Business Administration & Management

Types of Degrees Business Administration & Management Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many business administration and management graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	174,534
Master’s Degree	122,843
Associate Degree	63,763
Basic Certificate	40,893
Graduate Certificate	5,948
Undergraduate Certificate	5,845
Doctor’s Degree	2,764

What Business Administration & Management Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, business administration 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 Business Administration Majors

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

• 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

business administration majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• 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 & Management Major?

People with a business administration degree often go into the following careers:

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
Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Business Professors	18.0%	$83,960
Clinical Research Coordinators	9.9%	$123,860
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Computer and Information Systems Managers	12.0%	$142,530
Construction Managers	11.1%	$93,370
Cost Estimators	10.5%	$64,040
First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	7.1%	$66,140
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	3.4%	$55,810
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	3.8%	$39,630
General and Operations Managers	9.1%	$100,930
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Logisticians	6.9%	$74,600
Logistics Analysts	6.9%	$74,600
Logistics Engineers	6.9%	$74,600
Logistics Managers	6.8%	$94,730
Loss Prevention Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Management Analysts	14.3%	$83,610
Natural Sciences Managers	9.9%	$123,860
Purchasing Managers	5.4%	$118,940
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Sales Managers	7.5%	$124,220
Security Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Social and Community Service Managers	18.0%	$65,320
Storage and Distribution Managers	6.8%	$94,730
Supply Chain Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Transportation Managers	6.8%	$94,730
Water Resource Specialists	9.9%	$123,860
Wind Energy Operations Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Wind Energy Project Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration & Management?

This is one of the most frequently chosen undergraduate majors. It is the 1st most popular in the country with 174,421 students graduating with a bachelor’s in business administration in 2021. Roughly 47% of the graduates are women, and 53% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of business administration majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	12,401
Black or African American	19,216
Hispanic or Latino	27,996
White	87,164
International Students	10,146
Other Races/Ethnicities	17,611

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Business Administration. About 5.8% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• Vietnam

How Much Do Business Administration & Management Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management made a median starting salary of $41,334 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $36,640 (25th percentile) and $47,138 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to business administration.

Salaries According to BLS

Business Administration majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $71,670 to $123,880 (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 Business Administration & Management

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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for business administration careers below.

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 & Management Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 2,625 schools offered some type of business administration and management program. 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)	663	183
Certificate (2-4 Years)	16	3
Associate’s Degree	1,763	521
Bachelor’s Degree	672	264
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	1,851	735
Post-Master’s	105	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	244	57
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	15	3
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	4	0

Is a Degree in Business Administration & Management Worth It?

The median salary for a business administration grad is $103,110 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 158% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,264,200 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Business Administration & Management

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to business administration.

Major	Number of Grads
Accounting	99,265
Finance & Financial Management	57,778
General Business/Commerce	56,042
Marketing	52,916
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	43,382
Human Resource Management	28,787
Business Support & Assistant Services	19,119
Hospitality Management	17,689
Management Information Systems	13,680
Entrepreneurial Studies	11,319
International Business	9,101
Real Estate	6,547
General Sales & Marketing	5,923
Business/Managerial Economics	5,667
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	5,191
Other Business, Management & Marketing	4,822
Construction Management	3,846
Insurance	1,809
Taxation	1,547
Business/Corporate Communications	1,029
Telecommunications Management	55

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.