Data on college degrees awarded in the United States in 1979 are examined by racial/ethnic status of the recipients. Approximately 920,000 bachelor's degrees and over 400,000 postbaccalaureate degrees were awarded nationally. In 1979, 87.3 percent of bachelor's degrees went to white graduates, with the next largest portion (6.6 percent) going to blacks. Bachelor's degrees were awarded to 3,410 American Indians, 15,407 Asians, and 17,839 nonresident aliens. Although Hispanics accounted for 6.4 of the population, they accounted for only 2.2 percent of all bachelor's degrees. Business and management was among the top three degree fields for all groups, while education was the field most often chosen among blacks and American Indians. Engineering was the top choice of nonresident aliens, and social sciences ranked number three for each of the groups and for all groups combined. Of the 300,255 master's degrees awarded, 83 percent went to whites, and blacks and nonresident aliens each accounted for 6.5 percent. Education ranked first for all groups except Asians and nonresident aliens, and business and management was either first or second for all groups. Public affairs and services and engineering were also frequently selected. A total of 32,675 doctoral degrees were awarded, and 80 percent went to whites. The second largest number went to nonresident aliens. Three fields were among the top five for all groups: education, social sciences, and biological sciences. The field of physical sciences was among the top five for all groups except Hispanics. Lastly, 68,611 first-professional degrees were awarded, 91 percent to whites, and the next largest number to blacks. Law was by far the largest field, followed by medicine, theology, and dentistry. (SW)