Behavioral Sciences

Types of Degrees Behavioral Sciences Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,746
Master’s Degree	1,629
Associate Degree	789
Basic Certificate	298
Doctor’s Degree	150
Graduate Certificate	111
Undergraduate Certificate	54

What Behavioral Sciences Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to behavioral sciences 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 Behavioral Sciences Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in behavioral sciences 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.
• 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.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• 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.

Skills for Behavioral Sciences Majors

When studying behavioral sciences, 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:

• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Abilities for Behavioral Sciences Majors

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

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

What Can You Do With a Behavioral Sciences Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with behavioral sciences:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Community and Social Service Specialists	13.2%	$42,620
Life Scientists	9.0%	$78,190
Neuropsychologists and Clinical Neuropsychologists	10.3%	$100,770
Transportation Planners	6.7%	$81,340

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Behavioral Sciences?

This major is dominated by women with about 79% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	115
Black or African American	194
Hispanic or Latino	259
White	961
International Students	72
Other Races/Ethnicities	145

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Behavioral Sciences. About 4.1% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Behavioral Sciences

Some careers associated with behavioral sciences 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.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to behavioral sciences have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Bachelor’s Degree	36.2%
Master’s Degree	12.1%
Doctoral Degree	4.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	48.2%

Online Behavioral Sciences 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	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	31	9
Bachelor’s Degree	13	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	31	4
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	23	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	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 Polimerek under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.