Population Biology

Types of Degrees Population Biology Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	11
Doctor’s Degree	9
Graduate Certificate	9

What Population Biology Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, population biology 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 Population Biology Majors

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

• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.

Skills for Population Biology Majors

When studying population biology, 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:

• Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
• 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.
• 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.

Abilities for Population Biology Majors

Population Biology majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

What Can You Do With a Population Biology Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with population biology:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Molecular and Cellular Biologists	8.0%	$79,590

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Population Biology

Some degrees associated with population biology may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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 population biology have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	4.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	30.4%
Master’s Degree	13.0%
Doctoral Degree	21.7%
Post-Doctoral Training	30.4%

Online Population Biology 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)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	1	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	2	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Population Biology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to population biology.

Major	Number of Grads
Epidemiology	3,179
Marine Biology	2,368
Ecology	1,122
Evolutionary Biology	807
Environmental Biology	484
Conservation Biology	433
Other Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology	333
Evolutionary Biology	178
Aquatic Biology/Limnology	96
Epidemiology and Biostatistics	80
Biological Systematics	14

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 Ernst Haeckel under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.