We'll never know for sure, but a close examination of culture and degrees through the decades reveals there may be more than mere coincidence to education trends and watercooler chatter.

Research into the U.S. Department of Education statistics uncovered that education, social sciences and history and business are higher-education mainstays all the way up to 2005. Why? "Business, education and history are very clear career paths, and that's attractive to a lot of students," says Esther Goodcuff, associate vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at Adelphi University (Garden City, N.Y.). College is not only expensive, but also a big investment of time, she continues, so the pursuit of majors with direct career links may explain the longevity of such marketable majors.

Rationale for the variety of career surges through the years, however, might be reflective of what's popular. Take a look.

Top Five Degrees Earned in the 1970s:
1. Education
2. Social Sciences and History
3. Business
4. English
5. Biology

During the '70s, English and biology made their only appearance in the top five. "The '70s were an idealistic time," Goodcuff says. "Those who went to school back then were less focused on achieving status symbols." But these two majors didn't just stick out thanks to a one-time brush with the popular crowd -- consider the foremost movements of the period: feminism and environmentalism.

Interest in English -- a liberal arts major typically dominated by women -- may have spiked thanks to the strong and free-spirited female icons in the '70s: Joyce Carol Oates' essay reflections on the '60s; 'Carrie,' the novel by Stephen King; Woody Allen's 'Annie Hall' and Margaret Thatcher as the first female to lead a political party in the U.K.

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Likewise, biology majors in the 1970s had plenty of environmental firsts to which they could attribute their interest. On April 22, 1970, more than 2,000 colleges and universities in the United States celebrated the first Earth Day.

Over the decade, a series of environment-friendly legislation was passed, including the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (1970), Clean Water Act (1972) and Endangered Species Act (1973). Another major biological issue at hand during the '70s was the use of nuclear power vs. fossil fuel, also the basis of the 1979 movie, 'The China Syndrome' starring Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda.

Top Five Degrees Earned in the 1980s:
1. Business
2. Education
3. Social Sciences and History
4. Health
5. Engineering

Often called the "Me" decade, "yuppies" of the '80s saw a dramatic shift toward a more conservative lifestyle than the hippies and hipsters of the '60s and '70s. Plenty of events in the '80s called for a more moderate mind-set: the onset of AIDS, the market crash of "Black Monday" Oct. 19, 1987 or the peak of the Cold War.

In the '80s it was all about business, which may account for the major's jump from the No. 3 to the No. 1 spot during the decade. "People saw that education could be used to get a successful career," Goodcuff says of the time. "There was more of an appreciation put on that [in the '80s]."

Successful careers were certainly to be had, as technology surged with the popularity of personal computers, Walkmans, VHS recorders and CDs. Additionally, the business minds behind the likes of He-Man, Strawberry Shortcake and Trivial Pursuit are continuing to see success, as many rad fads are making a comeback today in the '00s.
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