Recent reports have indicated that the graduating class of 2012 will fair much better than their recent predecessor in obtaining a job right after graduation.

For many, including Hispanics, choosing the right major — and perhaps a double major and/or minor — was not a second thought when entering college four years ago. Below you will find interesting facts about the most common degrees Hispanics have pursued at Colorado higher education institutions.

Adams State College

Adams State College, which will officially change its name to Adams State University this August, reported that 37 percent of the 35 awarded Associate’s degrees were earned by Hispanic students during the 2012 spring commencement. Hispanics earned 23 percent of the 222 bachelor’s degrees and 24 percent of 148 master’s degrees.

The top bachelor’s degrees earned during the 2012 spring commencement were: Interdisciplinary Studies, Nursing, HPPE: Exercise Science, and Psychology, Interdisciplinary (Early Childhood) and Accounting all tying for the fourth most popular degree.

Colorado School of Mines

This year’s spring commencement ceremony witnessed 560 bachelor’s degree candidates from Colorado School of Mines. Thirty-one Hispanic students were part of this graduating class — a 5.5 percent of that student population.

Top majors for Hispanics pursuing a degree (bachelor’s of science) from this institution majored in the following programs: Engineering with a Specialty in Electrical Engineering, Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Chemistry, Geological Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Engineering with a Specialty in Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and Engineering with a Specialty in Civil Engineering.

Colorado State University-Pueblo

The Colorado State University — Pueblo reported to La Voz that 47 Hispanic students graduated from the school in the fall of 2011. This year, 129 Hispanic students applied for graduation for the spring semester and 64 are planning to graduate this summer.

Community College of Aurora

The Community College of Aurora saw a 4 percent increase in the number of Hispanic students who were awarded degrees and certificates this spring 2012—up from 12 percent from last year to 16 percent this year. CCA told La Voz that the most popular degrees for this demographic were: AAS in Applied Technology, the Associate of Arts, the Associates of Science, the Associates of General Studies, and the Associates of Arts with a Business Transfer concentration.

The school also witnessed at 2 percent increase in the fall of 2011 with Hispanic enrollment at 18 percent compared to 16 percent in 2010.

Metropolitan State College of Denver

This weekend, Metropolitan State College of Denver held its largest spring graduation in the school’s history — more than 1,800 bachelor’s and 60 master’s student candidates.

Metro State reported that Hispanics made up 14 percent of this year’s bachelor’s candidates—totaling 260 students. Of the 60 master’s candidates, nine are of Hispanic descent. The popular undergraduate majors for this class were: Criminal Justice & Criminology, Psychology, Social Work, Management, Accounting, Biology, Art, Behavioral Science, Journalism and Marketing.

“It’s very promising that we continue to have growth not only over all in the college in terms of graduation, but also in terms of Latinos graduating from Metro State. Our rates of the number of people of color continues to go up, I think we had a 2 percent increase in Latino graduations,” said Tim Carroll, assistant director of Media Relations. Metro State, which will be known as Metropolitan State University of Denver beginning in July, is pursuing Hispanic Serving Institution (HIS) recognition. In order for an institution to obtain this designation, it must have a 25 percent Hispanic undergraduate full-time enrollment. “We are not only looking for greater Latino enrollment, but Latinos who graduate from college,” he said.

University of Colorado at Boulder

The University of Colorado at Boulder also shared its current counts for its spring and summer 2012 Hispanic candidates (293 bachelor’s, 40 master’s, 5 doctorate and 20 law). While final counts will not be made until later this year, the school’s numbers are telling of the fields of studies its Hispanic students prefer.

Many Hispanic students, who are candidates for a bachelor’s, worked toward a degree in Psychology, Integrated Physiology, English, International Affairs and Environmental Design. The top two master’s degree programs for Hispanic candidates were in Education-Social, Multicultural, & Bilingual Foundations and Civil Engineering. As for the doctoral program, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology came out on top.

University of Colorado Denver

Hispanics made up 10 percent of the students who applied for an undergraduate degree during the spring graduation of this year at the University of Colorado Denver. The top five majors pursued by this demographic at CU Denver were Psychology, Biology, Criminal Justice, Accounting and Music.

University of Denver

From 2006-2011, Hispanics graduating from the University of Denver obtained degrees from a variety of studies. However, the predominant degrees conferred to these students during this time period were in International Business, General Business, International Studies, Psychology and Finance.

In the fall of 2010, DU saw a total of 10,885 students, with domestic citizenship, who were enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate programs (end of term enrollment total count). There were 452 Hispanics who were enrolled in an undergraduate program while 388 were enrolled in a graduate program — totaling 840 Latinos who were enrolled in the fall semester of 2010.

University of Northern Colorado

One-hundred students who applied for graduation this semester at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley identify themselves as Hispanic. These undergraduate students make up 9 percent of the 1,080 undergraduate class at UNC.

The prevalent majors were: Business Administration, Interdisciplinary Studies (elementary and early childhood education), Criminal Justice, English and Psychology.