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<p>Educational field choices shape careers, wellbeing and the societal skill distribution, yet genetic influences on what people study remain poorly understood. Here we show that genetic factors are associated with educational field specializations using genome-wide association studies (GWASs) across 463,134 individuals from Finland, Norway and the Netherlands (effective <i>n</i> between 40,072 and 317,209). We identified 17 independent genome-wide significant variants linked to 7 of 10 educational fields, with average heritability of 7%. The genetic signal is specific to field choice rather than educational level, persisting after controlling for years of schooling and confounding factors. By examining genetic clustering across specializations, we uncovered two key dimensions: technical versus social and practical versus abstract. We performed GWASs of these components and demonstrated distinct genetic correlations with personality, behavior and socioeconomic status. Our findings demonstrate that genomic research can illuminate ‘horizontal’ stratification, revealing insights into vocational interests and social sorting beyond traditional attainment measures.</p>

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Genetic associations with educational fields

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年11月4日

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  • Rosa Cheesman,
  • Ville Anapaz,
  • Sjoerd van Alten,
  • Abdel Abdellaoui,
  • Ralph Porneso,
  • Joakim C. Ebeltoft,
  • Ziada Ayorech,
  • Perline A. Demange,
  • Espen Moen Eilertsen,
  • Agnes Fauske,
  • Alexandra Havdahl,
  • Hannu Lahtinen,
  • Torkild Hovde Lyngstad,
  • Qi Qin,
  • Andrea Ganna,
  • Eivind Ystrom

摘要

Educational field choices shape careers, wellbeing and the societal skill distribution, yet genetic influences on what people study remain poorly understood. Here we show that genetic factors are associated with educational field specializations using genome-wide association studies (GWASs) across 463,134 individuals from Finland, Norway and the Netherlands (effective n between 40,072 and 317,209). We identified 17 independent genome-wide significant variants linked to 7 of 10 educational fields, with average heritability of 7%. The genetic signal is specific to field choice rather than educational level, persisting after controlling for years of schooling and confounding factors. By examining genetic clustering across specializations, we uncovered two key dimensions: technical versus social and practical versus abstract. We performed GWASs of these components and demonstrated distinct genetic correlations with personality, behavior and socioeconomic status. Our findings demonstrate that genomic research can illuminate ‘horizontal’ stratification, revealing insights into vocational interests and social sorting beyond traditional attainment measures.