data from the 2010 and 2013 National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), we evaluate how the effect of college prestige on the earnings premium of bachelor degree holders varies relying on their field of study. We find that the effect of college prestige on earnings premium is greater for Art/humanities and Social Science degree holders than STEM and Health degree holders. The results implies that college prestige is a more influential factor of earnings premium among those whose skills and abilities are not easily measured in a quantitative way. We are expanding our analysis to include graduate degree holders.

Author

• Byeongdon Oh, University of Kansas