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Computational Science Major

Computational Science

221 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
953 Master's Degrees Annually
#246 in Popularity

Types of Degrees Computational Science Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level Number of Grads
Master’s Degree 1,477
Bachelor’s Degree 410
Basic Certificate 97
Graduate Certificate 92
Doctor’s Degree 91

What Computational Science Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, computational science 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 Computational Science Majors

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

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  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Skills for Computational Science Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to computational science:

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  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Computational Science Majors

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

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  • 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.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • 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 Computational Science Major?

People with a computational science degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Business Intelligence Analysts 9.3% $90,270
Clinical Research Coordinators 9.9% $123,860
Data Warehousing Specialists 9.3% $90,270
Database Architects 9.3% $90,270
Geospatial Information Scientists and Technologists 9.3% $90,270
Mathematical Science Occupations 9.1% NA
Natural Sciences Managers 9.9% $123,860
Professors 9.4% $65,660

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Computational Science?

410 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
31% Percent Women
35% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 221 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computational science in 2021, making it rank #246 in popularity. This major tends to be male dominated. About 69% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 70
Black or African American 12
Hispanic or Latino 43
White 172
International Students 87
Other Races/Ethnicities 26

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Computational Science. About 21.2% of those with this major are international students.

Some careers associated with computational science 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 computational science have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 2.3%
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) 2.3%
Some College Courses 1.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 3.3%
Bachelor’s Degree 57.2%
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. 4.6%
Master’s Degree 20.6%
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. 0.7%
Doctoral Degree 5.1%
Post-Doctoral Training 2.8%

Online Computational Science 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) 0 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 4 0
Bachelor’s Degree 22 4
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 54 9
Post-Master’s 2 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 15 1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

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

Major Number of Grads
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 29,596
Biological & Physical Science 28,469
Interdisciplinary Studies 9,341
Data Analytics 7,294
International Studies 6,458
Nutrition Science 5,514
Behavioral Science 4,777
Data Science 4,416
Sustainability Science 4,382
Cognitive Science 2,959
Human Computer Interaction 2,324
Natural Sciences 2,275
Human Biology 2,016
Mathematics & Computer Science 1,489
Systems Theory 1,080
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution 1,074
Gerontology 951
Museum Studies 892
Geography and Environmental Studies 809
Science, Technology & Society 805
Dispute Resolution 652
Multicultural & Diversity Studies 584
Marine Science 436
Historic Preservation 423
Cultural Studies & Analysis 375
Classical & Ancient Studies 290
Biopsychology 208
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics 153
Mathematical Economics 139
Climate Science 110
Medieval Studies 105
Environmental Geosciences 102
Economics and Computer Science 89
Maritime Studies 68
History and Political Science 68
Holocaust Studies 67
Accounting & Computer Science 55
Digital Humanities and Textual Studies 54
Anthrozoology 47
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature 40
Earth Systems Science 25
Economics and Foreign Language/Literature 12
Thanatology 8
Linguistics and Computer Science 4
Linguistics and Anthropology 1
History and Language/Literature 1
Geoarcheaology 1
Geobiology 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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