Meaning & use
field of study
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A particular subject or academic discipline that a person focuses on studying or researching.
Grammar: Countable; plural is 'fields of study'. Often used with 'in' or 'choose'.
Patterns
- field of study in something
- choose a field of study
- someone's field of study
Her field of study is marine biology.
He chose a field of study that combines computer science and linguistics.
The university offers many fields of study, from engineering to fine arts.
Word forms
| plural | fields of study |
|---|
Common combinations
- choose a field of study
- Students must choose a field of study by the end of their first year.
- field of study in
- She works in the field of study known as cognitive science.
- main field of study
- His main field of study is ancient history.
- related field of study
- Economics is a related field of study to political science.
Synonyms and how they differ
- discipline
- More formal and often refers to an established academic area with its own methods; 'field of study' is broader and more everyday.
- subject
- Used especially for school or exam topics; 'field of study' suggests a wider area of research or specialization.
- area of study
- Very similar, but 'area' can sound slightly less structured than 'field'.
Word family
Commonly confused: field of study or major?
field of study vs major
In American English, 'major' is the main subject you take a degree in; 'field of study' is a broader term for any area of academic focus.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'field of study' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Fields of study' is the plural countable form and fits as the object of 'discussed'. Option A wrongly uses it for a person; B has subject-verb agreement error ('field' is singular, 'are' is plural); D treats it as a verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “field of study”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.