Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	5,285
Master’s Degree	2,088
Graduate Certificate	76
Doctor’s Degree	52
Undergraduate Certificate	18
Basic Certificate	3
Associate Degree	2

What Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to communication science were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Communication Science Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• 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 Science Majors

When studying communication science, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• 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 Science Majors

As you progress with your communication science degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with communication science:

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 ?

This major is dominated by women with about 95% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	282
Black or African American	187
Hispanic or Latino	1,292
White	3,215
International Students	48
Other Races/Ethnicities	261

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Communication Science. About 0.9% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Communication Science majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $80,700 to $122,320 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to

Some careers associated with communication science 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.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to communication science have obtained the following education levels.

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 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)	3	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	10	1
Bachelor’s Degree	10	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	70	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	25	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a communication science grad is $82,210 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 106% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $846,200 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

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

Major	Number of Grads
Speech Pathology & Audiology	8,306
Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist	6,577
Audiology/Audiologist	939
Other Communication Disorders Sciences & Services	212

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.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Ghozt Tramp under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.