Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many speech-language pathology/pathologist graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	4,764
Bachelor’s Degree	1,454
Graduate Certificate	135
Doctor’s Degree	99
Basic Certificate	82
Associate Degree	34
Undergraduate Certificate	9

What Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to speech-language pathology 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 Speech-Language Pathology Majors

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

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Skills for Speech-Language Pathology Majors

speech-language pathology majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• 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.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Abilities for Speech-Language Pathology Majors

As a speech-language pathology major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• 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.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Major?

People with a speech-language pathology degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
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 96% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of speech-language pathology majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	73
Black or African American	82
Hispanic or Latino	328
White	877
International Students	5
Other Races/Ethnicities	89

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Speech-Language Pathology. About 0.3% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Speech-Language Pathology 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 you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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 speech-language pathology require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for speech-language pathology careers below.

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)	1.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	4.6%
Master’s Degree	64.2%
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.	12.0%
Doctoral Degree	9.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	7.1%

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)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	8	4
Bachelor’s Degree	8	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	140	3
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	11	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	3	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a speech-language pathology grad is $80,700 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 102% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $816,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to speech-language pathology.

Major	Number of Grads
Speech Pathology & Audiology	8,306
General Communication Sciences & Disorders	7,524
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.