Education

Types of Degrees Education Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	149,101
Bachelor’s Degree	91,742
Graduate Certificate	27,267
Associate Degree	17,890
Doctor’s Degree	15,310
Basic Certificate	11,785
Undergraduate Certificate	4,007

What Education Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to education 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 Education Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Education Majors

education majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• 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.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Abilities for Education Majors

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

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

What Can You Do With a Education Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with education:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Art, Drama, and Music Professors	12.0%	$69,960
Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Professors	9.9%	$90,860
Coaches and Scouts	12.9%	$33,780
Computer Science Professors	8.1%	$82,220
Economics Professors	10.9%	$101,480
Education Professors	10.3%	$64,780
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education	7.4%	$58,230
English Language and Literature Professors	9.8%	$66,590
Foreign Language and Literature Professors	11.7%	$67,640
Geography Professors	8.0%	$80,350
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370
Interpreters and Translators	17.7%	$49,930
Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education	8.0%	$55,470
Mathematical Science Professors	9.4%	$73,230
Physics Postsecondary Professors	10.2%	$90,800
Self-Enrichment Education Teachers	16.2%	$38,720
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School	7.4%	$59,390
Transportation Planners	6.7%	$81,340
Tutors	9.9%	NA
Vocational Education Professors	1.4%	$53,120

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Education?

This major is dominated by women with about 83% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2,624
Black or African American	6,018
Hispanic or Latino	13,706
White	62,362
International Students	1,097
Other Races/Ethnicities	5,935

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Education, too. About 1.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Education

Some degrees associated with education may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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 education careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.3%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.4%
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)	2.8%
Some College Courses	2.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	22.6%
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.	3.9%
Master’s Degree	26.3%
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.	1.9%
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.	0.4%
Doctoral Degree	28.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	5.4%

Online Education 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)	2,424	394
Certificate (2-4 Years)	112	20
Associate’s Degree	6,530	1,174
Bachelor’s Degree	11,904	3,980
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	31,858	8,310
Post-Master’s	5,654	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	5,678	964
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	300	72
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	100	48

Majors Related to Education

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

Major	Number of Grads
Library Science	6,840

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 Horadrim under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.