Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Communication Sciences Major

Find Schools Near

Communication Sciences

11,434 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
9,211 Master's Degrees Annually
#5 in Popularity

Types of Degrees Communication Sciences Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many communication sciences graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree 11,325
Master’s Degree 10,306
Doctor’s Degree 1,034
Graduate Certificate 221
Associate Degree 201
Basic Certificate 130
Undergraduate Certificate 71

What Communication Sciences Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, communication sciences majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Communication Sciences Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in communication sciences should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

undefined
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Skills for Communication Sciences Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to communication sciences:

undefined
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Communication Sciences Majors

Communication Sciences majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

undefined
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Communication Sciences Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with communication sciences:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Audiologists 20.3% $75,920
Health Specialties Professors 25.9% $97,370
Speech-Language Pathologists 17.8% $77,510

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Sciences?

11,325 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
96% Percent Women
31% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This is one of the most frequently chosen healthcare majors. It is the 5th most popular in the country with 11,434 students graduating with a bachelor’s in communication sciences in 2021. The major attracts more women than men. About 96% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of communication sciences majors is as follows:

undefined
Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 474
Black or African American 498
Hispanic or Latino 2,178
White 7,456
International Students 94
Other Races/Ethnicities 625

Geographic Diversity

Communication Sciences appeals to people across the globe. About 0.8% of those with this major are international students.

Some careers associated with communication sciences require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for communication sciences careers below.

undefined
Education Level Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 0.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 1.1%
Bachelor’s Degree 3.0%
Master’s Degree 47.4%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 7.8%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 1.2%
Doctoral Degree 33.4%
Post-Doctoral Training 5.8%

Online Communication Sciences Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 9 2
Certificate (2-4 Years) 3 0
Associate’s Degree 37 7
Bachelor’s Degree 37 9
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 343 15
Post-Master’s 8 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 94 1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 81 2
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 4 0

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to communication sciences.

Major Number of Grads
Nursing 308,114
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 88,809
Allied Health Professions 85,413
Health & Medical Administrative Services 85,302
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 79,189
Public Health 42,551
Health Sciences & Services 35,887
Mental & Social Health Services 31,550
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 29,934
Medicine 29,206
Dental Support Services 25,040
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 19,017
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 18,729
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services 10,516
Health/Medical Prep Programs 9,413
Other Health Professions 7,387
Dentistry 6,961
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 5,644
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 5,056
Alternative Medicine & Systems 3,431
Chiropractic 2,698
Medical Illustration & Informatics 2,689
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies 2,244
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences 1,845
Optometry 1,789
Medical Science 1,090
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services 760
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies 468
Alternative Medical Support Services 136
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies 116

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Healthcare Schools Near You

Our free school-matching tool matches students with accredited healthcare schools across the U.S