Programming

Types of Degrees Programming Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	4,709
Associate Degree	3,930
Bachelor’s Degree	2,503
Undergraduate Certificate	1,272
Master’s Degree	421
Graduate Certificate	148

What Programming Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to programming 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 Programming Majors

Programming majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• 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.

Skills for Programming Majors

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

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• 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.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Programming Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a programming student include the following:

• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 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.

What Can You Do With a Programming Major?

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

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Computer Network Support Specialists	8.2%	$62,770
Computer Science Professors	8.1%	$82,220
Software Developers, Applications	30.7%	$103,620
Software Developers, Systems Software	11.1%	$110,000
Web Developers	14.9%	$69,430

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Programming?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 2,330 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer programming in 2021, making it rank #129 in popularity. This major attracts more men than women. About 81% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	215
Black or African American	180
Hispanic or Latino	304
White	1,434
International Students	107
Other Races/Ethnicities	263

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Programming. About 4.3% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Programming

Some careers associated with programming 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 programming careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.0%
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)	4.9%
Some College Courses	3.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	9.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	58.0%
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.	1.3%
Master’s Degree	13.6%
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.	0.3%
Doctoral Degree	6.6%

Online Programming 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)	235	30
Certificate (2-4 Years)	16	5
Associate’s Degree	394	72
Bachelor’s Degree	21	7
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	19	8
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Programming

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

Major	Number of Grads
Computer Information Systems	105,098
Computer Science	72,693
Information Technology	46,791
Information Science	20,202
Computer Software & Applications	14,684
Computer Systems Networking	13,734
Computer Systems Analysis	2,864
Other Computer & Information Sciences	2,000
Data Processing	1,927
Data Entry	542

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 luis gomes under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.