Journalism

Types of Degrees Journalism Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	8,590
Master’s Degree	933
Associate Degree	472
Basic Certificate	27
Graduate Certificate	20
Undergraduate Certificate	17
Doctor’s Degree	14

What Journalism Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to journalism were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

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

A major in journalism prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Journalism Majors

A major in journalism will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Journalism Major?

People with a journalism degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Communications Professors	10.0%	$68,910
Copy Writers	7.6%	$62,170

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism?

This major is dominated by women with about 66% 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	299
Black or African American	965
Hispanic or Latino	1,330
White	5,207
International Students	200
Other Races/Ethnicities	589

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Journalism, too. About 2.3% of those with this major are international students.

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. 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 journalism careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	4.3%
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)	0.1%
Some College Courses	6.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	61.5%
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.	0.4%
Master’s Degree	18.6%
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.	0.4%
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.	0.9%
Doctoral Degree	3.3%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.0%

Online Journalism 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)	19	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	115	8
Bachelor’s Degree	14	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	65	8
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	6	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Journalism

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

Major	Number of Grads
Other Journalism	1,208
Broadcast Journalism	848
Photojournalism	144
Science/Health/Environmental Journalism	7
Cultural Journalism	0

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.