IS

Types of Degrees IS Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	9,632
Master’s Degree	8,428
Associate Degree	968
Undergraduate Certificate	375
Graduate Certificate	327
Basic Certificate	286
Doctor’s Degree	186

What IS Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, is 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 IS Majors

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

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for IS Majors

is 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.
• 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.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for IS Majors

As you progress with your is degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• 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.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a IS Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with is:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Business Intelligence Analysts	9.3%	$90,270
Computer and Information Research Scientists	19.0%	$118,370
Computer and Information Systems Managers	12.0%	$142,530
Computer Science Professors	8.1%	$82,220
Data Warehousing Specialists	9.3%	$90,270
Database Architects	9.3%	$90,270
Document Management Specialists	9.3%	$90,270
Geographic Information Systems Technicians	9.3%	$90,270
Geospatial Information Scientists and Technologists	9.3%	$90,270
Search Marketing Strategists	9.3%	$90,270
Software Developers, Systems Software	11.1%	$110,000
Software Quality Assurance Engineers and Testers	9.3%	$90,270
Web Administrators	9.3%	$90,270

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in IS?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 9,717 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in information science in 2021, making it rank #52 in popularity. This major tends to be male dominated. About 72% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1,680
Black or African American	1,512
Hispanic or Latino	1,064
White	4,011
International Students	617
Other Races/Ethnicities	748

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in IS, too. About 6.4% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to IS

Some careers associated with is 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 is careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.9%
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)	3.9%
Some College Courses	4.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	57.8%
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.	2.6%
Master’s Degree	17.3%
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.	0.6%
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.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	5.5%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.2%

Online IS 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)	50	24
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	1
Associate’s Degree	98	22
Bachelor’s Degree	69	31
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	169	60
Post-Master’s	11	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	33	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to IS

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

Major	Number of Grads
Computer Information Systems	105,098
Computer Science	72,693
Information Technology	46,791
Computer Software & Applications	14,684
Computer Systems Networking	13,734
Computer Programming	12,983
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 The Opte Project under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.