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Entrepreneurship

Types of Degrees Entrepreneurship Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Entrepreneurship can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	546
Associate’s Degree	462
Bachelor’s Degree	4,035
Master’s Degree	5,564
Doctor’s Degree	3

What Entrepreneurship Majors Need to Know

Programs in Entrepreneurship emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Entrepreneurship graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Entrepreneurship emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Personnel and Human Resources — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Entrepreneurship program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Entrepreneurship careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Entrepreneurship graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.5 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Working with Computers	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.1 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Entrepreneurship professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Project	Project management software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Adobe Acrobat	Document management software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Entrepreneurship graduates include:

• Gym Manager
• Laundry Superintendent
• Fish and Game Club Manager
• Program Manager
• Publication Director
• Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)
• Public Works Director
• Compliance Director
• Hotel Recreational Facilities Manager
• Hospitality House Supervisor
• Telegraph Office Manager
• Power Superintendent
• Group Manager
• Electric Power Superintendent
• Property Utilization Officer

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Entrepreneurship graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	41.1%
Master’s degree	28.2%
Doctoral degree	6.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	6.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	6.1%
Some college courses	3.4%
Postsecondary certificate	2.7%
Post-master’s certificate	2.4%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.5%
Less than a high school diploma	0.8%
Post-doctoral training	0.5%
First professional degree	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Entrepreneurship?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 49.5% women and 50.5% men among Entrepreneurship graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	5,275	49.5%
Men	5,386	50.5%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Entrepreneurship graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	5,527	51.8%
Asian	452	4.2%
Hispanic or Latino	1,679	15.7%
Black or African American	1,381	13.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native	84	0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	23	0.2%
Two or More Races	414	3.9%
Race Unknown	402	3.8%
International Students	699	6.6%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Entrepreneurship Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Entrepreneurship graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$51,538
4 years	$61,024
5 years	$67,263

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $67,263 — roughly 31% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Entrepreneurship Programs

Fully online options is reported by IPEDS for Entrepreneurship. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	26	7
Bachelor’s	23	18
Master’s	45	9
Doctoral (Research)	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Entrepreneurship Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Entrepreneurship graduates earn a median of $61,024 four years after completion — roughly 61% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	52.07
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations, Other	52.0799
Franchising and Franchise Operations	52.0702
Small Business Administration/Management	52.0703
Social Entrepreneurship	52.0704
Business Administration and Management, General	52.0201
Business/Commerce, General	52.0101
Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management	52.0206
Finance, General	52.0801
International Business/Trade/Commerce	52.1101
Management Science	52.1301
Financial Risk Management	52.0810

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.