A branch of science is a field that studies one part of the world in a systematic way. This list gives 2171 branches from A to Z with what each one studies and the field it belongs to, from acarology (mites and ticks) and astronomy to zoology and zymology (fermentation).
The fields of science
The natural sciences study the physical world: the physical sciences (physics and chemistry), the Earth and space sciences, and the life sciences. The formal sciences, such as mathematics, logic and statistics, study abstract systems and give the other sciences their tools. The social sciences study people and societies, and the applied sciences, engineering and medicine put knowledge to practical use. Two more fields hold the arts, crafts and pastimes that have learned names, such as philately and taxidermy, and the pseudosciences and discredited ideas, such as astrology and phrenology, which are listed because the words are common, not because they are science. The list puts each name in one of nine fields: applied sciences and engineering (248); arts, crafts and pastimes (42); Earth and space sciences (274); formal sciences (193); life sciences (434); medicine and health (349); physical sciences (166); pseudoscience or discredited (22); social sciences and humanities (443).
Reading the names
Most names are built from a Greek or Latin root and an ending. The ending -logy means the study of (biology, life; geology, the Earth), -graphy means describing or charting (oceanography, cartography), -nomy means laws or arrangement (astronomy, agronomy), -metry means measuring (geometry, astrometry) and -culture means growing or rearing (horticulture, sericulture). Knowing the root often gives away the meaning: ichthys is Greek for fish, ornis for bird, entomon for insect, mykes for fungus and selene for the Moon. Type a plain word such as “birds”, “rocks” or “teeth” in the search box to find its branch.
Branches of Science and What They Study
No branch matches that search.
A
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Abiology | inanimate, inorganic or lifeless matter (rare historical term) | Physical sciences |
| Abiophysiology | inorganic processes occurring within biological systems | Life sciences |
| Abstract algebra | algebraic structures such as groups, rings and fields | Formal sciences |
| Acanthochronology | time-ordered growth patterns in cactus spines and similar plant structures | Life sciences |
| Acanthology | spined organisms or structures, especially sea urchins (rare) | Life sciences |
| Acarology | mites and ticks | Life sciences |
| Accelerator physics | devices and processes that accelerate and control charged particles | Physical sciences |
| Accentology | word stress, pitch accent and accentuation in languages | Social sciences and humanities |
| Accidentology | accidents, especially their causes, prevention and consequences | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Accounting research | systematic study of financial reporting, measurement, accountability and related institutions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Aceology | medical remedies and therapeutics (historical term) | Medicine and health |
| Acology | medical remedies and materia medica (historical term) | Medicine and health |
| Acoustical engineering | application of sound and vibration science to engineered environments and devices | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Acoustics | sound, how it is produced and how it travels | Physical sciences |
| Acridology | grasshoppers and locusts | Life sciences |
| Acropathology | diseases affecting the limbs | Medicine and health |
| Actinobiology | effects of radiation on living organisms | Life sciences |
| Actinology | light and its chemical effects; historically also radiation | Physical sciences |
| Actuarial science | application of probability, statistics and finance to insurance and related risks | Formal sciences |
| Addiction medicine | clinical field concerned with substance-use disorders and related health conditions | Medicine and health |
| Addiction psychiatry | psychiatry specialty concerned with substance use and associated mental disorders | Medicine and health |
| Additive-manufacturing research | building objects through successive addition of material | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Adenology | glands, their structure, function, development and diseases | Medicine and health |
| Adhesion science | how surfaces attach and the factors governing their separation | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Adolescent medicine | clinical field focused on health during adolescence and the transition to adulthood | Medicine and health |
| Adult-learning research | learning processes and educational participation in adulthood | Social sciences and humanities |
| Aedoeology | reproductive organs and processes (obsolete medical term) | Medicine and health |
| Aeolian geomorphology | landforms and sediments shaped by wind | Earth and space sciences |
| Aerobiology | airborne living particles such as pollen, spores and microbes | Life sciences |
| Aerodonetics | the science or study of gliding | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Aerodynamics | the movement of air and the forces on bodies moving through it | Physical sciences |
| Aerogeology | geological features interpreted from aerial or remote observations | Earth and space sciences |
| Aerolithology | meteorites | Earth and space sciences |
| Aerology | the atmosphere, especially its upper layers | Earth and space sciences |
| Aeronautical engineering | engineering concerned with aircraft and flight within atmospheres | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Aeronautics | the design, building and flight of aircraft | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Aeronomy | the upper atmosphere, where gases are ionized and split by sunlight | Earth and space sciences |
| Aeropalynology | airborne pollen, spores and other palynomorphs | Life sciences |
| Aerophilately | the collecting of airmail stamps and covers | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Aerosol science | particles suspended in gases and their behavior | Earth and space sciences |
| Aerospace engineering | the design and building of aircraft and spacecraft | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Aerospace medicine | clinical field concerned with human health in aviation and space environments | Medicine and health · also aviation medicine |
| Aerostatics | air pressure; art of ballooning | Physical sciences |
| Aesthetics | beauty, artistic experience, taste and related judgments | Social sciences and humanities |
| Affective computing | systems that recognize, model or respond to human affect | Formal sciences |
| Affective neuroscience | the neural bases of emotion and affect | Life sciences |
| Agathology | goodness and the nature of the good | Social sciences and humanities |
| Aging biology | the biological mechanisms and consequences of aging | Life sciences |
| Agmatology | bone fractures (historical medical term) | Medicine and health |
| Agnoiology | ignorance and the limits of knowledge (historical philosophical term) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Agnotology | the cultural production and spread of ignorance or doubt | Social sciences and humanities |
| Agonistics | the art and theory of prize-fighting | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Agricultural biotechnology | study and use of biological technologies in agricultural production and improvement | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agricultural chemistry | chemical processes and materials relevant to agriculture | Physical sciences |
| Agricultural economics | production, markets and policy in agriculture and food systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Agricultural engineering | application of engineering principles to agricultural systems and processes | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agricultural entomology | insects affecting agricultural systems | Life sciences |
| Agricultural microbiology | microorganisms associated with agricultural systems | Life sciences |
| Agricultural science | the biological, physical and social processes involved in agriculture | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agricultural systems science | interacting components within farming and food-production systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agriculture | growing crops and raising livestock | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agriology | traditional or nonliterate cultures (historical and now-obsolete term) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Agrobiology | plant life and nutrition | Life sciences |
| Agroclimatology | climate and weather as they affect agriculture | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agroecology | ecological processes in agricultural systems | Life sciences |
| Agroforestry science | systems combining trees with crops or livestock | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agrogeology | geological materials and minerals used in agriculture | Earth and space sciences |
| Agrology | agricultural soils, crop production and land management | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agrometeorology | weather and climate in relation to crops, livestock and agricultural production | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agronomics | productivity of land | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agronomy | field crops and the management of soil | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agrophysics | physical properties and processes in agricultural soils, plants, products and environments | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Agrostology | grasses | Life sciences |
| Air-quality science | atmospheric pollutants and the processes influencing air quality | Life sciences |
| Albanology | Albanian language, history, literature and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Alchemy | diverse traditions investigating and transforming materials, often combining experimental techniques, medicine, philosophy and spiritual ideas. Historically important to chemistry, but not equivalent to modern chemistry | Social sciences and humanities |
| Alethiology | truth and the nature of truth | Social sciences and humanities |
| Algebra | symbols and the rules for working with them in equations | Formal sciences |
| Algebraic geometry | geometric objects defined by polynomial equations | Formal sciences |
| Algebraic number theory | numbers using algebraic structures such as number fields | Formal sciences |
| Algebraic topology | use of algebraic invariants to investigate topological spaces | Formal sciences |
| Algedonics | pleasure and pain | Social sciences and humanities |
| Algorithmics | the design, analysis and implementation of algorithms | Formal sciences |
| Allergology | allergies and their treatment | Medicine and health |
| Allergy and immunology | clinical specialty concerned with allergic disease and disorders of immune function | Medicine and health |
| Alphabetology | alphabets and alphabetic writing systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Altmetrics research | alternative indicators of scholarly attention and engagement | Social sciences and humanities |
| Amphibiology | amphibians; a specialized branch of zoology | Life sciences |
| Anaglyptics | the art of carving in bas-relief | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Anagraphy | the art of compiling catalogs | Social sciences and humanities |
| Analytic number theory | use of analysis to investigate number-theoretic questions | Formal sciences |
| Analytical chemistry | identifying substances and measuring how much of each is present | Physical sciences |
| Analytical mechanics | formulation of mechanics through energy-based and variational methods | Physical sciences |
| Anaplastology | prosthetic restoration of absent or malformed parts of the face or body | Medicine and health |
| Anatomical pathology | study and diagnosis of disease through examination of organs, tissues and cells | Medicine and health |
| Anatomy | the structure of living things and their parts | Life sciences |
| Andragogy | the theory and practice of education of adults | Social sciences and humanities |
| Andrology | male reproductive health | Medicine and health |
| Anemology | wind and its movement | Earth and space sciences |
| Anesthesiology | anesthesia and the relief of pain during surgery | Medicine and health · also anaesthesiology |
| Angelology | angels | Social sciences and humanities |
| Angiology | blood vessels and lymph vessels and their diseases | Medicine and health |
| Animal behavior | the actions of animals and the processes governing them | Life sciences |
| Animal biomechanics | forces, movement and mechanical structures in animals | Life sciences |
| Animal breeding | study and practice of selecting inherited traits in animal populations | Life sciences |
| Animal communication | signals and information exchange among animals | Life sciences |
| Animal genetics | genes and inheritance in animals | Life sciences |
| Animal nutrition | nutrient requirements and feeding processes in animals | Life sciences |
| Animal physiology | how animals function | Life sciences |
| Animal science | animal biology, production, management and associated welfare | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Animal welfare science | animals’ physical and behavioral well-being and how to assess it | Life sciences |
| Anthoecology | relationships between flowers, pollinators and their environments | Life sciences |
| Anthropobiology | the biological variation, evolution and adaptation of humans | Life sciences |
| Anthropology | humans, their societies and cultures, past and present | Social sciences and humanities |
| Anthropometry | the measurement of the human body | Social sciences and humanities |
| Anthrozoology | interactions and relationships between humans and other animals | Life sciences |
| Aphasiology | aphasia and language disorders caused by brain injury or disease | Medicine and health |
| Aphnology | wealth (rare historical term) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Apicology | honey-bee ecology | Life sciences |
| Apicultural science | honeybee management and related bee-production systems | Life sciences |
| Apiculture | the keeping of bees | Applied sciences and engineering · also beekeeping |
| Applied economics | use of economic theories and methods to investigate practical questions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Applied entomology | insects in relation to agriculture, health and other practical concerns | Life sciences |
| Applied linguistics | practical language-related questions using linguistic knowledge and methods | Social sciences and humanities |
| Applied mathematics | development and use of mathematical methods to investigate practical problems | Formal sciences |
| Applied mechanics | use of mechanics to investigate practical physical and engineering problems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Applied ontology | development of explicit conceptual models for representing domains and their relationships | Formal sciences |
| Applied physics | use of physical principles to develop practical understanding and technologies | Physical sciences |
| Applied science | research that applies scientific knowledge and methods to practical questions and technologies | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Aquaculture science | the cultivation of aquatic organisms | Life sciences |
| Aquatic botany | plants and associated plant-like organisms in aquatic environments | Life sciences |
| Aquatic chemistry | chemical processes in natural and engineered water systems | Physical sciences |
| Aquatic microbiology | microorganisms in aquatic environments | Life sciences |
| Arabology | Arabic language, literature, history and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Arachnology | spiders, scorpions and other arachnids | Life sciences |
| Araneology | spiders; a specialized branch of arachnology | Life sciences |
| Arboriculture | the growing and care of trees and shrubs | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Archaeal biology | organisms in the domain Archaea | Life sciences |
| Archaeoastronomy | how people in the past understood the sky | Social sciences and humanities |
| Archaeobotany | plant remains and plant use in archaeological contexts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Archaeogeology | geological methods and evidence applied to archaeology | Earth and space sciences |
| Archaeology | the human past through the things people left behind | Social sciences and humanities · also archeology |
| Archaeometallurgy | past metal production, processing, use and associated societies through archaeological and scientific evidence | Social sciences and humanities |
| Archaeometry | application of scientific measurement and analysis to archaeological materials | Earth and space sciences |
| Archaeozoology | animal remains from archaeological sites and past human–animal relationships | Social sciences and humanities · also zooarchaeology |
| Architectural engineering | study and design of technical systems within buildings | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Archology | origins, first principles or governance (rare term with several historical senses) | Social sciences and humanities · also archelogy |
| Arctophily | the study and collecting of teddy bears | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Areology | the planet Mars | Earth and space sciences |
| Aretaics | virtue | Social sciences and humanities |
| Aristology | cooking, dining and gastronomy | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Arithmetic | numbers and the operations of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing | Formal sciences |
| Armenology | Armenian language, history, literature and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Art history | artworks, artistic practices and their historical and cultural settings | Social sciences and humanities |
| Arteriology | arteries and arterial systems | Medicine and health |
| Arthrology | joints and articulations | Life sciences |
| Arthropodology | arthropods | Life sciences |
| Artificial intelligence | computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence | Formal sciences |
| Assessment research | how learning, ability and educational performance are measured | Social sciences and humanities |
| Assyriology | ancient Mesopotamia, its languages and cultures | Social sciences and humanities |
| Astacology | crayfish (Astacoidea) | Life sciences |
| Asteroseismology | oscillations within stars used to infer their internal structure | Earth and space sciences · also astroseismology |
| Astheniology | diseases and processes of weakness, debility and aging (historical medical term) | Medicine and health |
| Astrobiology | the origin, evolution and possible spread of life in the universe | Earth and space sciences · also exobiology |
| Astrochemistry | molecules and chemical reactions in space | Earth and space sciences |
| Astrogeology | the geology of planets, moons, asteroids and other solid bodies beyond Earth | Earth and space sciences |
| Astrolithology | meteorites and other stony bodies from space (rare term) | Earth and space sciences |
| Astrology | purported relationships between celestial positions and earthly events (divinatory tradition, not a science) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Astrometeorology | supposed effects of celestial bodies on weather (historical or pseudoscientific) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Astrometry | the exact positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies | Earth and space sciences |
| Astromicrobiology | microorganisms in relation to space conditions and astrobiological questions | Life sciences |
| Astronautical engineering | engineering concerned with spacecraft and spaceflight systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Astronautics | spaceflight and the building of spacecraft | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Astronomy | stars, planets, galaxies and everything beyond Earth’s atmosphere | Earth and space sciences |
| Astrophysics | the physical nature of stars, galaxies and other celestial objects | Earth and space sciences |
| Atmology | water vapor and its physical behavior (historical term) | Physical sciences |
| Atmospheric chemistry | the composition and chemical reactions of atmospheres | Physical sciences |
| Atmospheric dynamics | the forces and motions governing atmospheric circulation | Earth and space sciences |
| Atmospheric electricity | electrical processes in the atmosphere, including lightning | Earth and space sciences |
| Atmospheric optics | optical phenomena produced by the atmosphere | Earth and space sciences |
| Atmospheric science | the physical and chemical behavior of atmospheres | Earth and space sciences |
| Atmospheric thermodynamics | energy, temperature and phase changes in atmospheric systems | Earth and space sciences |
| Atmospherology | planetary atmospheres and their physical and chemical processes | Earth and space sciences |
| Atomic physics | atoms, their electrons and how they absorb and give off energy | Physical sciences |
| Audiology | hearing, balance and their disorders | Medicine and health |
| Augmented reality research | combining digital information with perceived physical environments | Formal sciences |
| Autecology | the ecology of an individual species | Life sciences |
| Automata theory | abstract machines and the languages they recognize | Formal sciences |
| Automation engineering | study and design of systems that perform tasks with reduced manual control | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Automotive engineering | study and development of road vehicles, their components, performance and safety | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Autonomous systems | systems that make and execute decisions with limited external control | Formal sciences |
| Auxology | human growth and development, especially physical growth | Medicine and health |
| Avalanche science | the formation, motion and consequences of snow avalanches | Earth and space sciences |
| Avionics | electronic devices for aircraft | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Axiology | values, especially ethics and aesthetics | Social sciences and humanities |
B
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Bacteriology | bacteria | Life sciences |
| Ballistics | the motion of projectiles such as bullets and rockets | Physical sciences |
| Balneology | baths and bathing, especially therapeutic bathing | Medicine and health |
| Barodynamics | the support and mechanics of bridges | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Barology | weight, pressure or gravity and their measurement (rare term) | Physical sciences |
| Bascology | Basque language and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Batology | plants in the genus Rubus, commonly known as brambles | Life sciences |
| Batrachology | frogs, toads and other amphibians | Life sciences |
| Bayesian statistics | statistical inference that updates probability models using observed evidence | Formal sciences |
| Behavior analysis | behavior and the environmental conditions influencing it | Social sciences and humanities |
| Behavioral ecology | behavior in relation to ecological conditions and evolutionary consequences | Life sciences · also behavioural ecology |
| Behavioral economics | economic decisions using insights about actual human behavior | Social sciences and humanities · also behavioural economics |
| Behavioral genetics | genetic and environmental contributions to behavioral variation | Life sciences · also behavioural genetics |
| Behavioral medicine | interdisciplinary study of behavioral and biomedical factors in health and illness | Medicine and health |
| Behavioral neuroscience | the biological and neural bases of behavior | Life sciences · also behavioural neuroscience |
| Benthic ecology | organisms living on or within aquatic bottoms | Earth and space sciences |
| Bibliography | study and description of books and other documents, their production and their publication history | Social sciences and humanities |
| Bibliology | books as physical and cultural objects; in theology, the doctrine of the Bible | Social sciences and humanities |
| Bibliometrics | quantitative study of publications and their relationships | Social sciences and humanities |
| Bibliotics | documents to determine authenticity | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Bioacoustics | sounds made and heard by animals | Life sciences |
| Bioarchaeology | human and animal biological remains from archaeological contexts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Biocenology | biological communities and interactions among their organisms | Life sciences |
| Biochemical engineering | application of engineering to biological and biochemical production processes | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Biochemistry | the chemical processes that take place in living things | Life sciences |
| Bioclimatology | interactions between climate and living organisms over seasonal or longer timescales | Life sciences |
| Biocultural anthropology | interactions between human biology and cultural or social conditions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Biodiversity science | variation in life across genes, species, ecosystems and evolutionary histories | Life sciences |
| Bioecology | relationships among organisms and their environments | Life sciences |
| Bioenergetics | energy transfer and transformation in living systems | Life sciences |
| Biogeochemistry | chemical cycles and transformations involving biological and Earth systems | Earth and space sciences |
| Biogeography | where plants and animals live and why | Life sciences |
| Biogeoscience | integrated study of interactions between life and Earth’s physical and chemical systems | Earth and space sciences |
| Biogerontology | the biological mechanisms of aging | Life sciences |
| Bioinformatics | biological data, such as DNA sequences, with computers | Life sciences |
| Bioinorganic chemistry | the roles and behavior of inorganic elements in biological systems | Physical sciences |
| Biolinguistics | interdisciplinary study of the biological foundations of language | Social sciences and humanities |
| Biological allometry | relationships between organism size and biological characteristics | Life sciences |
| Biological anthropology | human evolution, biological variation and relationships with other primates | Life sciences · also physical anthropology |
| Biological engineering | application of engineering principles to living systems and biological processes | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Biological oceanography | marine organisms in relation to ocean processes and ecosystems | Earth and space sciences |
| Biological psychology | biological mechanisms involved in psychological processes | Social sciences and humanities |
| Biology | living things | Life sciences · also biological sciences |
| Biomarker science | measurable indicators of biological states, disease or responses | Medicine and health |
| Biomaterials science | materials designed to interact with biological systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Biomechanics | the mechanics of living bodies and how they move | Life sciences |
| Biomechatronics | integration of biological, mechanical, electronic and control systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Biomedical engineering | engineering applied to medicine, such as artificial limbs and scanners | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Biomedical informatics | information and computation in biology, medicine and health | Formal sciences |
| Biomedical science | biological processes and mechanisms relevant to human health and disease | Medicine and health |
| Biometeorology | the relationship between atmospheric conditions (the weather) and living organisms | Life sciences |
| Biometrics | biological measurement | Formal sciences |
| Biometry | quantitative measurement and statistical analysis of biological characteristics | Life sciences |
| Biomimetics | biological principles as models for engineered systems and materials | Life sciences · also bio-inspired design, biomimicry |
| Biomineralization | mineral formation controlled or influenced by living organisms | Life sciences |
| Bionics | machines and systems modeled on living things | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Bionomics | organisms interacting in their environments | Life sciences |
| Bioorganic chemistry | biological questions using organic chemistry principles and methods | Physical sciences |
| Biopharmaceutics | how drug properties and formulations influence biological availability and action | Medicine and health |
| Biophysics | the physics of biological processes | Life sciences · also biological physics |
| Bioprocess engineering | study and design of processes using biological materials, cells or enzymes | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Biopsychology | biological bases of behavior and mental processes | Life sciences |
| Bioremediation science | biological processes used to reduce or remove environmental contamination | Life sciences |
| Biospeleology | organisms and ecosystems in caves and subterranean habitats | Life sciences |
| Biostatistics | statistics applied to biology, medicine and public health | Formal sciences |
| Biostratigraphy | use of fossils to distinguish and correlate geological strata | Earth and space sciences |
| Biotechnology | the use of living cells and organisms to make useful products | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Boolean algebra | algebraic systems representing logical operations and related binary relationships | Formal sciences |
| Botany | plants | Life sciences · also phytology, plant science |
| Boundary-layer meteorology | the lowest atmospheric layer directly influenced by the surface | Earth and space sciences |
| Brewing science | biological, chemical and engineering processes involved in brewing | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Bromatology | food, its composition, quality and properties | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Brontology | thunder | Earth and space sciences |
| Bryology | mosses, liverworts and hornworts | Life sciences |
| Building science | physical processes governing building performance and indoor conditions | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Byzantinology | the history, language, art, religion and culture of the Byzantine Empire | Social sciences and humanities |
C
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Cacogenics | the supposed hereditary deterioration of a population (a concept from the discredited eugenics movement) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Calculus | continuous change, through derivatives and integrals | Formal sciences |
| Calculus of variations | functions that optimize quantities depending on entire functions or paths | Formal sciences |
| Caliology | birds' nests | Life sciences |
| Calorifics | heat | Physical sciences |
| Cambistry | international exchange | Social sciences and humanities |
| Campanology | bells and their casting, tuning and ringing | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Cancer biology | the mechanisms of cancer development, progression and interaction with the host | Medicine and health · also cancer science |
| Cancer genomics | genomic changes and functions associated with cancer | Life sciences |
| Cancerology | cancer; an uncommon synonym of oncology | Medicine and health |
| Carcinology | crabs, lobsters, shrimps and other crustaceans | Life sciences |
| Cardiac electrophysiology | study and clinical management of the heart’s electrical activity and rhythm disorders | Medicine and health |
| Cardiac surgery | surgical specialty concerned with the heart and major associated vessels | Medicine and health |
| Cardiology | the heart and its diseases | Medicine and health |
| Cardiovascular pharmacology | drugs affecting the heart and circulatory system | Medicine and health |
| Cardiovascular physiology | how the heart and blood vessels function | Medicine and health |
| Caricology | sedges, especially plants in the genus Carex | Life sciences |
| Cariology | dental caries and the processes that cause tooth decay | Medicine and health |
| Carpology | fruits and seeds | Life sciences |
| Cartography | the making of maps | Earth and space sciences |
| Cartology | maps and charts, especially their design and interpretation | Earth and space sciences |
| Cartophily | collecting cigarette cards | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Castrametation | the art of designing a camp | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Catacoustics | echoes or reflected sounds | Physical sciences |
| Catalactics | commercial exchange | Social sciences and humanities |
| Catalysis research | substances and processes that alter reaction rates without overall consumption | Physical sciences |
| Catchment hydrology | water processes within drainage basins | Earth and space sciences |
| Catechectics | the art of teaching by question and answer | Social sciences and humanities |
| Category theory | mathematical structures through objects, maps and their compositions | Formal sciences |
| Cecidology | plant galls, the growths caused by insects, mites and other organisms | Life sciences |
| Celestial mechanics | the motion and gravitational interactions of celestial bodies | Physical sciences |
| Cell signaling | how cells receive, transmit and respond to information | Life sciences |
| Cellular immunology | cells involved in immune responses | Medicine and health |
| Cellular neuroscience | the properties and interactions of nervous-system cells | Life sciences |
| Cellular pathology | disease through changes in cells and tissues | Medicine and health |
| Celtology | Celtic languages, history, archaeology, literature and cultures | Social sciences and humanities |
| Cephalology | the head and its structures (rare anatomical term) | Life sciences |
| Ceramic engineering | engineering concerned with ceramic materials and their production and use | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Ceramic science | inorganic nonmetallic materials and their processing and properties | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Cereal science | cereal grains, their properties, processing and uses | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Cetology | whales, dolphins and porpoises | Life sciences |
| Chalcography | the art of engraving on copper or brass | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Chalcotriptics | the art of taking rubbings from ornamental brasses | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Chaology | chaos and chaotic systems | Formal sciences |
| Chaos theory | deterministic systems with sensitive dependence on initial conditions | Formal sciences |
| Characterology | human character and personality types (largely historical) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Chasmology | yawning | Life sciences |
| Cheloniology | turtles and tortoises | Life sciences |
| Chelonology | turtles and tortoises | Life sciences |
| Chemical biology | use of chemical tools and concepts to investigate and manipulate biological systems | Physical sciences |
| Chemical ecology | chemical interactions among organisms and their environments | Life sciences |
| Chemical engineering | turning raw materials into useful chemicals and products on a large scale | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Chemical kinetics | the rates and mechanisms of chemical reactions | Physical sciences |
| Chemical oceanography | ocean chemistry and the processes controlling it | Earth and space sciences · also chemical oceanology |
| Chemical pathology | study and diagnosis of disease through biochemical measurements | Medicine and health |
| Chemical physics | chemical systems through physical theories and methods | Physical sciences |
| Chemical spectroscopy | chemical systems through their interaction with electromagnetic radiation | Physical sciences |
| Chemical thermodynamics | energy, entropy and equilibrium in chemical systems | Physical sciences |
| Cheminformatics | computational methods for chemical information | Formal sciences · also chemical informatics, chemoinformatics |
| Chemistry | substances, what they are made of and how they react | Physical sciences |
| Chemometrics | application of mathematical and statistical methods to chemical measurements and data | Physical sciences |
| Chemostratigraphy | study and correlation of strata using chemical characteristics | Earth and space sciences |
| Child and adolescent psychiatry | psychiatry specialty focused on children and adolescents | Medicine and health |
| Chirocosmetics | beautifying the hands; art of manicure | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Chirography | handwriting or penmanship | Social sciences and humanities |
| Chirology | the hand; historically also palm reading | Medicine and health |
| Chiropody | the feet and their disorders; an older name for podiatry | Medicine and health |
| Chiropterology | bats | Life sciences |
| Chondrology | cartilage | Life sciences |
| Choreology | human movement and dance, especially systems for recording movement | Social sciences and humanities |
| Chorology | the spatial distribution of organisms or geographical phenomena | Life sciences |
| Chrematistics | wealth; political economy | Social sciences and humanities |
| Chresmology | prophecies and oracles | Social sciences and humanities |
| Christology | the person, nature and role of Jesus Christ in Christian theology | Social sciences and humanities |
| Chromatography science | study and development of methods that separate components through differential interactions | Physical sciences |
| Chromatology | color | Physical sciences |
| Chronic-disease epidemiology | the distribution and determinants of long-term diseases | Medicine and health |
| Chronobiology | biological rhythms, such as the daily sleep and wake cycle | Life sciences |
| Chronology | events and dates in temporal order | Social sciences and humanities |
| Chronooncology | interactions between biological rhythms, cancer growth and cancer treatment timing | Medicine and health |
| Chronopharmacology | how biological rhythms influence drug action and optimal dosing time | Medicine and health |
| Chronostratigraphy | rock units in relation to geological time | Earth and space sciences |
| Chrysology | the production and use of precious metals as wealth (historical branch of political economy) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Cirripedology | barnacles | Life sciences |
| Ciselure | the art of chasing metal | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Civil engineering | the design and building of roads, bridges, dams and buildings | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Cladistics | classification and relationship inference based on shared derived characteristics | Life sciences |
| Classical genetics | inheritance patterns through crosses, pedigrees and observable traits | Life sciences |
| Classical mechanics | motion and forces in classical physical systems | Physical sciences |
| Classics | the languages, literature, history and cultures of ancient Greece and Rome | Social sciences and humanities |
| Climate dynamics | the interactions and feedbacks governing climate variability and change | Earth and space sciences |
| Climate modeling | development and use of models to investigate the climate system | Earth and space sciences |
| Climate-change science | changes in climate, their causes and their consequences | Earth and space sciences |
| Climatology | climate and how it changes over long periods | Earth and space sciences |
| Clinical chemistry | study and measurement of chemical constituents of body fluids and tissues for understanding and investigating disease | Medicine and health · also clinical biochemistry, medical biochemistry |
| Clinical epidemiology | application of epidemiological methods to clinical questions | Medicine and health |
| Clinical immunology | study and clinical management of disorders involving the immune system | Medicine and health |
| Clinical medicine | study and practice of medicine involving the assessment and care of patients | Medicine and health |
| Clinical microbiology | laboratory and research discipline concerned with diagnosing and investigating microbial disease | Life sciences |
| Clinical neuropsychology | applied field assessing and addressing cognitive and behavioral effects of brain conditions | Life sciences |
| Clinical pathology | laboratory-based discipline supporting diagnosis through analysis of body fluids, cells and tissues | Medicine and health |
| Clinical pharmacology | drug effects, use and evaluation in humans | Medicine and health |
| Clinical psychology | scientific and professional field concerned with psychological assessment and intervention | Social sciences and humanities |
| Clinical toxicology | study and clinical management of poisoning and toxic exposures | Medicine and health |
| Clinology | the decline or regression of an organism after it reaches maturity (rare) | Life sciences |
| Cliometrics | use of quantitative and economic methods to investigate historical questions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Cloud computing research | remotely delivered, shared and scalable computing resources | Formal sciences |
| Cloud physics | cloud formation, particles and physical processes | Earth and space sciences |
| Coal geology | coal deposits, their formation and geological relationships | Earth and space sciences |
| Coastal engineering | study and design of structures and interventions in coastal environments | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Coastal geomorphology | coastal landforms and the processes changing them | Earth and space sciences |
| Coastal oceanography | ocean processes in coastal regions | Earth and space sciences |
| Coastal sediment dynamics | sediment movement and accumulation along coasts | Earth and space sciences |
| Coatings science | surface-applied layers and their protective or functional behavior | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Coccidology | scale insects, mealybugs and related hemipterans | Life sciences |
| Codicology | codices (early handwritten books) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Coding theory | codes used for reliable storage and communication of information | Formal sciences |
| Cognitive neuroscience | the neural processes supporting cognition | Life sciences |
| Cognitive psychology | mental processes such as attention, memory, reasoning and decision-making | Social sciences and humanities |
| Cognitive science | the mind and how it thinks, learns and remembers | Social sciences and humanities |
| Cognitology | mind, cognition and behavior; a rare synonym for cognitive science | Social sciences and humanities |
| Coleopterology | beetles | Life sciences |
| Collapsology | risks and processes associated with societal or industrial collapse | Social sciences and humanities |
| Colloid chemistry | dispersed systems containing small particles within another phase | Physical sciences |
| Coloproctology | diseases and surgery of the colon, rectum and anus | Medicine and health |
| Colorectal surgery | surgical specialty concerned with the colon, rectum and anus | Medicine and health |
| Combinatorics | counting, arranging and combining objects | Formal sciences |
| Combustion chemistry | chemical reactions occurring during combustion | Physical sciences |
| Combustion science | burning processes, including their chemistry, fluid flow and heat transfer | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Cometology | comets | Earth and space sciences |
| Communication science | communication processes, messages, media and effects | Social sciences and humanities |
| Communication sciences and disorders | speech, language, hearing, communication and associated disorders | Medicine and health |
| Community ecology | interactions among species within ecological communities | Life sciences |
| Community health | study and practice of improving health within communities | Medicine and health |
| Community psychology | individuals within communities and the conditions supporting community well-being | Social sciences and humanities |
| Commutative algebra | commutative rings, their ideals and related modules | Formal sciences |
| Comparative anatomy | similarities and differences in anatomical structures among organisms | Life sciences |
| Comparative biology | biological questions through comparisons among organisms or groups | Life sciences |
| Comparative cognition | cognitive processes across different animal species | Life sciences |
| Comparative education | educational systems and practices through cross-context comparison | Social sciences and humanities |
| Comparative genomics | similarities and differences among genomes | Life sciences |
| Comparative linguistics | relationships among languages through systematic comparison | Social sciences and humanities |
| Comparative literature | literature across languages, cultures, periods and other forms of expression | Social sciences and humanities |
| Comparative physiology | physiological similarities and differences among organisms | Life sciences |
| Comparative planetology | planetary bodies through comparisons of their properties and histories | Earth and space sciences |
| Comparative politics | political systems and processes through comparison | Social sciences and humanities |
| Comparative psychology | behavior and cognition across animal species | Social sciences and humanities |
| Compiler research | translating programs between languages or representations | Formal sciences |
| Complex analysis | functions of complex variables | Formal sciences |
| Complex-systems biology | biological systems through interacting components and emergent behavior | Life sciences |
| Complexity science | how interactions produce collective behavior in complex systems | Formal sciences |
| Composite materials science | materials formed from combined constituents with distinct roles | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Computability theory | what can and cannot be computed by formal procedures | Formal sciences |
| Computational astrophysics | astrophysical systems through numerical calculation and simulation | Earth and space sciences |
| Computational biology | biological questions using computational models, algorithms and simulations | Formal sciences |
| Computational chemistry | use of computational methods to investigate chemical systems | Physical sciences |
| Computational cognitive science | cognition through computational models and simulations | Formal sciences |
| Computational complexity theory | the resources required to solve computational problems | Formal sciences |
| Computational creativity | computational systems that produce or support creative work | Formal sciences |
| Computational epidemiology | use of computational models and data methods to investigate population health and disease spread | Medicine and health |
| Computational geometry | algorithms for geometric problems | Formal sciences |
| Computational linguistics | language through computational models and methods | Formal sciences |
| Computational materials science | use of computation to investigate material structures, properties and behavior | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Computational neuroscience | nervous-system function through mathematical and computational models | Formal sciences |
| Computational number theory | algorithms for solving number-theoretic problems | Formal sciences |
| Computational physics | investigation of physical systems through computational methods | Physical sciences |
| Computational psychiatry | use of computational models to investigate mental disorders and psychiatric processes | Medicine and health |
| Computational science | use and development of computation to investigate scientific questions | Formal sciences |
| Computational social science | use of computational approaches to investigate social behavior and systems | Formal sciences |
| Computational statistics | development of computational methods for statistical analysis | Formal sciences |
| Computer architecture | the organization and design of computer hardware systems | Formal sciences |
| Computer engineering | study and design of integrated computing hardware and software systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Computer forensics | study and application of methods for examining digital evidence | Formal sciences |
| Computer graphics | the creation and manipulation of visual representations by computers | Formal sciences |
| Computer networking | interconnected computing systems and their communication protocols | Formal sciences |
| Computer science | computation, algorithms and the design of computer systems | Formal sciences |
| Computer vision | extracting and interpreting information from images and video | Formal sciences |
| Computer-supported cooperative work | technologies supporting collaboration among people | Formal sciences |
| Conchology | the shells of mollusks | Life sciences |
| Condensed matter physics | the physical properties of solids and liquids | Physical sciences · also solid-state physics |
| Condensed-matter physics | collective physical properties of densely packed matter | Physical sciences |
| Coniology | airborne dust and its biological or health effects | Earth and space sciences |
| Connectomics | connection patterns within nervous systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Consciousness research | conscious experience and its mechanisms | Social sciences and humanities |
| Conservation biology | biodiversity and the scientific basis for its conservation | Life sciences |
| Conservation genetics | genetic variation and processes relevant to conservation | Life sciences |
| Conservation genomics | use of genome-scale information in conservation research | Life sciences |
| Conservation physiology | physiological mechanisms relevant to species and ecosystem conservation | Life sciences |
| Construction engineering | study and application of engineering methods to construction processes | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Consumer psychology | psychological processes involved in consumer choices and behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Consumer research | consumer choices, experiences and behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Contemplative science | meditation and related contemplative practices | Social sciences and humanities |
| Continuum mechanics | materials modeled as continuous distributions of matter | Physical sciences |
| Control engineering | application of control principles to engineered systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Control theory | how to influence the behavior of dynamical systems | Formal sciences |
| Convex geometry | convex sets and their geometric properties | Formal sciences |
| Convex optimization | optimization problems with convex objectives and feasible sets | Formal sciences |
| Coordination chemistry | complexes formed between central atoms or ions and surrounding ligands | Physical sciences |
| Coprology | feces, especially in medical, archaeological or biological analysis | Medicine and health |
| Coptology | Coptic language, history, Christianity, art and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Corpus linguistics | language through systematically collected samples of usage | Social sciences and humanities |
| Corrosion science | material degradation through chemical or electrochemical interaction with environments | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Cosmeticology | cosmetic products | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Cosmetology | cosmetic treatments for hair, skin and nails | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Cosmochemistry | the chemical make-up of meteorites, planets and other matter in space | Earth and space sciences |
| Cosmochronology | ages and timescales of the universe and astronomical objects | Earth and space sciences |
| Cosmogony | the origin of the universe or of the solar system | Earth and space sciences |
| Cosmology | the origin, structure and evolution of the universe as a whole | Earth and space sciences |
| Counseling psychology | field concerned with psychological well-being, adjustment and support across life contexts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Craniology | the measurement of skulls; historically tied to discredited racial and phrenological theories | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Crenology | mineral springs and their therapeutic use (historical term) | Medicine and health |
| Criminalistics | scientific examination and interpretation of physical evidence in investigations | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Criminology | crime, criminals and the causes of criminal behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Criteriology | criteria for knowledge, judgment or truth | Social sciences and humanities |
| Critical care medicine | clinical specialty concerned with severe, life-threatening illness and organ dysfunction | Medicine and health |
| Critical-zone science | the near-surface environment where rock, soil, water, air and life interact | Earth and space sciences |
| Crop protection | methods to manage organisms and conditions damaging crops | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Crop science | cultivated crops, their biology, improvement and production | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Cross-cultural psychology | comparative study of psychological processes across cultural settings | Social sciences and humanities |
| Crustaceology | crustaceans; a synonym of carcinology | Life sciences |
| Cryobiology | the effects of very low temperatures on living things | Life sciences |
| Cryogenics | the production and effects of very low temperatures | Physical sciences |
| Cryology | snow, ice and low-temperature phenomena | Earth and space sciences |
| Cryopedology | frozen ground, permafrost and frost-related soil processes | Earth and space sciences |
| Cryoseismology | ice quakes, frost quakes and seismic events in frozen materials | Earth and space sciences |
| Cryosphere science | the Earth’s snow, ice, frozen ground and related processes | Earth and space sciences |
| Cryptanalysis | the security and weaknesses of cryptographic systems | Formal sciences |
| Cryptography | writing and breaking codes to keep information secret | Formal sciences |
| Cryptology | secure communication, encompassing cryptography and cryptanalysis | Formal sciences |
| Cryptozoology | animals alleged to exist without reliable scientific evidence (pseudoscientific field) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Crystal growth science | how crystals form and develop | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Crystallology | crystals and crystalline structure; closely related to crystallography | Physical sciences |
| Crystallography | crystals and the arrangement of atoms in solids | Physical sciences |
| Ctetology | the inheritance of acquired characteristics (historical biological term) | Life sciences |
| Cultural anthropology | cultural practices, meanings and variation among human communities | Social sciences and humanities |
| Cultural geography | cultural meanings, practices and landscapes across space | Social sciences and humanities |
| Cultural psychology | how culture and psychological processes shape one another | Social sciences and humanities |
| Cultural studies | interdisciplinary study of cultural practices, meanings, institutions and power | Social sciences and humanities |
| Curriculum studies | educational content, organization and curricular decisions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Cybernetics | control and communication in animals and machines | Formal sciences |
| Cybersecurity | protecting digital systems, information and users from compromise | Formal sciences · also computer security |
| Cynology | dogs | Life sciences |
| Cytogenetics | chromosomes and their role in heredity | Life sciences |
| Cytology | cells | Life sciences · also cell biology |
| Cytopathology | disease-related abnormalities of cells | Medicine and health |
D
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Dactyliology | finger rings | Social sciences and humanities |
| Dactylography | fingerprints | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Dactylology | communication by finger signs; finger spelling | Social sciences and humanities |
| Dactyloscopy | fingerprints as a means of identification | Applied sciences and engineering · also fingerprint examination |
| Dairy science | milk-producing animals, milk production and related processing | Life sciences |
| Dairy technology | methods for processing and preserving milk and dairy products | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Data management | methods for organizing, maintaining and using data | Formal sciences |
| Data mining | methods for discovering useful patterns in large datasets | Formal sciences |
| Data science | interdisciplinary study of extracting knowledge from data using computational and statistical methods | Formal sciences |
| Database research | the organization, storage, retrieval and management of structured data | Formal sciences |
| Decision science | interdisciplinary study of how decisions are made and can be analyzed | Social sciences and humanities |
| Decision theory | formal study of choices under certainty, risk or uncertainty | Formal sciences |
| Deep learning | learning systems based on multilayer neural networks | Formal sciences |
| Deep-sea biology | organisms and biological processes in deep marine environments | Earth and space sciences |
| Deltiology | postcards, including their history and collection | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Demography | human populations, their size, growth and make-up | Social sciences and humanities · also population science |
| Demology | human populations; an older synonym of demography | Social sciences and humanities |
| Demonology | demons and beliefs about demonic beings in religion and folklore | Social sciences and humanities |
| Dendrochronology | tree rings, used to date events and past climates | Earth and space sciences |
| Dendroclimatology | reconstruction and study of climate using tree-ring records | Life sciences |
| Dendrology | trees and other woody plants | Life sciences |
| Deontology | duty and moral obligation | Social sciences and humanities |
| Dermatoglyphics | skin patterns and fingerprints | Life sciences |
| Dermatology | the skin and its diseases | Medicine and health |
| Dermatopathology | study and diagnosis of skin disease through pathological examination | Medicine and health |
| Desert ecology | ecological systems in arid environments | Life sciences |
| Design science | research that develops and evaluates designed artifacts, systems or methods to address practical problems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Design theory | combinatorial arrangements with prescribed balance or intersection properties | Formal sciences |
| Desmology | ligaments and their structure | Life sciences |
| Development economics | economic development, poverty and structural change | Social sciences and humanities |
| Development geography | development processes and uneven development across places | Social sciences and humanities |
| Development studies | interdisciplinary research on social, economic, political and environmental development | Social sciences and humanities |
| Developmental biology | how organisms grow and develop | Life sciences |
| Developmental genetics | genetic influences on development | Life sciences |
| Developmental neuroscience | how nervous systems form and change during development | Life sciences |
| Developmental psychology | psychological change across the lifespan | Social sciences and humanities |
| Developmental toxicology | adverse effects of exposures on developing organisms | Medicine and health |
| Diabetology | diabetes and its treatment | Medicine and health |
| Diabology | the Devil in religion | Social sciences and humanities |
| Diagnostic radiology | clinical specialty concerned with medical imaging for diagnosis | Medicine and health |
| Diagraphics | the art of making diagrams or drawings | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Dialectology | dialects | Social sciences and humanities |
| Dietetics | diet and nutrition in health and disease | Medicine and health |
| Differential equations | equations relating functions to their derivatives | Formal sciences |
| Differential geometry | curves, surfaces and manifolds using calculus | Formal sciences |
| Differential psychology | individual and group differences in psychological characteristics | Social sciences and humanities |
| Differential topology | smooth manifolds and differentiable maps | Formal sciences |
| Digital epidemiology | health-related patterns using digital data sources | Medicine and health |
| Digital forensics | scientific investigation of evidence from digital devices, media and systems | Formal sciences |
| Dioptrics | light refraction | Physical sciences |
| Diplomatics | the form, authenticity and dating of official documents and charters | Social sciences and humanities |
| Diplomatology | diplomas, charters and official documents as historical sources | Social sciences and humanities |
| Dipterology | flies | Life sciences |
| Disability research | interdisciplinary study of disability, access, participation and social conditions | Medicine and health |
| Disaster medicine | clinical and organizational field concerned with healthcare during disasters | Medicine and health |
| Disaster science | interdisciplinary study of disasters, vulnerability, impacts and risk reduction | Social sciences and humanities |
| Discrete geometry | arrangements and properties of discrete geometric objects | Formal sciences |
| Discrete mathematics | mathematical structures made from discrete rather than continuous elements | Formal sciences |
| Distributed computing | computation performed by multiple communicating systems | Formal sciences |
| Disturbance ecology | ecological responses to disruptive events and processes | Life sciences |
| Docimology | testing and assessment, especially educational examinations | Social sciences and humanities |
| Dogmatology | religious dogma and systematic doctrines, especially in Christian theology | Social sciences and humanities |
| Dosology | dosages of drugs | Medicine and health · also dosiology |
| Dramaturgy | the art of producing and staging dramatic works | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Drug-delivery science | methods for transporting therapeutic substances to their intended sites | Medicine and health |
| Dynamic climatology | climate through atmospheric circulation and its changes | Earth and space sciences |
| Dynamic meteorology | atmospheric motion and its governing physical laws | Earth and space sciences |
| Dynamical systems | systems that evolve according to mathematical rules | Formal sciences |
| Dynamics | motion and the interactions that produce or change it | Physical sciences |
| Dysgenics | the supposed genetic deterioration of a population over generations (a concept associated with the discredited eugenics movement) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Dysteleology | apparently functionless rudimentary organs in animals and plants | Life sciences |
E
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Earth science | the Earth’s materials, systems, history and physical processes | Earth and space sciences · also Earth sciences, geoscience |
| Earth system science | interactions among Earth’s atmosphere, waters, land, life and interior | Earth and space sciences |
| Earth-system governance research | institutions and collective decisions affecting Earth-system sustainability | Life sciences |
| Earthquake engineering | study and design of systems to understand and withstand earthquake effects | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Ecclesiology | the nature, structure and doctrine of the Christian church | Social sciences and humanities |
| Eccrinology | secretion and the eccrine glands | Life sciences |
| Ecoacoustics | environmental sound in relation to ecological patterns and processes | Life sciences |
| Ecobiology | organisms in relation to ecological conditions; a broad synonym of bioecology | Life sciences |
| Ecohydrology | interactions between ecological processes and the water cycle | Earth and space sciences |
| Ecological economics | economic systems as parts of ecological and biophysical systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ecological engineering | design and study of systems that use ecological processes to meet human and environmental needs | Life sciences |
| Ecological genetics | genetic variation in relation to ecological conditions | Life sciences |
| Ecological genomics | genomic variation and function in ecological contexts | Life sciences |
| Ecological medicine | relationships between ecological conditions and health | Medicine and health |
| Ecology | how living things relate to one another and to their surroundings | Life sciences |
| Econometrics | economic data, using statistical methods | Social sciences and humanities |
| Economic botany | plants used by people and their practical significance | Life sciences |
| Economic geography | the spatial organization of economic activity | Social sciences and humanities |
| Economic geology | geological materials and deposits with potential economic use | Earth and space sciences |
| Economic history | economic processes and institutions through historical evidence | Social sciences and humanities |
| Economic sociology | economic activities and institutions within social relationships | Social sciences and humanities |
| Economics | the production, distribution and use of goods and services | Social sciences and humanities |
| Econophysics | application of concepts and methods from physics to economic and financial systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ecophysiology | how organisms' physiological functions respond and adapt to their environments | Life sciences · also ecological physiology |
| Ecosystem ecology | energy flow and material cycling through ecological systems | Life sciences |
| Ecosystem-services research | the contributions of ecosystems to human well-being | Life sciences |
| Ecotechnology | technologies that incorporate or support ecological processes | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Ecotoxicology | the effects of toxic substances on organisms, populations and ecosystems | Life sciences |
| Edaphology | the influence of soil on living things, especially plants | Earth and space sciences |
| Edge computing | computation performed near data sources or users | Formal sciences |
| Educational psychology | psychological processes involved in learning and education | Social sciences and humanities |
| Educational science | systematic empirical study of education, teaching, learning and educational systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Educational technology research | technologies used to support teaching and learning | Social sciences and humanities |
| Egyptology | ancient Egypt, its language, history and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ekistics | human settlements and how they grow | Social sciences and humanities |
| Elasticity | reversible deformation in materials under applied forces | Physical sciences |
| Electoral studies | elections, voting behavior and electoral systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Electrical engineering | electricity and its use in power, machines and devices | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Electroacoustics | electrical production, detection, conversion and processing of sound | Physical sciences |
| Electrobiology | the production and use of electricity by biological organisms | Life sciences |
| Electrochemistry | the link between electricity and chemical reactions | Physical sciences |
| Electrodynamics | time-dependent electric and magnetic phenomena | Physical sciences |
| Electrology | electricity and its properties (historical term); also electrical hair removal in cosmetology | Physical sciences |
| Electromagnetism | electric and magnetic fields and the forces between charges | Physical sciences |
| Electronic engineering | study and design of electronic circuits, devices and systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Electronic materials science | materials used for electrical and electronic functions | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Electronics | circuits built from components such as transistors and diodes | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Electrophysiology | the electrical activity of organisms | Life sciences |
| Electrorheology | the effects of electric fields on the rheological properties of materials | Physical sciences |
| Electrostatics | static electricity | Physical sciences |
| Embedded systems | computing systems integrated into larger devices and machines | Formal sciences |
| Embryology | embryos and how they develop | Life sciences |
| Emergency medicine | clinical specialty concerned with acute illness and injury requiring prompt care | Medicine and health |
| Emetology | vomiting and its causes (rare medical term) | Medicine and health |
| Emmenology | menstruation | Medicine and health |
| Endemiology | endemic diseases or conditions and their distribution | Medicine and health |
| Endocrine physiology | hormones and endocrine-system function | Medicine and health |
| Endocrinology | hormones and the glands that make them | Medicine and health |
| Endodontics | the pulp and roots inside teeth | Medicine and health |
| Energy engineering | study and design of technologies for producing, converting, storing and using energy | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Energy materials science | materials for energy conversion, storage and related applications | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Engineering dynamics | motion and forces in engineered systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Engineering geology | application of geological knowledge to engineering projects and land use | Earth and space sciences |
| Engineering physics | application of advanced physical principles to engineering problems and technologies | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Engineering psychology | application of psychological knowledge to technologies, interfaces and engineered systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Engineering science | scientific principles and analytical methods underlying engineering | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Engineering-education research | teaching and learning in engineering | Social sciences and humanities |
| Enigmatology | puzzles and their construction | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Enology | wine and winemaking | Applied sciences and engineering · also oenology, wine science |
| Entomology | insects | Life sciences |
| Entozoology | internal animal parasites (a branch of parasitology) | Life sciences |
| Entrepreneurship research | the creation and development of new ventures and entrepreneurial activity | Social sciences and humanities |
| Enumerative combinatorics | methods for counting discrete structures | Formal sciences |
| Environmental archaeology | past relationships between people and environments using archaeological evidence | Social sciences and humanities |
| Environmental assessment and monitoring | methods for observing and interpreting environmental conditions over time | Earth and space sciences |
| Environmental biology | biological responses and processes relevant to environmental conditions | Earth and space sciences |
| Environmental biotechnology | use and study of biological processes for environmental assessment, remediation and resource management | Earth and space sciences |
| Environmental chemistry | chemical substances and processes in the environment | Physical sciences |
| Environmental economics | environmental problems and resource decisions using economic methods | Social sciences and humanities |
| Environmental engineering | protecting people and the environment from pollution | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Environmental epidemiology | environmental exposures in relation to population health | Medicine and health |
| Environmental genomics | genetic material and genomic processes in environmental systems | Life sciences |
| Environmental geology | geological factors affecting environmental conditions and human activities | Earth and space sciences |
| Environmental health | study and practice concerning environmental factors affecting human health | Medicine and health |
| Environmental medicine | clinical and research field concerning environmental influences on health | Medicine and health |
| Environmental microbiology | microbial functions and processes in environmental systems | Life sciences |
| Environmental physiology | physiological responses and adaptations to environmental conditions | Life sciences |
| Environmental psychology | interactions between people and physical environments | Social sciences and humanities |
| Environmental risk assessment | environmental hazards, exposure, uncertainty and potential consequences | Earth and space sciences |
| Environmental science | the natural environment and the human effect on it | Earth and space sciences |
| Environmental sociology | social dimensions of environmental conditions and change | Social sciences and humanities |
| Environmental soil science | soils in relation to pollution, ecosystem function and environmental management | Earth and space sciences · also environmental soil research |
| Environmental toxicology | harmful effects of environmental contaminants on living systems | Earth and space sciences |
| Enzymology | enzymes | Life sciences |
| Ephebiatrics | branch of medicine dealing with adolescence | Medicine and health |
| Epidemiology | how diseases spread in populations and how to control them | Medicine and health |
| Epigenetics | heritable changes in how genes work that do not alter the DNA sequence | Life sciences |
| Epigenomics | genome-scale study of epigenetic features and their variation | Life sciences |
| Epigraphy | ancient inscriptions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Epileptology | epilepsy, its diagnosis and treatment | Medicine and health |
| Epiphytology | plant diseases and their causes; especially older usage in plant pathology | Life sciences |
| Epistemology | knowledge, belief, justification and the limits of knowing | Social sciences and humanities |
| Epizootiology | the dynamics and epidemiology of animal diseases | Medicine and health |
| Equine science | horses, including their biology, management and performance | Life sciences |
| Eremology | deserts and desert conditions | Earth and space sciences |
| Ergodic theory | long-term statistical properties of dynamical systems | Formal sciences |
| Ergology | the effects of work on humans (historical; related to ergonomics) | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Ergonomics | people at work | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Erotology | sexual stimuli and behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Escapology | the art and practice of escaping from restraints or confined situations | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Eschatology | death, judgment, the end of the world and final destiny in religious doctrine | Social sciences and humanities |
| Estuarine science | environments where freshwater and seawater mix | Earth and space sciences |
| Ethics | moral reasoning, values, obligations and conduct; empirical research on moral behavior is a related but distinct activity | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ethnoastronomy | astronomical knowledge and practices in their cultural contexts | Earth and space sciences |
| Ethnobiology | relationships between human cultures and plants, animals and ecosystems | Life sciences |
| Ethnobotany | how different peoples use plants | Life sciences |
| Ethnogeny | the origins of ethnic groups | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ethnography | the customs and ways of life of particular peoples, described from fieldwork | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ethnology | the comparison of cultures and peoples | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ethnomethodology | methods people use to create and understand everyday social order | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ethnomusicology | music in its cultural setting around the world | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ethnopharmacology | biologically active substances used within cultural medical traditions | Medicine and health |
| Ethnoscience | how cultural communities organize, understand and classify knowledge about their world | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ethology | animal behavior | Life sciences |
| Ethonomics | economic and ethical principles of a society | Social sciences and humanities |
| Etiology | the causes of diseases | Medicine and health |
| Etruscology | Etruscan language, history, archaeology, religion and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Etymology | the origins and history of words | Social sciences and humanities |
| Euclidean geometry | geometric relationships in Euclidean spaces | Formal sciences |
| Eugenics | a movement claiming to improve human populations through reproductive selection, based on scientifically erroneous assumptions and discriminatory judgments. It is not a valid synonym for genetics | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Euthenics | science concerned with improving living conditions | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Evidence-synthesis research | study and development of methods for integrating findings across studies | Social sciences and humanities |
| Evolutionary anthropology | human origins and behavior through evolutionary approaches | Social sciences and humanities |
| Evolutionary biology | how living things have changed over generations | Life sciences |
| Evolutionary computation | algorithms inspired by biological evolution | Formal sciences |
| Evolutionary developmental biology | how changes in development contribute to evolution | Life sciences · also evolutionary developmental genetics |
| Evolutionary ecology | interactions between ecological processes and evolutionary change | Life sciences |
| Evolutionary genetics | genetic processes underlying evolutionary change | Life sciences |
| Evolutionary medicine | application of evolutionary principles to questions about health and disease | Medicine and health |
| Evolutionary psychology | psychological characteristics using evolutionary hypotheses and methods | Social sciences and humanities |
| Evolutionary virology | viral origins, diversification and evolutionary change | Life sciences |
| Exercise physiology | physiological responses and adaptations to physical activity | Medicine and health |
| Exercise science | physical activity, exercise and their biological and behavioral effects | Medicine and health |
| Exoplanet science | planets orbiting stars other than the Sun | Earth and space sciences |
| Experimental archaeology | investigation of archaeological questions through controlled reconstructions and experiments | Social sciences and humanities |
| Experimental design | how to organize experiments for informative and reliable inference | Formal sciences |
| Experimental economics | economic behavior through controlled experiments | Social sciences and humanities |
| Experimental pathology | investigation of disease mechanisms through experimental models | Medicine and health |
| Experimental physics | investigation of physical phenomena through measurement and experiment | Physical sciences |
| Experimental psychology | psychological processes through controlled experimentation | Social sciences and humanities |
| Explainable artificial intelligence | methods for interpreting and communicating the behavior of AI systems | Formal sciences |
| Exploration geophysics | use of geophysical methods to investigate subsurface structures and resources | Earth and space sciences |
| Exposure science | contact between people or ecosystems and environmental agents | Medicine and health |
| Extractive metallurgy | obtaining metals from ores and other sources | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Extragalactic astronomy | objects and systems beyond the Milky Way | Earth and space sciences |
| Extremal combinatorics | the largest or smallest discrete structures satisfying specified conditions | Formal sciences |
F
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Family medicine | clinical discipline providing continuing, broad healthcare across ages and family contexts | Medicine and health |
| Family sociology | families, kinship arrangements and household relationships | Social sciences and humanities |
| Family studies | interdisciplinary study of family relationships, development and social contexts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Felinology | domestic cats, their breeds and care | Life sciences |
| Fermentation science | microbial and biochemical transformations used in fermentation processes | Life sciences |
| Fetology | the fetus, fetal development and fetal medicine | Medicine and health |
| Fiber science | natural and manufactured fibers and their properties | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Field theory (mathematics) | algebraic fields and their extensions | Formal sciences |
| Financial economics | financial decisions, markets, risk and asset valuation | Social sciences and humanities |
| Fire ecology | fire’s role in ecosystems and organismal responses | Life sciences |
| Fire science | fire behavior, combustion, fire effects and prevention or control | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Fire-protection engineering | study and design of systems that prevent, detect or limit fire damage | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Fish biology | fish structure, function, development and behavior | Life sciences |
| Fish physiology | physiological processes in fishes | Life sciences |
| Fish population dynamics | changes in fish population size, structure and productivity | Life sciences |
| Fisheries oceanography | relationships between ocean conditions and fish populations or fisheries | Earth and space sciences |
| Fisheries science | fish populations, aquatic resources and sustainable fisheries management | Life sciences · also fishery science |
| Flavor chemistry | chemical substances contributing to flavor and aroma | Physical sciences |
| Floriculture | the growing of flowers | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Floristry | the art of cultivating and selling flowers | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Flow chemistry | study and development of chemical reactions performed in flowing systems | Physical sciences |
| Fluid mechanics | liquids and gases at rest and in motion | Physical sciences |
| Fluvial geomorphology | rivers and the landscapes shaped by flowing water | Earth and space sciences |
| Fluviology | watercourses and river systems (rare; compare potamology) | Earth and space sciences |
| Folkloristics | folklore and fables | Social sciences and humanities |
| Folklorology | folklore, traditional narratives, customs and expressive culture (less common than folkloristics) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Food chemistry | the substances and chemical changes occurring in foods | Physical sciences |
| Food engineering | application of engineering principles to food processing and production systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Food microbiology | microorganisms affecting food, fermentation and food safety | Life sciences |
| Food physics | physical properties and processes in foods | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Food rheology | food flow and deformation | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Food science | food, its make-up, processing and safety | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Food technology | application of food science to processing, preservation, development and production | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Food-packaging science | packaging materials and systems for protecting and preserving food | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Food-safety science | biological, chemical and physical hazards in food systems | Medicine and health |
| Food-systems research | linked activities and institutions involved in producing, distributing and consuming food | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic acoustics | application of acoustic analysis to recordings and other legal evidence | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic anthropology | application of biological-anthropological knowledge to legal identification and investigation | Social sciences and humanities |
| Forensic archaeology | application of archaeological recovery and interpretation methods to legal investigations | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic ballistics | firearm-related physical evidence and projectile behavior for legal investigations | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic biology | application of biological analysis to legal evidence | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic botany | application of plant evidence to legal investigations | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic chemistry | application of chemical analysis to questions involving legal evidence | Physical sciences |
| Forensic document examination | examination of document materials, alterations and authorship-related features; the evidential strength and limitations depend on the method used | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic ecology | application of ecological knowledge to investigations and legal questions | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic engineering | investigation of engineering failures and technical questions associated with legal matters | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic entomology | use of insect and other arthropod evidence in legal investigations | Life sciences · also forensic entomological science |
| Forensic genetics | use of genetic analysis in legal identification and investigation | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic geology | application of geological materials and methods to legal evidence | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic linguistics | application of linguistic analysis to legal questions and evidence | Social sciences and humanities |
| Forensic metrology | application of measurement science and uncertainty evaluation to forensic work | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic nursing research | nursing practice and health needs where healthcare and legal systems intersect | Medicine and health |
| Forensic odontology | application of dental knowledge to legal investigations | Medicine and health · also forensic dentistry |
| Forensic pathology | application of pathology to legal investigations, particularly cause and manner of death | Medicine and health |
| Forensic psychiatry | application of psychiatric expertise to legal questions and settings | Medicine and health |
| Forensic psychology | application of psychological research and practice to legal settings | Social sciences and humanities |
| Forensic science | scientific methods applied to evidence in crime and law | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic statistics | development and use of statistical methods for evaluating forensic evidence | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forensic toxicology | application of toxicological analysis to legal investigations | Medicine and health |
| Forest biometrics | quantitative measurement and analysis of forests and forest growth | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forest botany | plants occurring in forest environments | Life sciences |
| Forest ecology | ecological processes in forests | Life sciences |
| Forest entomology | insects in forest systems | Life sciences |
| Forest genetics | heredity and genetic variation in forest organisms, especially trees | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forest hydrology | water processes in forested environments | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forest pathology | diseases affecting forest trees and ecosystems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forest science | forest organisms, ecosystems, resources and management | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Forestry | the growing, managing and conserving of forests | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Formal language theory | symbol systems and the rules defining valid strings | Formal sciences |
| Formal methods | use and development of mathematical techniques for specifying and verifying systems | Formal sciences |
| Formal science | abstract systems through logic, mathematics and related deductive methods | Formal sciences |
| Fourier analysis | representations of functions using sinusoidal or related components | Formal sciences |
| Fractal geometry | structures with intricate scaling properties and often noninteger dimensions | Formal sciences |
| Fracture mechanics | crack formation and propagation in materials | Physical sciences |
| Fragrance chemistry | odor-producing substances and their chemical behavior | Physical sciences |
| Freshwater biology | organisms living in freshwater | Earth and space sciences |
| Freshwater ecology | organisms and ecological processes in freshwater environments | Earth and space sciences |
| Functional analysis | spaces of functions and operators acting on them | Formal sciences |
| Functional anatomy | anatomical structures in relation to their functions | Life sciences |
| Functional genomics | gene and genome functions through large-scale approaches | Life sciences |
| Functional morphology | how the form and structure of organisms relate to their functions | Life sciences |
| Fungal ecology | fungi and their ecological relationships | Life sciences |
| Fungal genetics | heredity and genetic processes in fungi | Life sciences |
| Fusion physics | processes in which light atomic nuclei combine | Physical sciences |
| Futurology | possible futures, based on present trends | Social sciences and humanities |
| Fuzzy logic | reasoning systems that allow degrees of membership or truth | Formal sciences |
G
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Galactic astronomy | the Milky Way and its components | Earth and space sciences |
| Galaxy evolution | how galaxies form and change over cosmic time | Earth and space sciences |
| Galois theory | relationships between field extensions, polynomial equations and groups of symmetries | Formal sciences |
| Game theory | strategic decisions in which each choice depends on the choices of others | Formal sciences |
| Gamma-ray astronomy | the universe through gamma-ray observations | Earth and space sciences |
| Garbology | societies and consumption patterns through the analysis of refuse | Social sciences and humanities |
| Gas dynamics | moving gases, especially when compressibility matters | Physical sciences |
| Gastroenterology | the stomach, intestines and digestive system | Medicine and health |
| Gastrointestinal physiology | the digestive tract and its associated functions | Medicine and health |
| Gastrology | the stomach and its disorders (historical medical term) | Medicine and health |
| Gastronomy | the art and science of good eating | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Gemology | gemstones | Earth and space sciences |
| Gender studies | interdisciplinary study of gender, including empirical social-science and humanities approaches | Social sciences and humanities |
| Gene-regulation research | processes controlling when and how genes are expressed | Life sciences |
| Genealogy | family lineages and descent | Social sciences and humanities |
| Genecology | genetic variation of organisms in relation to their environments | Life sciences |
| General pathology | mechanisms shared by many diseases and tissue responses | Medicine and health |
| General relativity | gravitation as the geometry of spacetime | Physical sciences |
| General surgery | surgical specialty covering a broad range of conditions and operative care | Medicine and health |
| General topology | topological spaces, continuity, convergence and related properties without requiring a metric | Formal sciences · also point-set topology |
| Genesiology | reproduction and heredity (historical term) | Life sciences |
| Genethlialogy | the casting of horoscopes; natal astrology (a divinatory tradition, not a science) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Genetic engineering | changing the genes of living things on purpose | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Genetic epidemiology | genetic and environmental contributions to disease in populations | Medicine and health |
| Genetics | genes and heredity | Life sciences |
| Genomics | the complete set of genes of an organism | Life sciences |
| Geoarchaeology | use of Earth-science methods to investigate archaeological questions | Earth and space sciences |
| Geobiology | interactions between life and the Earth's physical systems | Earth and space sciences |
| Geochemistry | the chemistry of the Earth’s rocks, waters and atmosphere | Earth and space sciences |
| Geochronology | the age of rocks, fossils and sediments | Earth and space sciences |
| Geodesy | the shape and size of the Earth and its gravity field | Earth and space sciences |
| Geodynamics | forces and motions within Earth and other planetary bodies | Earth and space sciences |
| Geogeny | the formation of the Earth’s crust | Earth and space sciences |
| Geognosy | an older name for the investigation of Earth’s materials and structure, especially rocks and minerals | Earth and space sciences |
| Geogony | the formation of the Earth | Earth and space sciences |
| Geographic information science | the principles and methods underlying geographic information systems | Earth and space sciences · also geographic information systems science |
| Geography | the Earth’s surface, its features, climates and peoples | Earth and space sciences |
| Geohydrology | groundwater and its geological setting; commonly called hydrogeology | Earth and space sciences |
| Geoinformatics | computational and information methods for geographic data | Formal sciences |
| Geology | the Earth’s rocks, structure and history | Earth and space sciences |
| Geomagnetism | the Earth’s magnetic field and its origins and changes | Earth and space sciences |
| Geomatics engineering | engineering of systems for measuring, processing and applying spatial and geographic information | Applied sciences and engineering · also surveying science |
| Geometric topology | manifolds and their embeddings through geometric methods | Formal sciences |
| Geometrical optics | light propagation using a ray-based approximation | Physical sciences |
| Geometry | shapes, sizes, angles and the properties of space | Formal sciences |
| Geomicrobiology | microorganisms in geological processes and environments | Earth and space sciences |
| Geomorphogeny | the origins of land forms | Earth and space sciences |
| Geomorphology | landforms and how they are shaped | Earth and space sciences |
| Geomorphometry | quantitative study of the geometry and spatial characteristics of land surfaces | Earth and space sciences |
| Geophysics | the physics of the Earth, such as earthquakes, gravity and magnetism | Earth and space sciences |
| Geoponics | agriculture | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Geospatial science | information, measurements and processes associated with geographic location | Earth and space sciences |
| Geotechnical engineering | study and engineering use of soil, rock and subsurface conditions | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Geotechnics | the engineering behavior of soil and rock, for foundations, slopes and earthworks | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Geothermal engineering | study and development of systems using heat from Earth | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Geratology | old age and age-related conditions (historical term) | Medicine and health |
| Geriatric psychiatry | psychiatry specialty focused on mental health in older adults | Medicine and health |
| Geriatrics | the health and medical care of older people | Medicine and health |
| Gerocomy | the care and treatment of old people (historical term) | Medicine and health |
| Gerontology | aging and the problems of older people | Medicine and health · also study of aging |
| Glacial geomorphology | landscapes formed or modified by glaciers | Earth and space sciences |
| Glaciology | glaciers, ice sheets and ice | Earth and space sciences |
| Glass science | glass formation, structure, properties and processing | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Global ecology | ecological processes at planetary scales | Life sciences |
| Global health | health issues and inequalities extending across national boundaries | Medicine and health |
| Glossology | language or tongues; an older synonym for linguistics | Social sciences and humanities |
| Glottochronology | estimating when languages diverged by comparing vocabulary | Social sciences and humanities |
| Glottology | language; an older synonym for linguistics | Social sciences and humanities |
| Glycobiology | carbohydrates and glycans in biological systems | Life sciences |
| Glycomics | the full sets of glycans produced by biological systems | Life sciences |
| Glycoproteomics | glycosylated proteins and their associated carbohydrate modifications | Life sciences |
| Glyptography | the art of engraving on gems | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Glyptology | engraved gems, seals and the art of gem carving | Social sciences and humanities |
| Gnathology | the jaws, teeth and masticatory system | Medicine and health |
| Gnomonics | the art of measuring time using sundials | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Gnomonology | sundials and the principles of gnomonics | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Gnoseology | knowledge and cognition; a philosophical synonym of epistemology | Social sciences and humanities · also gnosiology |
| Gnotobiology | organisms maintained with known or controlled microbial communities | Life sciences |
| Googology | very large numbers and systems for naming or describing them | Formal sciences |
| Graminology | grasses; a synonym of agrostology | Life sciences |
| Grammatology | writing systems and scripts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Granular physics | systems composed of many discrete solid particles | Physical sciences |
| Graph theory | networks of points joined by lines | Formal sciences |
| Graphemics | systems of representing speech in writing | Social sciences and humanities |
| Graphology | handwriting, especially claims that it reveals personality (pseudoscience, not a science) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Grassland ecology | grassland ecosystems and their biological interactions | Life sciences |
| Gravimetry | measurement and study of gravitational fields and their variation | Earth and space sciences |
| Gravitational biology | how gravity influences biological systems | Life sciences |
| Gravitational physics | gravity, its effects and the theories describing it | Physical sciences |
| Gravitational-wave astronomy | cosmic sources through detected gravitational waves | Earth and space sciences |
| Green chemistry | design of chemical products and processes that reduce hazardous substances and waste | Physical sciences |
| Gromatics | surveying | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Groundwater hydrology | water stored and moving below Earth’s surface | Earth and space sciences |
| Group theory | groups and the symmetries they describe | Formal sciences |
| Gynecologic oncology | clinical specialty focused on cancers of the female reproductive system | Medicine and health |
| Gynecology | women’s reproductive health | Medicine and health · also gynaecology |
| Gyrostatics | rotating bodies | Physical sciences |
H
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Hagiology | saints, their lives, legends and veneration | Social sciences and humanities |
| Halieutics | fishing | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Hamartiology | sin in Christian theology | Social sciences and humanities |
| Harmonic analysis | functions through their frequency components and related representations | Formal sciences |
| Harmonics | musical acoustics | Physical sciences |
| Health economics | resource allocation, incentives and outcomes in health and healthcare | Medicine and health |
| Health geography | spatial relationships involving health, illness and healthcare | Social sciences and humanities |
| Health informatics | information systems and data use in health and healthcare | Formal sciences |
| Health physics | study and practice of protection against harmful exposure to ionizing radiation | Physical sciences |
| Health psychology | psychological influences on health, illness and healthcare | Social sciences and humanities |
| Health-policy research | decisions, institutions and policies affecting health | Medicine and health |
| Health-promotion research | approaches that enable people and communities to improve health | Medicine and health |
| Health-services research | how healthcare is organized, delivered, accessed and evaluated | Medicine and health |
| Health-systems science | the structures and processes through which healthcare systems operate | Medicine and health |
| Hearing science | auditory function and the processing of sound | Medicine and health |
| Heat-transfer science | energy transfer by conduction, convection and radiation | Physical sciences |
| Hedonics | part of ethics or psychology dealing with pleasure | Social sciences and humanities |
| Helcology | ulcers (historical medical term) | Medicine and health |
| Heliology | the Sun; an older term related to solar physics | Earth and space sciences |
| Heliophysics | the Sun and its effects on the solar system | Earth and space sciences · also solar physics |
| Helioseismology | oscillations and waves within the Sun used to study its interior | Earth and space sciences |
| Hellenology | Greek language, literature, history and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Helminthology | parasitic worms | Life sciences |
| Hemataulics | the movement of blood through the blood vessels | Medicine and health · also haemataulics |
| Hematology | blood and its diseases | Medicine and health · also haematology, hematological science |
| Hemerology | calendars and the reckoning of days | Social sciences and humanities |
| Hemipterology | true bugs and related insects in the order Hemiptera | Life sciences |
| Hemopathology | diseases of blood-forming tissues and cells | Medicine and health |
| Hemorheology | the flow properties of blood | Medicine and health |
| Henology | the philosophical study of unity or "the One" | Social sciences and humanities |
| Heortology | religious feasts and festivals | Social sciences and humanities |
| Hepaticology | liverworts (Marchantiophyta) | Life sciences |
| Hepatology | the liver and its diseases | Medicine and health |
| Heraldry | coats of arms | Social sciences and humanities |
| Herbology | herbs and their medicinal uses | Medicine and health |
| Heresiology | heresy | Social sciences and humanities |
| Hermeneutics | interpretation, particularly of texts and meaningful human actions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Herpetology | reptiles and amphibians | Life sciences |
| Hexicology | relationships of organisms to one another and to environmental conditions (historical ecological term) | Life sciences |
| Hieroglyphology | hieroglyphic writing systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Hierology | sacred things, religious traditions and sacred literature | Social sciences and humanities |
| High-energy astrophysics | energetic cosmic processes and high-energy radiation | Earth and space sciences |
| High-energy physics | fundamental particles and interactions, often at high energies | Physical sciences |
| High-performance computing | study and use of computing systems designed for demanding computational workloads | Formal sciences |
| Hippiatrics | diseases of horses | Medicine and health |
| Hippology | horses | Life sciences |
| Hispanology | Spanish language, literature, history and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Histology | tissues, through the microscope | Life sciences |
| Histopathology | disease-related changes in tissues examined microscopically | Medicine and health |
| Histophysiology | the functions of cells and tissues | Life sciences |
| Historical climatology | past climate using documentary and other historical evidence | Earth and space sciences |
| Historical geography | past geographies and the historical formation of landscapes | Social sciences and humanities |
| Historical geology | the Earth’s geological development through time | Earth and space sciences |
| Historical linguistics | language change and historical relationships among languages | Social sciences and humanities |
| Historiography | how history is written | Social sciences and humanities |
| Historiology | the theory, methods and philosophy of history | Social sciences and humanities |
| History | evidence-based investigation and interpretation of the human past | Social sciences and humanities |
| History of science | how scientific knowledge, practices, institutions and communities have developed | Social sciences and humanities |
| Hittitology | Hittite language, history, archaeology and cuneiform texts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Hodology | pathways, especially those of the nervous system | Life sciences |
| Home science | applied interdisciplinary field involving food, nutrition, textiles, human development and household resources | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Homeopathy | a therapeutic system built around like-cures-like and serial dilution. Its historical existence and scientific study do not make those doctrines established science; evidence for specific health benefits is weak | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Homiletics | the art of preaching | Social sciences and humanities |
| Homological algebra | algebraic structures through chain complexes and related constructions | Formal sciences |
| Hoplology | weapons, armor and systems of combat | Social sciences and humanities |
| Horography | the art of constructing sundials or clocks | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Horology | the measurement of time and the making of clocks and watches | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Horticulture | the growing of fruits, vegetables, flowers and garden plants | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Human biology | humans as biological organisms | Life sciences |
| Human ecology | relationships between people and their environments | Life sciences |
| Human factors and ergonomics | interactions between people and systems to improve performance and well-being | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Human genetics | heredity and genetic variation in humans | Life sciences |
| Human geography | human activities, societies and their spatial organization | Social sciences and humanities |
| Human physiology | the functions and mechanisms of the human body | Medicine and health |
| Human-centered artificial intelligence | AI systems designed around human capabilities, needs and contexts | Formal sciences |
| Human-computer interaction | how people use and interact with computing systems | Formal sciences |
| Human-development science | interdisciplinary study of development across the human lifespan | Social sciences and humanities |
| Human-factors psychology | human capabilities and limitations in the design of systems and environments | Social sciences and humanities |
| Hydraulic engineering | application of fluid mechanics to water movement and water-control systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Hydraulics | the use of liquids under pressure to do work | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Hydrobiology | life in water | Life sciences |
| Hydroclimatology | relationships between climate and the water cycle | Earth and space sciences |
| Hydrodynamics | liquids in motion | Physical sciences |
| Hydrogeochemistry | chemical processes involving groundwater and geological materials | Earth and space sciences |
| Hydrogeology | water underground | Earth and space sciences |
| Hydrography | the measuring and charting of seas, lakes and rivers | Earth and space sciences |
| Hydrokinetics | motion of fluids | Physical sciences |
| Hydrology | water on and below the Earth’s surface and how it moves | Earth and space sciences |
| Hydrometeorology | water in the atmosphere and its links to weather and the hydrologic cycle | Earth and space sciences |
| Hydrometry | science of measuring water quantities, levels, flows and related properties | Earth and space sciences |
| Hydropathy | treating diseases with water | Medicine and health |
| Hydrostatics | fluids at rest and the forces they exert | Physical sciences |
| Hyetology | rainfall | Earth and space sciences |
| Hygiastics | health and hygiene | Medicine and health |
| Hygienics | sanitation; health | Medicine and health |
| Hygiology | hygiene and cleanliness (historical synonym of hygienics) | Medicine and health |
| Hygrometry | humidity | Earth and space sciences |
| Hygroscopy | humidity | Earth and space sciences |
| Hymenopterology | bees, wasps, ants and sawflies | Life sciences |
| Hymnography | writing hymns | Social sciences and humanities |
| Hymnology | hymns, hymn texts, tunes, history and use | Social sciences and humanities |
| Hypnology | sleep and, historically, hypnosis | Medicine and health |
| Hypsography | measuring heights | Earth and space sciences |
I
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Iamatology | remedies and their therapeutic action (historical medical term) | Medicine and health |
| Iatrology | medicine and medical practice (historical term for medical science) | Medicine and health |
| Iatromathematics | the archaic practice of medicine in conjunction with astrology | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Ichnography | the art of drawing ground plans; a ground plan | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Ichnology | trace fossils such as footprints and burrows | Earth and space sciences |
| Ichthyology | fishes | Life sciences |
| Iconography | images and symbols in art and what they mean | Social sciences and humanities |
| Iconology | the interpretation of images, symbols and themes in art | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ideogeny | origins of ideas | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ideology | originally the 'science of ideas' (Destutt de Tracy); now chiefly a system of political or social ideas | Social sciences and humanities |
| Idiomology | idioms, jargon and dialectal usage (rare) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Igneous petrology | rocks formed by the cooling of magma or lava | Earth and space sciences |
| Image processing | computational methods for transforming and analyzing images | Formal sciences |
| Immunogenetics | genetic characteristics of immunity | Medicine and health |
| Immunogenomics | genome-scale study of genes and processes associated with immunity | Life sciences |
| Immunohematology | interactions between the immune system and blood, especially blood-group antigens and transfusion reactions | Medicine and health |
| Immunology | the immune system | Medicine and health |
| Immunopathology | immune mechanisms involved in disease | Medicine and health |
| Immunopharmacology | drug interactions with immune processes | Medicine and health |
| Immunotoxicology | adverse effects of agents on immune-system function | Medicine and health |
| Implementation science | methods for incorporating evidence-based practices into routine settings | Medicine and health |
| Indigenous knowledge research | research involving Indigenous knowledge systems and knowledge holders, with methods and disciplinary placement varying by context | Social sciences and humanities |
| Indology | the history, languages and cultures of India | Social sciences and humanities |
| Industrial biotechnology | use and investigation of biological processes in industrial production and processing | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Industrial chemistry | study and application of chemical processes used in industrial production | Physical sciences |
| Industrial ecology | material and energy flows through industrial and economic systems | Life sciences |
| Industrial engineering | study and improvement of integrated systems involving people, equipment, information and resources | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Industrial microbiology | study and use of microorganisms in industrial processes | Life sciences |
| Industrial organization | firms, competition and market structure | Social sciences and humanities |
| Industrial-organizational psychology | behavior, work and organizations | Social sciences and humanities · also industrial psychology |
| Infectious-disease epidemiology | the occurrence, spread and determinants of infectious diseases | Medicine and health |
| Infectious-disease medicine | clinical specialty concerned with infections and their diagnosis, prevention and treatment | Medicine and health |
| Information retrieval | finding relevant information within collections | Formal sciences |
| Information science | information creation, organization, retrieval, use and communication | Formal sciences |
| Information systems | how people, organizations, information and computing technologies interact | Formal sciences |
| Information theory | the measurement, storage and communication of information | Formal sciences |
| Information-behavior research | how people seek, use, share and avoid information | Social sciences and humanities |
| Informetrics | quantitative study of information and its production, distribution and use | Social sciences and humanities |
| Infrared astronomy | celestial objects through infrared radiation | Earth and space sciences |
| Injury-prevention science | injury causes and interventions to reduce their occurrence or severity | Medicine and health |
| Innovation studies | how new ideas, technologies and practices develop and spread | Social sciences and humanities |
| Inorganic chemistry | chemical compounds other than carbon compounds | Physical sciences |
| Inorganic geochemistry | inorganic elements and compounds in geological systems | Earth and space sciences |
| Insectology | insects; an older, informal synonym of entomology | Life sciences |
| Institutional economics | how rules, organizations and institutions influence economic behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Instrumentation science | instruments and methods for measurement and observation | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Integrative biology | living systems by combining levels of organization and biological disciplines | Life sciences |
| Integrative physiology | physiological interactions across cells, tissues, organs and whole organisms | Life sciences |
| Interactomics | molecular interaction networks on a large scale | Life sciences |
| Interface physics | physical behavior where different materials or phases meet | Physical sciences |
| Internal medicine | clinical specialty focused on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of adult diseases | Medicine and health |
| International economics | economic interactions across national borders | Social sciences and humanities |
| International relations | political and related interactions across national and transnational systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| International trade theory | trade patterns, gains, institutions and related policies | Social sciences and humanities |
| Interventional cardiology | cardiology specialty using catheter-based diagnostic and treatment procedures | Medicine and health |
| Interventional radiology | clinical specialty using image-guided procedures for diagnosis and treatment | Medicine and health |
| Invasion ecology | the introduction, establishment, spread and effects of nonnative organisms | Life sciences |
| Invertebrate paleontology | fossil invertebrates and their evolutionary history | Earth and space sciences |
| Invertebrate zoology | animals without backbones | Life sciences |
| Ionospheric physics | ionized regions of planetary upper atmospheres | Earth and space sciences |
| Iranology | Iranian languages, literature, history, religions and cultures | Social sciences and humanities |
| Irenology | peace, peacebuilding and the causes or prevention of conflict | Social sciences and humanities |
| Iridology | diagnosis of health conditions from iris patterns (pseudoscience, not a science) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Irrigation science | water application and management for crops and managed landscapes | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Isotope chemistry | isotopes and their effects in chemical systems | Physical sciences |
| Isotope geochemistry | isotope distributions and their use in understanding geological processes | Earth and space sciences |
| Isotope hydrology | use of isotope measurements to investigate water origins and movement | Earth and space sciences |
J
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Japanology | Japanese language, history, literature and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Journalism research | news production, journalism practices and their social roles | Social sciences and humanities |
| Jurisprudence | the theory and philosophy of law | Social sciences and humanities |
K
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Kalology | beauty and the principles of the beautiful (rare) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Karst science | landscapes and water systems shaped by dissolution of soluble rocks | Earth and space sciences |
| Karyology | cell nuclei and chromosomes | Life sciences |
| Kinematics | motion, without regard to the forces that cause it | Physical sciences |
| Kinesics | body language and gestures | Social sciences and humanities |
| Kinesiology | human movement | Medicine and health |
| Kinetics | forces producing or changing motion | Physical sciences |
| Knot theory | mathematical knots, links and their equivalence | Formal sciences |
| Knowledge representation | formal ways to express information for reasoning and computation | Formal sciences |
| Koniology | airborne dust, pollen, spores and other particles | Earth and space sciences |
| Koreanology | Korean language, literature, history, society and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Kremlinology | Soviet or Russian politics inferred from limited official information | Social sciences and humanities |
| Kurdology | Kurdish language, literature, history, society and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Kymatology | the motion of waves (rare; also spelled cymatology) | Physical sciences |
L
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Labeorphily | collection and study of beer bottle labels | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Labor economics | employment, wages, work and labor markets | Social sciences and humanities |
| Land-resource science | land properties, capabilities, degradation and sustainable use | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Landscape ecology | ecological patterns and processes across landscapes | Life sciences |
| Landscape genetics | how landscape features influence genetic variation and movement | Life sciences |
| Language typology | study and classification of languages by their structural characteristics | Social sciences and humanities |
| Language-acquisition research | how people develop language abilities | Social sciences and humanities |
| Larithmics | population statistics | Social sciences and humanities |
| Laryngology | the larynx, voice box and related disorders | Medicine and health |
| Laser physics | laser operation and the properties of laser light | Physical sciences |
| Learning sciences | interdisciplinary study of learning processes and learning environments | Social sciences and humanities |
| Leather science | hide-derived materials, their processing and properties | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Lepidopterology | butterflies and moths | Life sciences |
| Leprology | leprosy | Medicine and health |
| Lexicography | the writing and compiling of dictionaries | Social sciences and humanities |
| Lexicology | words and vocabulary, including their meanings, structures and relationships | Social sciences and humanities |
| Lexigraphy | the art of definition of words | Social sciences and humanities |
| Library and information science | knowledge organization, information services and their institutions | Formal sciences |
| Library science | the collection, organization and use of information in libraries | Social sciences and humanities |
| Lichenology | lichens | Life sciences |
| Lie theory | lie groups, Lie algebras and continuous symmetries | Formal sciences |
| Life science | collective name for sciences investigating organisms, life processes and biological systems | Life sciences |
| Limacology | slugs | Life sciences |
| Limnobiology | the biology of freshwater organisms and ecosystems | Life sciences |
| Limnology | lakes, ponds, rivers and other inland waters | Earth and space sciences · also freshwater science |
| Linear algebra | vector spaces, linear maps, matrices and linear systems | Formal sciences |
| Linguistic anthropology | language in relation to culture and social life | Social sciences and humanities |
| Linguistics | language and its structure | Social sciences and humanities |
| Lipidomics | large-scale study of lipids and their biological roles | Life sciences |
| Literary studies | literary texts, forms, interpretation, history and cultural contexts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Lithology | the physical characteristics and classification of rocks | Earth and space sciences |
| Liturgiology | liturgies, rites and forms of public worship | Social sciences and humanities |
| Logic | the principles of valid reasoning | Formal sciences |
| Logistics research | the movement, storage and coordination of goods and resources | Social sciences and humanities |
| Logology | words and wordplay (recreational linguistics) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Loimology | plagues and epidemic diseases (historical term related to epidemiology) | Medicine and health |
| Longevity research | factors influencing lifespan and survival | Life sciences |
| Low-temperature physics | physical phenomena at very low temperatures | Physical sciences |
| Loxodromy | sailing along rhumb-lines | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Lunar science | the Moon’s origin, structure, surface and evolution | Earth and space sciences |
M
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Machine learning | computational methods that learn patterns or behavior from data | Formal sciences |
| Macroecology | large-scale patterns in biodiversity, abundance and distribution | Life sciences |
| Macroeconomics | economy-wide activity, growth, inflation, employment and related processes | Social sciences and humanities |
| Macrosociology | large-scale social systems, institutions, populations and long-term social processes | Social sciences and humanities |
| Magirics | the art of cookery | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Magnanerie | the art of raising silkworms | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Magnetic materials science | materials whose magnetic properties are scientifically or technologically important | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Magnetics | magnetism | Physical sciences |
| Magnetism | magnetic fields, magnetic materials and associated phenomena | Physical sciences |
| Magnetohydrodynamics | electrically conducting fluids interacting with magnetic fields | Physical sciences |
| Magnetospheric physics | regions controlled by planetary magnetic fields | Earth and space sciences |
| Malacology | mollusks, such as snails, clams and octopuses | Life sciences |
| Malariology | malaria, its parasites, transmission, prevention and treatment | Medicine and health |
| Mammalogy | mammals | Life sciences · also mammology, theriology |
| Management science | use of analytical and quantitative methods to investigate management decisions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Manufacturing engineering | study and design of manufacturing processes and systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Manège | the art of horsemanship and the training of horses | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Marine biogeochemistry | chemical cycles involving marine organisms, seawater and sediments | Earth and space sciences |
| Marine biology | life in the sea | Life sciences |
| Marine chemistry | chemical substances and processes in marine environments | Physical sciences |
| Marine ecology | ecological interactions in marine environments | Earth and space sciences |
| Marine engineering | study and design of machinery and systems used in marine vessels and installations | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Marine geology | geological materials and processes in marine settings | Earth and space sciences · also geological oceanography |
| Marine geophysics | marine geological systems using physical measurements and models | Earth and space sciences |
| Marine mammalogy | mammals adapted to marine environments | Life sciences |
| Marine microbiology | microorganisms and microbial processes in marine environments | Life sciences |
| Mariology | the Virgin Mary in Christian theology and devotion | Social sciences and humanities |
| Maritime archaeology | human interaction with waters through associated archaeological remains | Social sciences and humanities |
| Marketing science | quantitative and behavioral study of markets, consumers and marketing decisions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Martyrology | martyrs and their sufferings | Social sciences and humanities |
| Mass spectrometry research | development and scientific use of methods that analyze ions by mass-to-charge ratio | Physical sciences |
| Mass-communication research | messages and communication reaching large audiences | Social sciences and humanities |
| Mastology | the breasts and their diseases; also, historically, a synonym of mammalogy | Medicine and health |
| Materials chemistry | the chemical basis for creating and understanding useful materials | Physical sciences |
| Materials engineering | application of materials science to selecting, processing and designing materials | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Materials informatics | use of data and computation to study and discover materials | Formal sciences |
| Materials science | the properties and uses of materials such as metals, ceramics and plastics | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Maternal-fetal medicine | clinical specialty focused on complex pregnancies and fetal health | Medicine and health |
| Mathematical analysis | limits, continuity, differentiation, integration and related structures | Formal sciences |
| Mathematical biology | use of mathematical models to study biological systems | Formal sciences |
| Mathematical finance | development of mathematical models for financial systems and instruments | Formal sciences |
| Mathematical logic | formal reasoning, proof and mathematical foundations | Formal sciences |
| Mathematical physics | development of mathematical structures and methods for physical theories | Formal sciences |
| Mathematical statistics | statistical methods and their properties through mathematics | Formal sciences |
| Mathematics | numbers, quantities, shapes and patterns | Formal sciences |
| Mathematics-education research | mathematics teaching and learning | Social sciences and humanities |
| Mazology | mammals; a rare synonym of mammalogy | Life sciences |
| Measure theory | generalized notions of size and the foundations of integration | Formal sciences |
| Meat science | muscle foods, including their biology, properties and processing | Life sciences |
| Mechanical engineering | the design and building of machines | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Mechanics | forces and the motion they produce | Physical sciences |
| Mechanochemistry | chemical changes driven by mechanical forces | Physical sciences |
| Mechatronics | machines that combine mechanics, electronics and computing | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Meconology | opium and its preparations (historical medical term) | Medicine and health |
| Media research | media systems, content, use and social effects | Social sciences and humanities |
| Medical anthropology | health, illness and care within biological and cultural contexts | Medicine and health |
| Medical biotechnology | research using biological systems and techniques to develop medical products and diagnostic or therapeutic approaches | Medicine and health |
| Medical education research | how medical knowledge and clinical skills are learned and taught | Medicine and health |
| Medical entomology | insects and other arthropods relevant to human health | Life sciences |
| Medical genetics | study and clinical application of genetics in human health and disease | Life sciences |
| Medical geology | how geological materials and processes influence human and animal health | Earth and space sciences |
| Medical microbiology | microorganisms associated with human health and disease | Life sciences |
| Medical mycology | fungi and fungal diseases relevant to human health | Life sciences |
| Medical oncology | clinical specialty treating cancer through systemic medicines and related care | Medicine and health |
| Medical parasitology | parasites and parasitic diseases affecting humans | Life sciences |
| Medical physics | application of physics to medical imaging, treatment and related research | Physical sciences |
| Medical sociology | health, illness and medicine in social contexts | Medicine and health |
| Medicinal chemistry | study and design of chemical compounds intended for therapeutic use | Physical sciences |
| Medicinal-plant science | medicinal plants, their constituents, biology and uses through scientific methods | Life sciences |
| Medicine | the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease | Medicine and health |
| Melittology | bees | Life sciences · also apiology |
| Membrane biology | biological membranes and their molecular functions | Life sciences |
| Mereology | parts, wholes and their relationships in logic, metaphysics and formal ontology | Formal sciences |
| Mesology | the relationships of organisms to their environment; an older synonym of ecology | Life sciences |
| Mesoscale meteorology | weather systems at scales between local and synoptic processes | Earth and space sciences |
| Mesoscopic physics | systems between microscopic and bulk scales | Physical sciences |
| Metabolic engineering | study and alteration of cellular metabolic pathways for specified functions or products | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Metabolomics | small-molecule metabolites across biological systems | Life sciences |
| Metagenomics | genetic material obtained directly from mixed communities of organisms | Life sciences |
| Metallogeny | the origin and distribution of metal deposits | Earth and space sciences |
| Metallography | the structure and constitution of metals | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Metallurgical engineering | engineering concerned with extracting, processing and using metals | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Metallurgy | metals, their extraction and their properties | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Metamorphic petrology | rocks changed by heat, pressure, fluids or deformation | Earth and space sciences |
| Metaphysics | principles of nature and thought | Social sciences and humanities |
| Metapolitics | politics in theory or abstract | Social sciences and humanities |
| Metapsychology | the theoretical foundations and concepts underlying psychology, especially psychoanalysis | Social sciences and humanities |
| Metascience | research methods, practices, reliability and institutions | Social sciences and humanities · also science-of-science research |
| Meteoritics | meteorites and meteors | Earth and space sciences |
| Meteorology | the atmosphere and the weather | Earth and space sciences |
| Methodology | methods, principles and procedures used in a field of inquiry | Social sciences and humanities |
| Metrics | versification | Social sciences and humanities |
| Metrology | measurement and its units | Physical sciences · also measurement science, science of measurement |
| Microanatomy | microscopic tissues | Life sciences |
| Microbial biotechnology | study and application of microorganisms for useful products and processes | Life sciences |
| Microbial ecology | microorganisms in relation to one another and their environments | Life sciences |
| Microbial genetics | genetic processes in microorganisms | Life sciences |
| Microbial physiology | the functions, metabolism and growth of microorganisms | Life sciences |
| Microbiology | microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi | Life sciences · also microbial science |
| Microbiome science | microbial communities, their environments and their interactions with hosts | Life sciences · also microbiomics |
| Microclimatology | microclimates , the climate of very small or localized areas | Earth and space sciences |
| Microeconomics | decisions and interactions among households, firms and other individual agents | Social sciences and humanities |
| Microelectronics | study and design of miniaturized electronic devices and integrated circuits | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Micrology | minute details or trivial subjects (rare term) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Micrometeorology | atmospheric processes at very small spatial and temporal scales near Earth's surface | Earth and space sciences |
| Micromorphology | microscopic form and structure, especially of soils, tissues or materials | Life sciences |
| Micropaleontology | microfossils and microscopic fossil remains | Earth and space sciences · also micropalaeontology |
| Microphytology | microscopic plants and microphytes (rare) | Life sciences |
| Microscopic anatomy | biological structures at microscopic scales | Life sciences |
| Microscopy | minute objects | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Microwave engineering | study and application of high-frequency electromagnetic waves and devices | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Midwifery research | care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period | Medicine and health |
| Migration studies | human mobility, migration experiences and their social consequences | Social sciences and humanities |
| Military medicine | study and practice of healthcare in military environments and operations | Medicine and health |
| Mineral physics | the physical properties of minerals, especially under Earth-interior conditions | Earth and space sciences |
| Mineral processing | methods for separating and concentrating valuable minerals | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Mineralogy | minerals | Earth and space sciences |
| Mining engineering | study and design of methods for extracting mineral resources | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Mining geology | application of geological knowledge to mineral exploration and extraction | Earth and space sciences |
| Missiology | Christian mission, missionary activity and the spread of Christianity | Social sciences and humanities |
| Mixology | the preparation, composition and presentation of mixed drinks | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Modal logic | formal reasoning about concepts such as possibility and necessity | Formal sciences |
| Model theory | the relationships between formal languages and their interpretations | Formal sciences |
| Molecular biology | the molecules of life, such as DNA, RNA and proteins | Life sciences |
| Molecular ecology | use of molecular methods to investigate ecological questions | Life sciences |
| Molecular endocrinology | hormone action and regulation at the molecular level | Life sciences |
| Molecular epidemiology | use of molecular information to investigate population-level disease patterns and causes | Medicine and health |
| Molecular evolution | evolutionary change in genes, proteins and other molecular systems | Life sciences |
| Molecular genetics | gene structure, function and regulation at the molecular level | Life sciences |
| Molecular immunology | immune processes through their molecular mechanisms | Life sciences |
| Molecular medicine | study and application of molecular mechanisms in health and disease | Medicine and health |
| Molecular neuroscience | nervous-system processes at the molecular level | Life sciences |
| Molecular paleontology | molecular evidence associated with ancient life | Earth and space sciences |
| Molecular pathology | study and diagnosis of disease through molecular changes | Medicine and health |
| Molecular pharmacology | drug action through molecular mechanisms | Medicine and health |
| Molecular physics | the physical properties and interactions of molecules | Physical sciences |
| Molecular toxicology | toxic effects through molecular mechanisms | Medicine and health |
| Molecular virology | viruses and viral processes at the molecular level | Life sciences |
| Molinology | mills and the milling of grain | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Monetary economics | money, credit, inflation and monetary institutions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Mongolology | Mongolian language, literature, history and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Morphology | the form and structure of living things | Life sciences |
| Morphology (linguistics) | word structure and word formation | Social sciences and humanities |
| Morphometrics | quantitative study of biological shape and size | Life sciences |
| Motor neuroscience | neural mechanisms controlling movement | Life sciences |
| Mountain ecology | ecological patterns and processes in mountainous environments | Life sciences |
| Multiagent systems | interacting computational agents and their collective behavior | Formal sciences |
| Multimessenger astronomy | cosmic events using different kinds of signals together | Earth and space sciences |
| Multivariate statistics | statistical study of data involving several variables simultaneously | Formal sciences |
| Muscology | mosses; an older term for the part of bryology dealing with mosses | Life sciences |
| Museology | museums, collections, preservation, interpretation and museum practice | Social sciences and humanities |
| Musicology | music, its history and theory | Social sciences and humanities |
| Mycobacteriology | mycobacteria and associated infections | Life sciences |
| Mycology | fungi | Life sciences |
| Mycotoxicology | mycotoxins, their production, detection, biological effects and control | Medicine and health |
| Mycotoxology | fungal toxins and their effects; often called mycotoxicology | Medicine and health |
| Myology | muscles and the muscular system | Life sciences |
| Myriapodology | centipedes, millipedes and other myriapods | Life sciences |
| Myrmecology | ants | Life sciences |
| Mythology | myths, mythic traditions and their interpretation | Social sciences and humanities |
N
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Nanochemistry | chemical systems and synthesis at nanometer scales | Physical sciences |
| Nanoelectronics | electronic devices and effects at nanometer scales | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Nanomaterials science | materials whose structure or function involves nanometer scales | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Nanophysics | physical behavior at nanometer scales | Physical sciences |
| Nanotechnology | materials and devices built at the scale of atoms and molecules | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Nanotribology | friction, lubrication, adhesion and wear at nanometer scales | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Naology | the architecture of temples and churches (rare) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Narratology | narrative structure, storytelling and how narratives function | Social sciences and humanities |
| Nasology | the nose (historical; compare rhinology) | Medicine and health |
| Natural history | observation and description of organisms and the natural world, including their diversity, behavior and environments. Continues alongside more specialized biological and Earth sciences | Life sciences |
| Natural language processing | computational methods for analyzing and generating human language | Formal sciences |
| Natural philosophy | investigation of nature before the modern separation of physics, chemistry, biology and related sciences; included forms of philosophical reasoning as well as observation and experiment | Physical sciences |
| Natural science | collective name for the sciences investigating the physical universe and living organisms | Physical sciences |
| Natural-hazard science | potentially damaging natural processes and their impacts | Earth and space sciences |
| Nautics | the art of navigation | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Naval architecture | the design of ships and boats | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Near-surface geophysics | shallow subsurface structures and processes using geophysical methods | Earth and space sciences |
| Nematology | nematodes, or roundworms | Life sciences |
| Neoichnology | tracks, trails, burrows and other traces made by living organisms | Life sciences |
| Neonatology | newborn babies, especially those born ill or early | Medicine and health |
| Neossology | young birds and nestlings (rare term) | Life sciences |
| Neotectonics | comparatively recent tectonic movements and their effects on Earth’s crust | Earth and space sciences |
| Nephology | clouds | Earth and space sciences |
| Nephrology | the kidneys and their diseases | Medicine and health |
| Network neuroscience | nervous systems through network organization and interactions | Life sciences |
| Network science | the structure, behavior and evolution of networks | Formal sciences |
| Network security | protecting communications and networked computing systems | Formal sciences |
| Neural engineering | application of engineering methods to understand, interact with or support nervous systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Neuroanatomy | nervous-system structure | Life sciences |
| Neurobiology | the biology of the nervous system | Life sciences |
| Neurochemistry | chemical substances and processes in nervous systems | Life sciences |
| Neurocritical care | specialized intensive care for severe neurological and neurosurgical conditions | Medicine and health |
| Neuroeconomics | decision-making combining neuroscience, psychology and economics | Social sciences and humanities |
| Neuroendocrinology | interactions between the nervous and endocrine systems | Medicine and health |
| Neuroethology | neural mechanisms underlying natural animal behavior | Life sciences |
| Neurogenetics | genetic influences on nervous-system development and function | Life sciences |
| Neuroimaging science | development and scientific use of methods for imaging nervous-system structure and activity | Life sciences |
| Neuroimmunology | interactions between nervous and immune systems | Medicine and health |
| Neuroinformatics | methods for organizing, sharing and analyzing neuroscience information | Formal sciences |
| Neurolinguistics | neural mechanisms supporting language | Social sciences and humanities |
| Neurology | the nervous system and its disorders | Medicine and health |
| Neuromuscular medicine | clinical field concerned with disorders of muscles, peripheral nerves and neuromuscular transmission | Medicine and health |
| Neuropathology | diseases of nervous-system tissue | Medicine and health |
| Neuropharmacology | effects of drugs on the nervous system | Medicine and health |
| Neurophysiology | functions and electrical activity of the nervous system | Medicine and health |
| Neuropsychology | relationships between brain function, cognition, emotion and behavior | Medicine and health |
| Neuropterology | lacewings, antlions and other insects of the order Neuroptera | Life sciences |
| Neuroradiology | medical imaging of the brain, spine, head, neck and nervous system | Medicine and health |
| Neuroscience | the nervous system and the brain | Life sciences |
| Neurosurgery | surgical specialty concerned with the nervous system and associated structures | Medicine and health |
| Neurotology | clinical specialty concerned with neurological aspects of ear and balance disorders | Medicine and health |
| Neurotoxicology | harmful effects on the nervous system | Medicine and health |
| Neurypnology | hypnotism (the original term coined by James Braid for the study of hypnosis) | Medicine and health |
| Neutrino astronomy | cosmic processes through detected neutrinos | Earth and space sciences |
| Neutrosophy | the origin and nature of philosophical neutralities | Social sciences and humanities |
| Nidology | birds’ nests | Life sciences |
| Nomology | laws, legal principles or laws of nature | Social sciences and humanities |
| Non-Euclidean geometry | geometries that differ from Euclidean assumptions, particularly about parallels | Formal sciences |
| Noncommutative algebra | algebraic structures whose multiplication need not commute | Formal sciences |
| Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics | statistical behavior in systems away from equilibrium | Physical sciences |
| Nonlinear optics | optical responses that depend nonlinearly on light intensity | Physical sciences |
| Nonparametric statistics | statistical methods with comparatively flexible assumptions about underlying distributions | Formal sciences |
| Noology | mind, intellect and knowledge | Social sciences and humanities |
| Noospherology | the noosphere and theories of collective human thought or knowledge | Social sciences and humanities |
| Nosetiology | causes of disease; a rare synonym of etiology | Medicine and health |
| Nosology | the classification of diseases | Medicine and health |
| Nostology | senility and the changes of extreme old age (historical; compare gerontology) | Medicine and health |
| Notaphily | the collecting of banknotes and checks | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Nubianology | Nubian languages, history, archaeology and cultures | Social sciences and humanities |
| Nuclear chemistry | radioactive elements and nuclear reactions | Physical sciences |
| Nuclear engineering | the use of nuclear energy, as in power plants | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Nuclear medicine | clinical specialty using radioactive substances for diagnosis and treatment | Medicine and health |
| Nuclear physics | the nuclei of atoms and the forces that hold them together | Physical sciences |
| Number theory | whole numbers and their properties | Formal sciences |
| Numerical analysis | algorithms that approximate mathematical quantities and solutions | Formal sciences · also numerical mathematics |
| Numerology | purported mystical relationships between numbers and events or personal traits (pseudoscience) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Numismatics | coins, banknotes and medals | Social sciences and humanities |
| Numismatology | coins, tokens, medals and paper money; more commonly called numismatics | Social sciences and humanities |
| Nursing science | nursing care, health experiences and the knowledge supporting nursing practice | Medicine and health |
| Nutrigenetics | how genetic variation affects responses to nutrients and diets | Life sciences |
| Nutrigenomics | interactions between nutrition and genome activity | Life sciences |
| Nutrition science | nutrients, diets, metabolism and their relationships with health | Medicine and health |
| Nutritional biochemistry | the biochemical roles and metabolism of nutrients | Medicine and health |
| Nutritional epidemiology | diet and nutrition in relation to population health | Medicine and health |
O
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Observational astronomy | investigation of celestial objects through detected light and other signals | Earth and space sciences |
| Obstetrics | pregnancy and childbirth | Medicine and health |
| Occupational epidemiology | work-related exposures and health patterns | Medicine and health |
| Occupational health psychology | psychological and organizational influences on worker health | Social sciences and humanities |
| Occupational hygiene | science of recognizing, evaluating and controlling harmful workplace exposures | Medicine and health · also industrial hygiene |
| Occupational medicine | clinical field concerned with health in relation to work and workplace exposures | Medicine and health |
| Occupational science | people’s everyday activities and their relationships with health and well-being | Medicine and health |
| Occupational therapy research | interventions supporting participation in daily activities | Medicine and health |
| Occupational toxicology | harmful exposures associated with workplaces | Medicine and health |
| Ocean acoustics | sound propagation and acoustic processes in marine environments | Earth and space sciences |
| Ocean engineering | study and design of technologies operating in ocean environments | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Ocean optics | light and optical properties in marine environments | Earth and space sciences |
| Oceanography | the oceans and seas | Earth and space sciences · also oceanology |
| Odology | the 'odic force,' a hypothetical vital energy proposed by Baron von Reichenbach (historical pseudoscience) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Odonatology | dragonflies and damselflies | Life sciences |
| Odontology | the teeth and their diseases | Medicine and health · also dentistry |
| Oikology | the household and domestic economy (historical term related to home economics) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Olericulture | the growing of vegetables | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Olfactology | the sense of smell and olfactory processes | Life sciences |
| Ombrology | rain and rainfall (rare; compare hyetology) | Earth and space sciences |
| Oncology | cancer | Medicine and health |
| One Health research | integrated study of connections among human, animal and environmental health | Life sciences |
| Oneirology | dreams and dreaming | Social sciences and humanities |
| Onomasiology | how concepts are expressed or named in language | Social sciences and humanities |
| Onomastics | proper names of people and places | Social sciences and humanities |
| Onomatology | names and naming, including personal and place names | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ontology | being, existence and the categories of reality | Social sciences and humanities |
| Oology | birds’ eggs | Life sciences |
| Operating systems research | software that manages computing resources and program execution | Formal sciences |
| Operations management research | processes used to produce and deliver goods and services | Social sciences and humanities |
| Operations research | the use of mathematics to make better decisions | Formal sciences · also operational research, operations analysis |
| Ophiology | snakes | Life sciences |
| Ophthalmology | the eye and its diseases | Medicine and health |
| Optical astronomy | astronomical objects through visible-light observations | Earth and space sciences |
| Optical engineering | study and design of systems that use or control light | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Optical materials science | materials that generate, transmit, modify or detect light | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Optics | light and its behavior | Physical sciences |
| Optimization | finding the best feasible solution under specified objectives and constraints | Formal sciences |
| Optology | vision and the eye (rare term) | Medicine and health |
| Optometry | eyesight and the correction of vision problems | Medicine and health |
| Oral and maxillofacial surgery | surgical discipline concerning the mouth, jaws, face and associated structures | Medicine and health |
| Oral medicine | clinical discipline concerned with medical conditions affecting the mouth and related structures | Medicine and health |
| Oral pathology | study and diagnosis of diseases of oral and related tissues | Medicine and health |
| Orchidology | orchids | Life sciences |
| Order theory | mathematical structures equipped with ordering relations | Formal sciences |
| Ordinary differential equations | differential equations involving one independent variable | Formal sciences |
| Organic chemistry | carbon compounds | Physical sciences |
| Organic geochemistry | organic substances in geological materials and environments | Earth and space sciences |
| Organic synthesis | methods for making organic molecules | Physical sciences |
| Organizational behavior | individuals and groups within organizational settings | Social sciences and humanities |
| Organizational science | organizations, their structures, processes and behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Organoid biology | self-organizing three-dimensional cellular models of tissues and organs | Life sciences |
| Organology | musical instruments, their classification, history and construction | Social sciences and humanities |
| Organology (biology) | the organs of living organisms and their structure and function; distinct from organology in music scholarship | Life sciences |
| Organometallic chemistry | compounds containing bonds between metals and carbon | Physical sciences |
| Orismology | technical definitions and the precise use of terms | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ornithology | birds | Life sciences |
| Orology | mountains | Earth and space sciences · also orography |
| Orthodontics | correcting the position of the teeth and jaws | Medicine and health |
| Orthoepy | correct pronunciation | Social sciences and humanities |
| Orthography | spelling | Social sciences and humanities |
| Orthopedics | bones, joints and muscles | Medicine and health · also orthopaedics, orthopedic surgery |
| Orthopterology | grasshoppers, crickets and locusts | Life sciences |
| Oryctology | fossils and minerals; an older term related to paleontology and mineralogy | Earth and space sciences |
| Osmics | smells | Life sciences |
| Osmology | smells and the sense of smell; a synonym of olfactology | Life sciences |
| Osphresiology | the sense of smell (historical) | Life sciences |
| Osteology | bones | Life sciences |
| Otolaryngology | the ear, nose and throat | Medicine and health · also ENT medicine, otorhinolaryngology |
| Otology | the ear and its diseases | Medicine and health |
P
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Packaging engineering | study and design of packaging for product protection, distribution and use | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Paedology | children, childhood and child development; not to be confused with pedology, the study of soils | Social sciences and humanities |
| Paedotrophy | the art of rearing children | Social sciences and humanities |
| Paidonosology | the diseases of children; an older term for pediatrics | Medicine and health |
| Pain medicine | clinical field concerned with evaluating and managing pain | Medicine and health |
| Paleoanthropology | human ancestors and human evolution, through fossils | Social sciences and humanities · also palaeoanthropology |
| Paleobiology | the biology and evolution of ancient organisms | Earth and space sciences · also palaeobiology |
| Paleobotany | fossil plants | Earth and space sciences · also palaeobotany |
| Paleoceanography | the oceans’ past conditions and evolution | Earth and space sciences |
| Paleoclimatology | the climates of the distant past | Earth and space sciences · also palaeoclimatology |
| Paleoecology | past ecosystems and relationships between ancient organisms and environments | Earth and space sciences · also palaeoecology |
| Paleoethnology | ancient peoples and cultures through archaeological and ethnological evidence | Social sciences and humanities |
| Paleogenetics | genetic information recovered from ancient biological material | Earth and space sciences |
| Paleogenomics | genome-scale study of ancient organisms using preserved genetic material | Earth and space sciences |
| Paleogeography | reconstruction and study of geographical conditions in the geological past | Earth and space sciences · also palaeogeography |
| Paleography | ancient and medieval handwriting | Social sciences and humanities |
| Paleoichnology | fossil traces of organismal activity | Earth and space sciences |
| Paleolimnology | the history of lakes and inland waters reconstructed from sediments and other records | Earth and space sciences · also palaeolimnology |
| Paleology | ancient things, especially ancient languages or cultures (rare term) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Paleomagnetism | ancient magnetic fields recorded in geological materials | Earth and space sciences |
| Paleomycology | fungi from past geological periods through fossils and other preserved evidence | Earth and space sciences |
| Paleoneurology | nervous-system evolution using fossil and comparative evidence | Earth and space sciences |
| Paleontology | fossils and life in the distant past | Earth and space sciences · also palaeontology |
| Paleopathology | disease and injury in ancient human and animal remains | Medicine and health |
| Paleopedology | ancient soils and paleosols | Earth and space sciences · also palaeopedology |
| Paleophytology | fossil plants; a synonym of paleobotany | Earth and space sciences |
| Paleoproteomics | proteins preserved in ancient materials | Earth and space sciences |
| Paleozoology | fossil animals and animal life of past geological periods | Earth and space sciences · also palaeozoology |
| Palliative medicine | clinical field concerned with relieving suffering and supporting people with serious illness | Medicine and health |
| Palynology | pollen and spores, living and fossil | Life sciences |
| Pantology | a systematic survey of all branches of knowledge | Social sciences and humanities |
| Paper science | fibers, processing and properties involved in making paper | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Papyrology | ancient texts and documents preserved on papyrus | Social sciences and humanities |
| Parallel computing | performing computational tasks simultaneously with multiple processing units | Formal sciences |
| Parapsychology | claimed psychic or paranormal phenomena such as telepathy and psychokinesis (controversial field) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Parasitology | parasites | Life sciences |
| Paroemiology | proverbs | Social sciences and humanities · also paremiology |
| Partial differential equations | differential equations involving several independent variables | Formal sciences |
| Particle physics | the smallest particles of matter and the forces between them | Physical sciences |
| Pasture science | managed grazing plants and pasture production systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Pataphysics | the 'science of imaginary solutions,' an absurdist pseudo-science invented by Alfred Jarry | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Pathobiology | biological mechanisms underlying disease | Medicine and health |
| Pathology | diseases, their causes and effects | Medicine and health |
| Pathophysiology | functional changes in the body caused by disease or injury | Medicine and health |
| Patrology | the writings, lives and doctrines of the early Church Fathers | Social sciences and humanities |
| Pattern recognition | identifying regularities and assigning categories to observed data | Formal sciences |
| Peace and conflict studies | interdisciplinary study of conflict, violence, peacebuilding and conflict resolution | Social sciences and humanities |
| Pedagogics | teaching | Social sciences and humanities |
| Pedagogy | the methods of teaching | Social sciences and humanities |
| Pediatric cardiology | clinical specialty concerned with cardiovascular conditions in children | Medicine and health |
| Pediatric dentistry | dental specialty concerned with oral health in children | Medicine and health |
| Pediatric dermatology | clinical specialty concerned with skin disorders in children | Medicine and health |
| Pediatric neurology | clinical specialty concerned with neurological conditions in children | Medicine and health |
| Pediatric oncology | clinical specialty concerned with cancers affecting children | Medicine and health |
| Pediatric radiology | radiology specialty focused on imaging children | Medicine and health |
| Pediatric surgery | surgical specialty concerned with conditions affecting children | Medicine and health |
| Pediatric urology | clinical specialty concerned with urological conditions in children | Medicine and health |
| Pediatrics | the health of infants, children and adolescents | Medicine and health · also paediatrics |
| Pedology | soils in their natural setting | Earth and space sciences |
| Pelology | mud, especially its physical properties or therapeutic use (rare term) | Earth and space sciences |
| Penology | punishment and prison management | Social sciences and humanities |
| Peptidomics | large-scale study of peptides in biological systems | Life sciences |
| Periodontics | the gums and the tissues that hold the teeth | Medicine and health |
| Periodontology | the gums and supporting structures of the teeth and their diseases | Medicine and health |
| Peristerophily | the keeping and collecting of pigeons | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Permafrost science | ground that remains frozen over extended periods | Earth and space sciences |
| Personality psychology | individual patterns and differences in thought, emotion and behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Pest-management science | pest biology and methods for reducing damaging effects | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Pestology | agricultural, medical or household pests and their control | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Petroleum chemistry | the composition, properties and transformations of petroleum | Physical sciences |
| Petroleum engineering | study and design of systems for producing oil and gas from reservoirs | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Petroleum geology | the origins, migration, accumulation and occurrence of petroleum | Earth and space sciences |
| Petrology | rocks and how they form | Earth and space sciences |
| Phage biology | viruses that infect bacteria | Life sciences |
| Pharmaceutical chemistry | the chemical properties, analysis and development of medicines | Physical sciences |
| Pharmaceutical science | medicines across discovery, development, formulation, delivery and evaluation | Medicine and health |
| Pharmaceutics | drug formulation, manufacture and delivery | Medicine and health |
| Pharmacodynamics | drug effects and the relationships between exposure and response | Medicine and health |
| Pharmacoepidemiology | medicine use and effects in populations | Medicine and health |
| Pharmacogenetics | how genetic differences influence responses to medicines | Life sciences |
| Pharmacogenomics | genome-scale study of genetic contributions to drug responses | Life sciences |
| Pharmacognosy | medicines from plants and other natural sources | Medicine and health |
| Pharmacokinetics | drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination | Medicine and health |
| Pharmacology | drugs and how they act on the body | Medicine and health |
| Pharmacovigilance | science and activities concerned with identifying and evaluating medicine-related safety problems | Medicine and health |
| Pharmacy | the preparing and dispensing of medicines | Medicine and health |
| Pharology | lighthouses and signal lights, their design and operation (rare) | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Pharyngology | the pharynx and its diseases | Medicine and health |
| Phenology | the timing of seasonal events in nature, such as flowering and migration | Life sciences |
| Phenomenology | structures of conscious experience and phenomena as they appear to consciousness | Social sciences and humanities |
| Phenomics | large-scale study of observable biological traits and their variation | Life sciences |
| Philately | the study and collecting of postage stamps | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Philematology | kissing and its biological, behavioral or cultural aspects | Social sciences and humanities |
| Phillumeny | collecting of matchbox labels | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Philology | language in historical texts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Philosophy | knowledge or wisdom | Social sciences and humanities |
| Philosophy of science | scientific explanation, evidence, methods, concepts and the nature of scientific knowledge | Social sciences and humanities |
| Phlebology | veins and venous disorders | Medicine and health |
| Phonetics | speech sounds | Social sciences and humanities |
| Phoniatrics | the study and correction of speech defects | Medicine and health |
| Phonology | the sound systems of languages | Social sciences and humanities |
| Phorology | disease carriers and the transmission of epidemic or endemic disease (rare term) | Medicine and health |
| Photobiology | the effects of light on living things | Life sciences |
| Photochemistry | chemical reactions caused by light | Physical sciences |
| Photogeology | geological interpretation using aerial photographs or remote-sensing images | Earth and space sciences |
| Photogrammetry | measuring distances and shapes from photographs | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Photonics | producing, controlling and detecting light | Physical sciences |
| Photonics engineering | engineering of devices and systems based on light generation and manipulation | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Photophysics | physical processes involving light and matter, including excitation and relaxation | Physical sciences |
| Photosynthesis research | the processes by which organisms use light to drive chemical energy conversion | Life sciences |
| Photovoltaic materials science | materials that convert light into electrical energy | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Phraseology | fixed expressions and characteristic ways of using phrases | Social sciences and humanities |
| Phrenology | the discredited belief that the shape of the skull reveals mental traits (pseudoscience, not a science) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Phycology | algae | Life sciences · also algology |
| Phylogenetics | evolutionary relationships among organisms, genes or other biological entities | Life sciences |
| Phylogenomics | evolutionary relationships using genome-scale information | Life sciences |
| Phylogeography | the geographic distribution of genetic lineages and their history | Life sciences |
| Physical acoustics | the physical generation, propagation and effects of sound | Physical sciences |
| Physical and rehabilitation medicine | clinical specialty concerned with function, disability and rehabilitation | Medicine and health · also physiatry |
| Physical chemistry | the physical principles behind chemical behavior | Physical sciences |
| Physical climatology | the physical processes governing climate | Earth and space sciences |
| Physical cosmology | the universe as a physical system using observation and physical theory | Earth and space sciences |
| Physical geography | the Earth’s natural environments and their spatial relationships | Earth and space sciences |
| Physical geology | geological materials and the processes that shape Earth | Earth and space sciences |
| Physical metallurgy | metallic structures and the physical principles governing their properties | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Physical oceanography | ocean circulation, waves, tides and physical properties | Earth and space sciences · also physical oceanology |
| Physical optics | light phenomena requiring wave descriptions | Physical sciences |
| Physical science | collective name for sciences chiefly concerned with nonliving matter, energy and physical systems | Physical sciences |
| Physical therapy research | movement, function and interventions used in physical therapy | Medicine and health · also physiotherapy research |
| Physics | matter, energy, motion and force | Physical sciences |
| Physiology | how living things and their parts work | Life sciences |
| Phytochemistry | chemicals produced by plants and their properties | Life sciences |
| Phytogeography | the geographical distribution of plants | Life sciences |
| Phytopathology | plant diseases | Life sciences · also plant pathology |
| Phytosociology | plant communities, their composition, classification and distribution | Life sciences |
| Piscatology | fishes and fishing; a rare synonym of ichthyology | Life sciences |
| Pisciculture | the breeding and rearing of fish | Applied sciences and engineering · also fish farming |
| Pisteology | faith, especially as a subject of theology (rare) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Placentology | the placenta, placental development and placental disorders | Medicine and health |
| Planetary atmospheres | atmospheric composition, circulation and evolution on planets and moons | Earth and space sciences |
| Planetary geology | geological materials and processes on planetary bodies | Earth and space sciences |
| Planetary geomorphology | landforms and surface processes on planetary bodies | Earth and space sciences |
| Planetary geophysics | the physical structures and processes of planetary bodies | Earth and space sciences |
| Planetology | planets, moons and planetary systems | Earth and space sciences · also planetary science |
| Planktology | plankton | Life sciences |
| Plankton ecology | drifting aquatic organisms and their ecological relationships | Earth and space sciences |
| Plant anatomy | the internal structure of plants | Life sciences |
| Plant biochemistry | chemical processes and substances in plants | Life sciences |
| Plant biomechanics | mechanical properties and forces in plants | Life sciences |
| Plant biotechnology | study and use of biological technologies involving plants | Life sciences |
| Plant breeding | study and practice of changing inherited plant traits through selection and breeding | Life sciences |
| Plant cell biology | plant cells and their functions | Life sciences |
| Plant developmental biology | plant growth, differentiation and development | Life sciences |
| Plant ecology | plants in relation to their environments and other organisms | Life sciences |
| Plant genetics | genes and inheritance in plants | Life sciences |
| Plant immunology | plant defenses against pathogens and other biological threats | Life sciences |
| Plant molecular biology | plant processes at the molecular level | Life sciences |
| Plant morphology | the forms and structural organization of plants | Life sciences |
| Plant nematology | nematodes associated with plants, especially plant-parasitic species | Life sciences |
| Plant nutrition | mineral nutrients and their functions in plant growth and metabolism | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Plant phenotyping | study and measurement of observable plant traits | Life sciences |
| Plant physiology | how plants function | Life sciences |
| Plant reproductive biology | reproduction, fertilization and reproductive development in plants | Life sciences |
| Plant systematics | plant diversity and evolutionary relationships | Life sciences |
| Plant taxonomy | identification, naming and classification of plants | Life sciences |
| Plant virology | viruses that infect plants | Life sciences |
| Plant-microbe interactions | relationships between plants and microorganisms | Life sciences |
| Plasma physics | plasma, the ionized state of matter | Physical sciences |
| Plastic surgery | surgical specialty concerned with reconstruction, restoration and alteration of body tissues | Medicine and health |
| Plasticity | permanent deformation of materials | Physical sciences |
| Plutology | wealth and its production or distribution (historical term) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Pneumatics | the use of compressed air or gas to do work | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Pneumatology | the Holy Spirit and spiritual beings in Christian theology; historically also air and gases | Social sciences and humanities |
| Podiatry | the feet and their disorders | Medicine and health |
| Podology | the foot and its disorders; usage overlaps with podiatry | Medicine and health |
| Pogonology | beards | Social sciences and humanities |
| Polar ecology | ecosystems in Arctic and Antarctic regions | Life sciences |
| Polar meteorology | weather and atmospheric processes in polar regions | Earth and space sciences |
| Polemology | war , its causes, conduct and prevention (the counterpart of irenology) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Political economy | interactions between political institutions and economic systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Political geography | spatial dimensions of power, territory and political processes | Social sciences and humanities |
| Political psychology | psychological processes in political attitudes and behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Political science | government, politics and the state | Social sciences and humanities |
| Political sociology | relationships between social structures and political power | Social sciences and humanities |
| Pollination biology | pollen transfer and its ecological and reproductive consequences | Life sciences |
| Pollution science | pollutant sources, transport, transformation, exposure and effects | Life sciences |
| Polymer chemistry | polymers such as plastics and rubbers | Physical sciences · also macromolecular chemistry |
| Polymer engineering | engineering concerned with polymer processing, products and performance | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Polymer science | polymers across their chemistry, physics and material behavior | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Pomology | the growing of fruit | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Ponerology | evil, especially its nature and origins | Social sciences and humanities |
| Population ecology | the size, structure, distribution and dynamics of populations | Life sciences |
| Population genetics | genetic variation and change within and among populations | Life sciences |
| Population genomics | genome-wide variation within and among populations | Life sciences |
| Population geography | the spatial distribution and movement of human populations | Social sciences and humanities |
| Population health science | health outcomes and their determinants across populations | Medicine and health |
| Population studies | interdisciplinary study of population size, structure, distribution and dynamics | Social sciences and humanities |
| Positive psychology | positive experiences, strengths and conditions contributing to well-being | Social sciences and humanities |
| Posology | the doses of medicines | Medicine and health |
| Postharvest science | biological and physical changes in harvested products and their handling | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Potamology | rivers | Earth and space sciences |
| Poultry science | domesticated birds used in agricultural production | Life sciences |
| Powder metallurgy | producing materials and components from metal powders | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Power electronics | electronic systems for controlling and converting electrical power | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Power engineering | study and design of systems generating, transmitting and using electrical power | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Pragmatics | how context influences language use and interpretation | Social sciences and humanities |
| Praxeology | human action and purposeful behavior, especially in economics and philosophy | Social sciences and humanities |
| Precision agriculture | data-guided methods for managing spatial and temporal variation in agriculture | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Precision medicine research | approaches that account for individual variation in prevention and treatment | Medicine and health |
| Preventive medicine | medical discipline focused on preventing disease and promoting health | Medicine and health |
| Primatology | apes, monkeys and other primates | Life sciences |
| Probability theory | chance and how likely events are | Formal sciences |
| Process chemistry | development of practical and scalable chemical production processes | Physical sciences |
| Process engineering | study and design of industrial processes and their operation | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Proctology | the rectum, anus and related disorders; historically also the colon | Medicine and health |
| Production engineering | study and organization of efficient production methods and facilities | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Programming language theory | the design, semantics and mathematical properties of programming languages | Formal sciences |
| Projective geometry | properties preserved under projective transformations | Formal sciences |
| Proof theory | formal proofs and their mathematical properties | Formal sciences |
| Propulsion science | processes and systems that produce thrust | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Prosody | versification | Social sciences and humanities |
| Prosthodontics | dental specialty concerned with restoring and replacing teeth and associated structures | Medicine and health |
| Protein science | protein structure, function, folding and interactions | Life sciences |
| Proteomics | the full set of proteins made by a cell or organism | Life sciences |
| Protistology | protists, single-celled organisms with a nucleus | Life sciences |
| Protozoology | protozoa | Life sciences |
| Proxemics | how people use the space between them | Social sciences and humanities |
| Psalligraphy | the art of paper-cutting to make pictures | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Psephology | elections, voting behavior and electoral statistics | Social sciences and humanities |
| Pseudoptics | optical illusions | Physical sciences |
| Psychiatry | mental disorders and their treatment | Medicine and health |
| Psychoacoustics | how people perceive and respond to sound | Physical sciences |
| Psychobiology | biological foundations of behavior and mental processes | Life sciences |
| Psychogenetics | the origin and development of mental processes; also the genetics of behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Psychognosy | mentality, personality or character | Social sciences and humanities |
| Psycholinguistics | mental processes involved in producing and understanding language | Social sciences and humanities |
| Psychology | the mind and behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Psychometrics | psychological measurement and the properties of tests and scales | Social sciences and humanities |
| Psychoneuroimmunology | interactions among psychological processes, the nervous system and the immune system | Medicine and health |
| Psychopathology | mental disorders, their symptoms, causes and development | Medicine and health |
| Psychopharmacology | effects of drugs on mood, cognition, sensation and behavior | Medicine and health |
| Psychophysics | link between mental and physical processes | Social sciences and humanities |
| Psychophysiology | relationships between psychological processes and physiological activity | Social sciences and humanities |
| Psychosociology | relationships between individual psychology and social groups or institutions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Pteridology | ferns and their relatives | Life sciences |
| Pterylology | the arrangement and distribution of feathers on birds | Life sciences |
| Ptochology | poverty and pauperism (rare historical term) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Public administration research | public-sector institutions, management and service delivery | Social sciences and humanities |
| Public economics | taxation, public spending and government’s economic role | Social sciences and humanities |
| Public health | protecting and improving the health of whole communities | Medicine and health |
| Public-policy research | policy formation, implementation and consequences | Social sciences and humanities |
| Pulmonology | the lungs and their diseases | Medicine and health · also respiratory medicine |
| Pure mathematics | mathematical research directed primarily toward abstract structures and relationships | Formal sciences |
| Pyramidology | mystical and pseudoscientific claims about the pyramids, especially the Great Pyramid of Giza | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Pyretology | fevers | Medicine and health |
| Pyritology | pyrite and related minerals; historically also blowpipe mineral analysis | Earth and space sciences |
| Pyrography | the art of decorating wood or leather by burning designs into it | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Pyrology | heat, flame and combustion effects, especially in older chemical and explosives research | Physical sciences |
Q
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative ecology | use of mathematical and statistical methods to investigate ecological questions | Life sciences |
| Quantitative genetics | the inheritance of traits influenced by multiple genetic and environmental factors | Life sciences |
| Quantitative linguistics | language patterns using mathematical and statistical methods | Social sciences and humanities |
| Quantitative psychology | development and application of mathematical and statistical methods in psychology | Social sciences and humanities |
| Quantum chemistry | chemistry explained through quantum mechanics | Physical sciences |
| Quantum chromodynamics | theory of the strong interaction among quarks and gluons | Physical sciences |
| Quantum computing | computation using quantum-mechanical systems and operations | Formal sciences |
| Quantum electrodynamics | quantum theory of electromagnetic interactions | Physical sciences |
| Quantum field theory | quantum systems described by fields and their interactions | Physical sciences |
| Quantum information science | information processing, communication and sensing governed by quantum physics | Formal sciences |
| Quantum mechanics | matter and energy at the scale of atoms and smaller | Physical sciences |
| Quantum optics | light and light-matter interaction using quantum theory | Physical sciences |
| Quaternary science | environments and events during the Quaternary geological period | Earth and space sciences |
| Queueing theory | waiting lines, service systems and congestion | Formal sciences |
| Quinology | cinchona cultivation and quinine (historical term) | Medicine and health |
R
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Raciology | supposed biological differences among human races (a discredited, historical field) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Radiation oncology | clinical specialty using radiation to treat cancer and selected other conditions | Medicine and health |
| Radiation physics | radiation and its interactions with matter | Physical sciences |
| Radio astronomy | astronomical sources through radio-frequency observations | Earth and space sciences |
| Radio-frequency engineering | study and design of systems operating at radio frequencies | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Radiobiology | effects of ionizing and nonionizing radiation on living organisms | Life sciences |
| Radiochemistry | radioactive substances and chemical effects involving radioactivity | Physical sciences |
| Radioecology | the movement and ecological effects of radioactive substances in the environment | Life sciences |
| Radiogeology | radioactive elements in Earth materials and radiometric methods in geology | Earth and space sciences |
| Radiohydrology | radioactive tracers and radionuclides in hydrologic systems | Earth and space sciences |
| Radioimmunology | immune reactions studied using radioactively labeled antigens or antibodies | Medicine and health |
| Radiology | medical imaging, such as X-rays and scans | Medicine and health |
| Radiophysics | electromagnetic waves in radio-frequency and related ranges | Physical sciences |
| Rangeland science | grazing lands, their ecology, use and management | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Real analysis | real-valued functions, limits, measures and integration | Formal sciences |
| Real-time systems | computing systems whose correctness includes timing requirements | Formal sciences |
| Reconstructive surgery | surgical field focused on restoring form or function after defects, disease or injury | Medicine and health |
| Redology | the Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber and its cultural context | Social sciences and humanities |
| Reflexology | pressure-point therapy based on unsupported mappings of the body to the feet or hands; historically also the study of reflexes | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Refractory materials science | materials designed to withstand high-temperature environments | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Regenerative biology | how organisms restore damaged or missing structures | Life sciences |
| Regenerative medicine | research and clinical development aimed at restoring damaged tissues or biological functions | Medicine and health |
| Regional economics | economic differences and interactions among regions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Regional science | interdisciplinary quantitative study of regions, location and spatial interactions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Rehabilitation engineering | design and study of technologies supporting function and participation for people with disabilities | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Rehabilitation science | processes and interventions that improve function and participation | Medicine and health |
| Reinforcement learning | learning actions through interaction and reward signals | Formal sciences |
| Relativity | space, time, motion and gravitation within relativistic theories | Physical sciences |
| Reliability engineering | system performance, failure and dependable operation over time | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Religious studies | academic study of religions, their texts, histories, practices and social settings | Social sciences and humanities |
| Remote sensing | gathering information about the Earth from satellites and aircraft | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Renal physiology | kidney function and its role in body regulation | Medicine and health |
| Renewable-energy engineering | study and development of technologies using renewable energy resources | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Representation theory | abstract algebraic structures through linear transformations and related representations | Formal sciences |
| Reproductive biology | reproduction and related biological processes | Life sciences · also reproductive science |
| Reproductive immunology | immune processes associated with reproduction | Medicine and health |
| Reproductive medicine | clinical field concerned with fertility, reproductive health and related disorders | Medicine and health |
| Reproductive toxicology | harmful effects on reproductive processes | Medicine and health |
| Research-methodology studies | how research is designed, conducted, analyzed and interpreted | Social sciences and humanities |
| Reservoir engineering | fluid behavior in subsurface reservoirs and methods for managing production | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Resilience science | how systems withstand, adapt to or recover from disturbances | Life sciences |
| Resource economics | the allocation and use of natural resources | Social sciences and humanities |
| Respiratory physiology | breathing, gas exchange and respiratory-system function | Medicine and health |
| Respirology | the respiratory system and its diseases; common Canadian term for pulmonology | Medicine and health |
| Restoration ecology | the recovery of damaged or degraded ecosystems | Life sciences |
| Retinology | the retina and retinal diseases | Medicine and health |
| Rewilding research | approaches and outcomes in restoring ecological processes and wild populations | Life sciences |
| Rhabdology | calculation using numbering rods, such as Napier's bones; historically also divining rods | Formal sciences |
| Rheology | the flow and deformation of matter | Physical sciences |
| Rhetoric | persuasive expression and the organization and effects of discourse | Social sciences and humanities |
| Rheumatology | the joints, muscles and autoimmune diseases | Medicine and health |
| Rhinology | the nose, nasal cavity and sinuses | Medicine and health |
| Rhizosphere biology | biological processes around plant roots | Life sciences |
| Rhochrematics | inventory management and the movement of products | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Rickettsiology | Rickettsia bacteria and rickettsial diseases | Life sciences |
| Ring theory | rings and their additive and multiplicative structures | Formal sciences |
| Ripperology | Jack the Ripper, the Whitechapel murders and related historical evidence | Social sciences and humanities |
| Risk science | hazards, uncertainty, consequences and decision-making under risk | Social sciences and humanities |
| River science | interdisciplinary study of river processes, environments and systems | Earth and space sciences |
| RNA biology | RNA structure, processing, function and regulation | Life sciences |
| Robotics | the design and use of robots | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Robotics engineering | engineering design and development of robots and robotic systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Robust statistics | development of statistical procedures resistant to departures from model assumptions | Formal sciences |
| Rock magnetism | the magnetic properties and behavior of rocks and minerals | Earth and space sciences |
| Rock mechanics | the mechanical behavior of rocks and rock masses | Earth and space sciences |
| Roentgenology | X-rays and their medical use; an older synonym of radiology | Medicine and health |
| Runology | runes and runic inscriptions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Rural geography | rural environments, communities and land-use patterns | Social sciences and humanities |
| Rural sociology | social life and change in rural communities | Social sciences and humanities |
S
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Safety engineering | application of engineering methods to reduce system-related hazards and risks | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Safety science | hazards, accidents, risk controls and the conditions supporting safety | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Sanitary engineering | engineering concerned with water supply, sanitation and waste-related public-health protection | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Sarcology | the soft tissues or fleshy parts of the body (historical anatomical term) | Life sciences |
| Satanology | Satan or the devil in theology, religion and folklore | Social sciences and humanities |
| Scatology | feces and excrement; also obscene or excretory themes in literature and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Schematonics | the art of using gesture to express tones | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| School psychology | applied psychological field concerned with students, learning environments and school-related well-being | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sciagraphy | the art of shading | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Science and technology studies | interdisciplinary study of science and technology in social and historical contexts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Science-communication research | how scientific knowledge is communicated and understood | Social sciences and humanities |
| Science-education research | how science is taught, learned and understood | Social sciences and humanities |
| Scientific computing | development and use of numerical computation for science and engineering | Formal sciences |
| Scientific racism | attempts to justify racial hierarchies by misusing or misrepresenting scientific claims. It is not a legitimate branch of anthropology or genetics | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Scientific visualization | visual representations that help investigate scientific data and models | Formal sciences |
| Scientometrics | quantitative study of science, research activity and scientific communication | Social sciences and humanities |
| Scripophily | collection of bond and share certificates | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Sea-ice science | the formation, properties, movement and effects of sea ice | Earth and space sciences |
| Security studies | threats, protection, conflict and security institutions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sedimentary petrology | sedimentary rocks and the materials and processes forming them | Earth and space sciences |
| Sedimentology | sediments such as sand, silt and mud | Earth and space sciences |
| Seed science | seed development, biology, quality, storage and germination | Life sciences |
| Seismology | earthquakes and the waves they send through the Earth | Earth and space sciences |
| Selenodesy | the shape and features of the Moon | Earth and space sciences |
| Selenology | the Moon | Earth and space sciences |
| Semantics | meaning | Social sciences and humanities |
| Semantology | the meanings of words; a synonym of semasiology | Social sciences and humanities |
| Semasiology | word meanings and semantic change, proceeding from a word to its meanings | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sematology | signs and symbols, especially as means of communication | Social sciences and humanities |
| Semeiology | medical signs and symptoms; an older spelling related to semiology | Medicine and health |
| Semiconductor physics | materials with controllable electrical conduction between insulators and conductors | Physical sciences |
| Semiology | signs and sign systems; in medicine, the study of signs and symptoms | Social sciences and humanities |
| Semiotics | signs and symbols | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sensory biology | how organisms detect and process information from their surroundings | Life sciences |
| Sensory evaluation | scientific measurement and interpretation of sensory responses to products | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Sensory neuroscience | neural mechanisms of sensation and perception | Life sciences |
| Sensory science | how sensory properties are perceived and evaluated, often in foods and consumer products | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Sequence stratigraphy | sedimentary successions in relation to changing accommodation and sediment supply | Earth and space sciences |
| Sericulture | the rearing of silkworms for silk | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Sericulture science | silkworm biology and the production of silk | Life sciences |
| Serology | blood serum, especially its antibodies | Medicine and health |
| Service science | interdisciplinary study of service systems and value creation | Social sciences and humanities |
| Set theory | sets, or collections of objects | Formal sciences |
| Sexology | human sexuality, sexual behavior and sexual health | Medicine and health |
| Siderography | the art of engraving on steel | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Sigillography | seals | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sign-language linguistics | the structures and use of sign languages | Social sciences and humanities |
| Signal processing | methods for analyzing, transforming and extracting information from signals | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Significs | meaning | Social sciences and humanities |
| Silvics | the life history, characteristics and ecology of forest trees | Life sciences |
| Silviculture | the growing and care of forest trees | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Sindonology | the Shroud of Turin and associated historical, scientific and devotional claims | Social sciences and humanities |
| Single-cell biology | the properties and variation of individual cells | Life sciences |
| Sinology | China, its language, history and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sitiology | food, diet and nutrition (rare term) | Medicine and health · also sitology |
| Slavology | Slavic languages, literatures, histories and cultures | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sleep medicine | clinical field concerned with sleep and sleep-related disorders | Medicine and health · also sleep science |
| Small-body science | asteroids, comets and other small solar-system bodies | Earth and space sciences |
| Snow science | snow formation, properties, behavior and environmental effects | Earth and space sciences |
| Social anthropology | social relationships and institutions through anthropological methods | Social sciences and humanities |
| Social epidemiology | how social conditions influence health distributions | Medicine and health |
| Social geography | social relationships, identities and inequalities in spatial contexts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Social informatics | the relationships between information technologies and social settings | Formal sciences |
| Social network analysis | social relationships using network concepts and methods | Social sciences and humanities |
| Social neuroscience | neural processes underlying social behavior and cognition | Life sciences |
| Social psychology | how social situations and relationships influence thought and behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Social science | human behavior, relationships, institutions and societies | Social sciences and humanities |
| Social statistics | application and development of statistical methods for studying social phenomena | Social sciences and humanities |
| Social stratification research | patterned inequalities and divisions within societies | Social sciences and humanities |
| Social work research | social needs, welfare institutions, professional practice and the effects of social interventions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Social-ecological systems science | linked human and ecological systems and their interactions | Life sciences |
| Sociobiology | the biological basis of social behavior | Life sciences |
| Sociolinguistics | language in relation to social factors and settings | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sociology | society and how people behave in groups | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sociology of education | education as a social institution and process | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sociology of law | law and legal institutions in their social contexts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sociology of religion | religion in relation to social life and institutions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sociology of science | scientific communities, institutions and knowledge production as social phenomena | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sociophysics | use of physical and mathematical models to investigate collective social behavior | Social sciences and humanities |
| Soft-matter physics | materials such as polymers, colloids, gels and liquid crystals | Physical sciences |
| Software engineering | systematic study and practice of developing, maintaining and evaluating software | Formal sciences |
| Software testing research | methods for detecting faults and evaluating software behavior | Formal sciences |
| Software verification | methods for establishing whether software satisfies specified properties | Formal sciences |
| Soil biochemistry | biochemical transformations occurring in soils | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Soil biology | living organisms and biological processes in soils | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Soil chemistry | the chemical composition and reactions of soils | Physical sciences |
| Soil fertility science | soils’ capacity to supply nutrients and support plant growth | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Soil geography | the spatial distribution of soils and the processes producing those patterns | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Soil mechanics | the mechanical behavior of soils as engineering materials | Earth and space sciences |
| Soil microbiology | microorganisms and their activities in soils | Life sciences |
| Soil mineralogy | minerals within soils and their behavior | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Soil physics | the physical properties and processes of soils | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Soil science | soil formation, properties, classification, functions and management | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Solar-energy science | solar energy and its conversion into useful forms | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Solid-state chemistry | the synthesis, structures and chemical properties of solids | Physical sciences |
| Somatology | the human body and its physical characteristics | Life sciences |
| Somnology | sleep | Medicine and health |
| Sonochemistry | chemical effects produced by sound, especially ultrasound | Physical sciences |
| Sophiology | divine wisdom (Sophia) in theology; more broadly, the study of ideas | Social sciences and humanities |
| Soteriology | salvation in Christian theology | Social sciences and humanities |
| Space biology | biological systems under spaceflight and extraterrestrial conditions | Earth and space sciences |
| Space medicine | human health and medical care in spaceflight environments | Earth and space sciences |
| Space plasma physics | plasmas in space and their interactions with fields and particles | Earth and space sciences |
| Space science | broad research area encompassing space environments, celestial bodies and physical and biological processes beyond Earth’s surface | Earth and space sciences |
| Space-weather science | changing space conditions that affect planets and technological systems | Earth and space sciences |
| Spatial ecology | how spatial patterns influence ecological processes | Life sciences |
| Spatial economics | how location and distance shape economic activity | Social sciences and humanities |
| Spatial epidemiology | the geographical distribution and spatial determinants of health events | Medicine and health |
| Spatial statistics | data whose relationships depend on spatial location | Formal sciences |
| Special-education research | education and support for learners with disabilities or additional needs | Social sciences and humanities |
| Spectrology | spectra and spectrum analysis (rare term) | Physical sciences |
| Spectroscopy | how matter absorbs and gives off light and other radiation | Physical sciences |
| Speech processing | computational analysis, recognition and synthesis of speech | Formal sciences |
| Speech science | the production, perception and acoustics of speech | Medicine and health |
| Speech-language pathology | clinical discipline concerned with communication and swallowing disorders | Medicine and health |
| Speleology | caves | Earth and space sciences |
| Spermology | seeds (an older botanical term) | Life sciences |
| Sphagnology | Sphagnum mosses | Life sciences |
| Sphragistics | seals and signets | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sphygmology | the pulse and arterial pulsation (historical medical term) | Medicine and health |
| Spintronics | using electron spin and associated magnetic properties in devices | Physical sciences |
| Splanchnology | the internal organs or viscera | Life sciences |
| Spongology | sponges | Life sciences |
| Sport and exercise psychology | psychological processes in sport and physical activity | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sports medicine | clinical field concerned with physical activity, sporting injuries and associated health | Medicine and health |
| Sports science | interdisciplinary study of sporting performance, training and participation | Medicine and health |
| Stasiology | political parties (a rarely used term coined by Maurice Duverger in 1951) | Social sciences and humanities |
| Statics | bodies and forces in equilibrium | Physical sciences |
| Statistical learning | learning and prediction using statistical models and principles | Formal sciences |
| Statistical mechanics | macroscopic behavior arising from many microscopic constituents | Physical sciences · also statistical physics |
| Statistics | collecting, analyzing and interpreting numerical data | Formal sciences |
| Stellar astronomy | stars, their properties and their populations | Earth and space sciences |
| Stellar astrophysics | the physical structure and evolution of stars | Earth and space sciences |
| Stellar dynamics | the motions and gravitational interactions of stellar systems | Earth and space sciences |
| Stem-cell biology | cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation | Life sciences |
| Stemmatology | the relationships among versions of a manuscript text | Social sciences and humanities |
| Stereochemistry | the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in molecules | Physical sciences |
| Stereology | three-dimensional structures inferred from two-dimensional sections or samples | Formal sciences |
| Stichology | verse lines, meter and poetic structure | Social sciences and humanities |
| Stochastic analysis | random processes using tools extending mathematical analysis | Formal sciences |
| Stochastic processes | collections of random variables indexed by time or another parameter | Formal sciences |
| Stoichiology | elements, constituents or first principles; historically also the sounds of language | Social sciences and humanities |
| Stomatology | the mouth and oral diseases | Medicine and health |
| Storiology | folk tales and folklore; a synonym of folkloristics | Social sciences and humanities |
| Strategic studies | the relationship between political objectives and strategic action, particularly in security | Social sciences and humanities |
| Stratigraphy | rock layers and the order in which they formed | Earth and space sciences |
| Stratography | the art of leading an army | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Structural biology | biological molecules and assemblies through their three-dimensional structures | Life sciences |
| Structural chemistry | atomic arrangements and bonding in chemical substances | Physical sciences |
| Structural engineering | study and design of structures that support loads and resist forces | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Structural genomics | genomic or protein structures at large scale; usage depends on context | Life sciences |
| Structural geology | deformation and the geometry of geological structures | Earth and space sciences |
| Structural mechanics | how structures respond to forces, motion and deformation | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Stylometry | studying literature by means of statistical analysis | Social sciences and humanities |
| Suicidology | suicide, suicidal behavior, prevention and postvention | Medicine and health |
| Sumerology | Sumerian language, history, archaeology and cuneiform texts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Superconductivity research | materials exhibiting superconducting electrical and magnetic behavior | Physical sciences |
| Supply-chain science | linked production, logistics and distribution systems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Supramolecular chemistry | molecular assemblies formed through noncovalent interactions | Physical sciences |
| Surface chemistry | chemical processes at surfaces and interfaces | Physical sciences |
| Surface physics | physical properties and processes at material surfaces | Physical sciences |
| Surface-water hydrology | water on Earth’s surface, including runoff and streamflow | Earth and space sciences |
| Surgery | clinical discipline treating disease or injury through operative procedures | Medicine and health |
| Surgical oncology | surgical specialty focused on cancer treatment | Medicine and health |
| Survey methodology | the design, collection and analysis of survey data | Formal sciences |
| Survey research | populations and social characteristics using systematically collected survey data | Social sciences and humanities |
| Sustainability science | interactions between human and environmental systems in relation to long-term sustainability | Earth and space sciences |
| Swarm intelligence | decentralized collective problem solving inspired by interacting agents | Formal sciences |
| Symbology | symbols and their interpretation | Social sciences and humanities |
| Symptomatology | the symptoms of disease | Medicine and health |
| Synecology | ecological communities and interactions among groups of organisms | Life sciences |
| Synectics | processes of invention | Social sciences and humanities |
| Synoptic meteorology | large-scale weather systems and their development | Earth and space sciences |
| Syntax | sentence structure | Social sciences and humanities |
| Synthetic biology | engineering-oriented study and construction of biological components and systems | Life sciences |
| Synthetic chemistry | methods for constructing chemical substances | Physical sciences |
| Syphilology | syphilis, its diagnosis, treatment and history (historical specialty) | Medicine and health |
| Systematics | biological diversity and its evolutionary relationships | Life sciences · also biosystematics |
| Systematology | systems, their organization and classification (rare term) | Formal sciences |
| Systems biology | biological systems through interacting networks and integrated measurements or models | Life sciences |
| Systems engineering | study and coordination of complex engineered systems across their life cycles | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Systems neuroscience | how neural circuits and systems generate functions and behavior | Life sciences |
| Systems theory | general properties and interactions of organized systems | Formal sciences |
T
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Taphonomy | processes affecting remains from death through preservation and discovery | Earth and space sciences |
| Taxidermy | the art of curing and stuffing animals | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Taxonomy | the naming and classifying of living things | Life sciences |
| Tectonics | the large-scale structure of the Earth’s crust and how it moves | Earth and space sciences |
| Tectonophysics | the physical processes responsible for tectonic deformation | Earth and space sciences |
| Tegestology | beer mats and their collection | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Telecommunications engineering | study and design of technologies for transmitting information over distance | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Teleology | purposes, ends or goal-directed explanations in philosophy and biology | Social sciences and humanities |
| Telmatology | wetlands and mires | Earth and space sciences |
| Teratology | birth defects and abnormal development | Medicine and health |
| Terotechnology | life-cycle management and costs of physical assets and equipment | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Testaceology | shell-bearing mollusks and their shells | Life sciences |
| Testudinology | turtles and tortoises | Life sciences |
| Teuthology | squid, octopuses and other cephalopods | Life sciences |
| Textile engineering | study and design of processes and products involving fibers and textiles | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Textile science | fibers, yarns, fabrics and their performance | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Textology | the production, transmission, structure and critical study of texts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Thalassography | the sea | Earth and space sciences |
| Thanatology | death, dying and grief | Medicine and health |
| Thaumatology | miracles and marvelous phenomena | Social sciences and humanities |
| Theology | God, religious belief, doctrine and the nature of the divine | Social sciences and humanities |
| Theoretical astrophysics | development of physical models explaining astronomical objects and phenomena | Earth and space sciences |
| Theoretical biology | development of general models and explanations for biological phenomena | Life sciences |
| Theoretical chemistry | development of mathematical models explaining chemical structure and behavior | Physical sciences |
| Theoretical computer science | the mathematical foundations and limits of computation | Formal sciences |
| Theoretical ecology | development of mathematical and conceptual explanations of ecological systems | Life sciences |
| Theoretical economics | development of formal models explaining economic behavior and institutions | Social sciences and humanities |
| Theoretical physics | development and analysis of mathematical explanations of physical phenomena | Physical sciences |
| Theriatrics | veterinary medicine | Medicine and health |
| Theriogenology | animal reproduction, in veterinary science | Medicine and health |
| Thermal engineering | study and design of systems involving heat and energy conversion | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Thermal physics | heat, temperature and the microscopic basis of thermal behavior | Physical sciences |
| Thermochemistry | the heat given off or taken in by chemical reactions | Physical sciences |
| Thermochronology | the temperature histories of rocks using age-sensitive systems | Earth and space sciences |
| Thermodynamics | heat, work, energy and temperature | Physical sciences |
| Thermokinematics | motion of heat | Physical sciences |
| Thermology | heat and thermal phenomena | Physical sciences |
| Therology | wild mammals; a synonym or near-synonym of mammalogy | Life sciences |
| Thin-film science | materials deposited as thin layers and their properties | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Thoracic surgery | surgical specialty concerned with structures within the chest | Medicine and health |
| Thremmatology | breeding and propagation of plants and animals | Life sciences |
| Threpsology | nutrition and nourishment (historical term; compare trophology) | Medicine and health |
| Tibetology | Tibetan language, history, religion, literature and culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Tidology | tides | Earth and space sciences |
| Timbrology | postage stamps; an obsolete synonym of philately | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Time-series analysis | observations ordered through time and their dependence | Formal sciences |
| Tissue engineering | study and development of biological substitutes and systems that restore tissue functions | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Tocology | childbirth and obstetrics (historical medical term) | Medicine and health |
| Tonetics | tones and intonation in speech | Social sciences and humanities |
| Tonology | tone and tonal systems in language | Social sciences and humanities |
| Topography | the shape and features of the land surface | Earth and space sciences |
| Topology | properties of shapes that do not change when they are stretched or bent | Formal sciences |
| Toponymics | place-names | Social sciences and humanities |
| Toponymy | place names | Social sciences and humanities |
| Toreutics | artistic work in metal | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Tourism research | travel-related behavior, industries, destinations and impacts | Social sciences and humanities |
| Toxicogenomics | genomic responses to toxic exposures | Life sciences |
| Toxicology | poisons and their effects | Medicine and health |
| Toxinology | biological toxins, including venoms and poisonous substances produced by organisms | Medicine and health |
| Toxophily | archery, as a pursuit and its study | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Traditional ecological knowledge research | accumulated, place-based environmental knowledge and practices, often maintained by Indigenous and local communities | Social sciences and humanities |
| Traditional-medicine research | scientific investigation of traditional health practices, including their mechanisms, safety, effectiveness and use in healthcare | Medicine and health |
| Traffic engineering | traffic flow, road operations and related design | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Transcriptomics | the complete sets of RNA transcripts in biological systems | Life sciences |
| Transfusion science | blood components, compatibility and their therapeutic use | Medicine and health |
| Translational medicine | how biological findings can inform and improve clinical care | Medicine and health |
| Transplant surgery | surgical field concerned with organ and tissue transplantation | Medicine and health |
| Transplantation immunology | immune responses to transplanted cells, tissues and organs | Medicine and health |
| Transplantation science | biological and clinical processes involved in transferring cells, tissues or organs | Medicine and health |
| Transport geography | transport systems, movement and spatial relationships | Social sciences and humanities |
| Transportation engineering | study and design of systems for moving people and goods | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Traumatology | physical or psychological trauma and its treatment | Medicine and health |
| Travel medicine | clinical field concerned with health risks associated with travel | Medicine and health |
| Tribology | friction, wear and lubrication | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Trichology | the hair and scalp | Medicine and health |
| Trigonometry | the relationships between the sides and angles of triangles | Formal sciences |
| Trophology | nutrition and nourishment (dated term) | Medicine and health |
| Tropical ecology | ecosystems in tropical environments | Life sciences |
| Tropical medicine | study and clinical discipline concerning diseases prominent in tropical settings | Medicine and health |
| Tropical meteorology | weather and circulation in tropical regions | Earth and space sciences |
| Tropology | figurative interpretation, especially of scripture and literary tropes | Social sciences and humanities |
| Tsiganology | the Romani (Roma) people, their language, history and culture; a dated term for the field now called Romani studies | Social sciences and humanities · also romology |
| Tsunami science | tsunami generation, propagation and effects | Earth and space sciences |
| Tumor immunology | interactions between cancer and immune systems | Medicine and health |
| Turkology | Turkic languages, literatures, histories and cultures | Social sciences and humanities |
| Turnery | the art of turning in a lathe | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Type theory | formal systems that classify expressions by types | Formal sciences |
| Typhlology | blindness and the education or rehabilitation of blind people | Medicine and health |
| Typography | the art of printing or using type | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Typology | the study and classification of types | Social sciences and humanities |
U
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Ubiquitous computing | computing integrated into everyday environments and activities | Formal sciences |
| Ufology | reports and claims about unidentified flying objects and alleged extraterrestrial visitation (not an established science) | Pseudoscience or discredited |
| Ugaritology | Ugaritic language, texts, religion and Bronze Age culture | Social sciences and humanities |
| Ultrafast optics | very short light pulses and rapid optical phenomena | Physical sciences |
| Ultrasonics | study and application of sound above the usual human hearing range | Physical sciences |
| Ultraviolet astronomy | celestial sources through ultraviolet radiation | Earth and space sciences |
| Undersea and hyperbaric medicine | clinical field concerning diving-related conditions and medical use of increased pressure | Medicine and health |
| Underwater archaeology | archaeological study of submerged sites and materials | Social sciences and humanities |
| Universal algebra | properties shared by broad classes of algebraic structures | Formal sciences |
| Uranography | the mapping of the stars and the sky | Earth and space sciences |
| Uranology | the heavens and celestial bodies; an obsolete synonym related to astronomy | Earth and space sciences |
| Urban climatology | climates in urban environments and their causes | Earth and space sciences |
| Urban ecology | ecological processes in cities and other urban settings | Life sciences |
| Urban economics | economic activity and decisions within cities | Social sciences and humanities |
| Urban geography | cities, urban systems and their spatial organization | Social sciences and humanities |
| Urban hydrology | water movement and storage in urban environments | Earth and space sciences |
| Urban planning research | the organization, design and governance of urban development | Social sciences and humanities |
| Urban sociology | social life and institutions in urban environments | Social sciences and humanities |
| Urban studies | interdisciplinary study of cities and urban life | Social sciences and humanities |
| Urbanology | cities, urban life and urban problems | Social sciences and humanities |
| Uredinology | rust fungi (order Pucciniales), a branch of plant pathology | Life sciences |
| Urinology | urine as a diagnostic source; a historical term related to urinalysis | Medicine and health |
| Urogynecology | clinical field focused on pelvic-floor and related urinary disorders in women | Medicine and health |
| Urology | the urinary tract and male reproductive organs | Medicine and health |
V
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Vaccinology | vaccines and their development | Medicine and health |
| Vadose-zone hydrology | water in the unsaturated zone between the surface and groundwater | Earth and space sciences |
| Vascular medicine | clinical field concerned with disorders of blood vessels and circulation | Medicine and health |
| Vascular surgery | surgical specialty concerned with blood vessels outside selected cardiac and intracranial settings | Medicine and health |
| Venereology | sexually transmitted infections | Medicine and health |
| Vermeology | worms; an archaic synonym of helminthology | Life sciences |
| Vermiculture | the raising of earthworms, as for compost | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Vertebrate paleontology | fossil vertebrates and their evolutionary history | Earth and space sciences |
| Vertebrate zoology | animals with backbones | Life sciences |
| Veterinary entomology | arthropods affecting animal health | Life sciences |
| Veterinary epidemiology | disease patterns and determinants in animal populations | Medicine and health |
| Veterinary medicine | clinical discipline concerned with preventing, diagnosing and treating animal disease | Medicine and health |
| Veterinary microbiology | microorganisms affecting animal health | Life sciences |
| Veterinary parasitology | parasites and parasitic diseases affecting animals | Life sciences |
| Veterinary pathology | study and diagnosis of disease in animals | Medicine and health |
| Veterinary pharmacology | drug actions and use in animals | Medicine and health |
| Veterinary science | the health and diseases of animals | Medicine and health |
| Veterinary surgery | surgical treatment and associated research concerning animal patients | Medicine and health |
| Veterinary toxicology | harmful exposures and poisoning in animals | Medicine and health |
| Vexillology | flags, their history, symbolism, design and use | Social sciences and humanities |
| Victimology | the victims of crime | Social sciences and humanities |
| Vinology | wine and winemaking; informal synonym of enology | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Viral ecology | viruses in relation to hosts, communities and environments | Life sciences |
| Virology | viruses | Life sciences |
| Virtual reality research | immersive computer-generated environments and their interactions | Formal sciences |
| Vision science | visual systems, visual perception and related processes | Medicine and health · also optical and ophthalmic science |
| Visual analytics | combining interactive visualization with analytical computation | Formal sciences |
| Viticulture | the growing of grapes | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Vitrics | glassy materials; glassware; study of glassware | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Volcanology | volcanoes | Earth and space sciences · also vulcanology |
W
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Waste-management engineering | study and design of systems for handling, recovering and disposing of wastes | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Wastewater engineering | study and design of wastewater collection, treatment and reuse systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Water-quality science | water characteristics affecting ecosystems and human uses | Life sciences |
| Water-resources engineering | study and design of systems for water supply, management and protection | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Weed science | unwanted plants in managed systems and approaches to their management | Life sciences |
| Welfare economics | how economic arrangements relate to social well-being and distribution | Social sciences and humanities |
| Wetland science | wetlands, their organisms, hydrology, soils and functioning | Earth and space sciences |
| Wilderness medicine | clinical field concerned with medical care in remote or resource-limited environments | Medicine and health |
| Wildlife biology | wild animals, their populations and their environments | Life sciences |
| Wildlife conservation science | methods to conserve wild animals and their habitats | Life sciences |
| Wildlife ecology | ecological relationships involving wild animal populations | Life sciences |
| Wind-energy science | wind resources and wind-energy conversion systems | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Wood science | wood structure, properties, processing and uses | Applied sciences and engineering |
X
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| X-ray astronomy | astronomical objects emitting X-rays | Earth and space sciences |
| X-ray crystallography | ordered atomic structures using X-ray diffraction | Applied sciences and engineering |
| Xenobiology | hypothetical life with alternative biochemistry | Life sciences |
| Xenotransplantation research | transplantation between different species and its biological consequences | Medicine and health |
| Xylography | the art of engraving on wood | Arts, crafts and pastimes |
| Xylology | wood and its structure | Life sciences |
Y
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Yeast biology | yeasts, including their genetics, physiology and cellular processes | Life sciences |
| Youth studies | interdisciplinary study of young people and their social experiences | Social sciences and humanities |
Z
| Branch | What it covers | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Zenography | the planet Jupiter | Earth and space sciences |
| Zoiatrics | veterinary surgery | Medicine and health |
| Zoo biology | animals in zoological institutions and related conservation settings | Life sciences |
| Zoochemistry | chemistry of animals | Life sciences |
| Zoogeography | geographic distribution of animals | Life sciences |
| Zoogeology | fossil animals and their geological remains (older term related to paleozoology) | Earth and space sciences |
| Zoography | description of animals and their characteristics | Life sciences |
| Zoology | animals | Life sciences |
| Zoonotic-disease research | infections that can pass between nonhuman animals and humans | Medicine and health |
| Zoopathology | diseases of animals | Medicine and health |
| Zoophysiology | functions and processes of animals | Life sciences |
| Zoophytology | organisms historically regarded as intermediate between animals and plants (obsolete field) | Life sciences |
| Zoopsychology | animal behavior and cognition; an older term for comparative psychology | Social sciences and humanities |
| Zymology | fermentation, as in brewing and winemaking | Applied sciences and engineering · also zymurgy |
More A-to-Z lists
For other A-to-Z lists, see the List of Phobias, the List of Manias, the List of Hobbies, the List of Collective Nouns and the List of Mottoes.
Frequently asked questions
What is a branch of science?
A branch of science is a field that studies one part of the natural or human world in a systematic way, by observation, experiment and reasoning. Ornithology studies birds, seismology earthquakes and economics the making and use of goods; each has its own methods, journals and specialists.
How many branches of science are there?
There is no fixed number, because fields keep dividing as new tools and questions appear. This list gives the named ones, from broad disciplines such as physics and biology to narrow ones such as acarology (mites and ticks), chasmology (yawning) and pogonology (beards).
What are the main branches of science?
Science is usually divided into the natural sciences (physical, Earth and space, and life sciences), the formal sciences (mathematics, logic, statistics and computer science) and the social sciences (psychology, sociology, economics and others). The applied sciences, engineering and medicine put that knowledge to practical use. The list sorts every name into one of nine fields on those lines, plus a field for the arts, crafts and pastimes that carry learned names and one for the pseudosciences.
What is the study of the Moon called?
Selenology. Other names that often come up in general-knowledge tests are areology (Mars), zenography (Jupiter), ornithology (birds), ichthyology (fishes), entomology (insects), mycology (fungi), herpetology (reptiles and amphibians), speleology (caves), seismology (earthquakes), nephology (clouds), orology (mountains), pedology (soils) and oology (birds’ eggs).
What is the study of flags called?
Vexillology, from the Latin vexillum, a military standard or banner. It covers the history, symbolism, design and use of flags. Someone who studies insects is an entomologist, from the Greek entomon, insect; coleopterology is the study of beetles, lepidopterology of butterflies and moths and myrmecology of ants.
What do the endings -logy, -graphy, -nomy and -metry mean?
They come from Greek. -logy (logos, word or reason) means the study of something, as in geology; -graphy (graphein, to write) means describing or recording, as in oceanography; -nomy (nomos, law) means the laws or arrangement of something, as in astronomy and agronomy; and -metry (metron, measure) means measurement, as in geometry. -culture, from Latin, means growing or rearing, as in horticulture and sericulture.
What is the difference between pure and applied science?
Pure science seeks knowledge for its own sake, such as how atoms are built or how cells divide. Applied science uses that knowledge to solve practical problems, as engineering, medicine and agriculture do. Many fields do both, and the field column marks the main one.
Why are astrology and phrenology on the list?
Because the words are widely used and are asked about, not because they are sciences. A science tests its claims against evidence and changes them when the evidence disagrees; a pseudoscience keeps its claims regardless. Astrology, numerology, homeopathy, eugenics, scientific racism, phrenology and the other entries in the field Pseudoscience or discredited are labeled in the table; typing “pseudoscience” in the search box lists them together.
Explore all general-knowledge topics and the A-to-Z lists.
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