Journalism

Types of Degrees Journalism Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many journalism graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	11,502
Master’s Degree	1,181
Associate Degree	676
Basic Certificate	111
Graduate Certificate	41
Undergraduate Certificate	25
Doctor’s Degree	16

What Journalism Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, journalism 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 Journalism Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in journalism 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.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for Journalism Majors

When studying journalism, 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:

• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Journalism Majors

As a journalism major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• 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.
• 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Journalism Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with journalism:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Communications Professors	10.0%	$68,910
Copy Writers	7.6%	$62,170
Film and Video Editors	17.0%	$62,650

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism?

Journalism runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #46 out of all the undergraduate majors we track. In 2021, about 11,502 graduates completed their bachelor’s degree in this field. This major is dominated by women with about 67% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	389
Black or African American	1,352
Hispanic or Latino	1,699
White	6,903
International Students	320
Other Races/Ethnicities	839

Geographic Diversity

Journalism appeals to people across the globe. About 2.8% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• South Korea
• India
• Canada
• United Kingdom

How Much Do Journalism Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

The median starting salary of students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism was $31,781 per year. These stats come from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $28,483 (25th percentile) and $34,557 (75th percentile).

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

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $51,630 to $78,090 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to journalism. 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 Journalism

Some careers associated with journalism require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

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

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	3.5%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	8.9%
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)	2.2%
Some College Courses	11.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	6.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	52.9%
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.	0.2%
Master’s Degree	11.8%
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.	0.2%
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.	0.5%
Doctoral Degree	1.9%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.2%

Online Journalism Programs

In 2020-2021, 521 schools offered a journalism program of some type. 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)	25	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	129	5
Bachelor’s Degree	14	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	90	9
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	6	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Journalism Worth It?

The median salary for a journalism grad is $69,480 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 74% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $591,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Journalism

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

Major	Number of Grads
Communication & Media Studies	66,787
Public Relations & Advertising	21,099
Radio, Television & Digital Communication	17,669
Communication & Journalism (Other)	1,128
Publishing	336

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 Jfurrer under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.