Business Administration
Types of Degrees Business Administration Majors Are Getting
The following table lists how many business administration & management graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.
Education Level | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Bachelor’s Degree | 161,468 |
Master’s Degree | 120,872 |
Associate Degree | 60,022 |
Basic Certificate | 36,279 |
Graduate Certificate | 7,027 |
Undergraduate Certificate | 5,953 |
Doctor’s Degree | 3,606 |
What Business Administration Majors Need to Know
O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to business administration and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.
Knowledge Areas for Business Administration Majors
This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- 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.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Skills for Business Administration Majors
When studying business administration, 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:
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- 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.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Abilities for Business Administration Majors
As a business administration major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
What Can You Do With a Business Administration Major?
Below is a list of occupations associated with business administration:
Job Title | Job Growth Rate | Median Salary |
---|---|---|
Administrative Services Managers | 10.1% | $96,180 |
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes | 4.7% | $66,040 |
Business Professors | 18.0% | $83,960 |
Compliance Managers | 8.0% | $107,480 |
Construction Managers | 11.1% | $93,370 |
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 3.4% | $55,810 |
Logistics Analysts | 6.9% | $74,600 |
Logistics Engineers | 6.9% | $74,600 |
Loss Prevention Managers | 8.0% | $107,480 |
Management Analysts | 14.3% | $83,610 |
Regulatory Affairs Managers | 8.0% | $107,480 |
Sales Managers | 7.5% | $124,220 |
Security Managers | 8.0% | $107,480 |
Storage and Distribution Managers | 6.8% | $94,730 |
Wind Energy Operations Managers | 8.0% | $107,480 |
Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration?
Racial-Ethnic Diversity
At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of business administration majors is as follows:
Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 11,989 |
Black or African American | 17,498 |
Hispanic or Latino | 27,989 |
White | 79,863 |
International Students | 7,296 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 16,833 |
Geographic Diversity
Business Administration appeals to people across the globe. About 4.5% of those with this major are international students.
Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Business Administration
Some degrees associated with business administration may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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.
How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to business administration have obtained the following education levels.
Education Level | Percentage of Workers |
---|---|
Less than a High School Diploma | 0.6% |
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) | 12.0% |
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) | 5.8% |
Some College Courses | 9.2% |
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 8.9% |
Bachelor’s Degree | 44.6% |
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. | 3.7% |
Master’s Degree | 10.9% |
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. | 1.1% |
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. | 0.2% |
Doctoral Degree | 3.1% |
Post-Doctoral Training | 0.4% |
Online Business Administration 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) | 655 | 213 |
Certificate (2-4 Years) | 16 | 1 |
Associate’s Degree | 1,735 | 587 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 784 | 360 |
Post-Baccalaureate | 0 | 0 |
Master’s Degree | 1,924 | 818 |
Post-Master’s | 125 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Research) | 271 | 78 |
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) | 22 | 7 |
Doctor’s Degree (Other) | 5 | 1 |
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Majors Related to Business Administration
You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to business administration.
Major | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Accounting | 84,760 |
Finance & Financial Management | 58,013 |
General Business/Commerce | 57,204 |
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods | 56,747 |
Marketing | 52,820 |
Human Resource Management | 25,350 |
Business Support & Assistant Services | 16,604 |
Hospitality Management | 14,076 |
Entrepreneurial Studies | 12,707 |
Management Information Systems | 11,695 |
Real Estate | 7,783 |
International Business | 7,505 |
General Sales & Marketing | 5,965 |
Other Business, Management & Marketing | 4,903 |
Business/Managerial Economics | 4,885 |
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing | 4,322 |
Construction Management | 4,158 |
Insurance | 2,334 |
Taxation | 1,257 |
Business/Corporate Communications | 837 |
Telecommunications Management | 58 |
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
More about our data sources and methodologies.