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data analytics

Types of Degrees data analytics Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing data analytics can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	78
Associate’s Degree	32
Bachelor’s Degree	2,263
Master’s Degree	10,503
Doctor’s Degree	13

What data analytics Majors Need to Know

Studies in data analytics develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that data analytics graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in data analytics emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Computers and Electronics — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a data analytics program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to data analytics careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, data analytics graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Working with Computers	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.5 / 7
Processing Information	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.0 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by data analytics professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	✓
Structured query language SQL	Data base user interface and query software	✓
SAS	Analytical or scientific software	✓
Microsoft SQL Server	Data base user interface and query software	✓
IBM SPSS Statistics	Analytical or scientific software	✓
Teradata Database	Data base management system software	—
C++	Object or component oriented development software	✓
R	Object or component oriented development software	✓
Tableau	Business intelligence and data analysis software	✓

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for data analytics graduates include:

• Data Analyst
• Business Consultant
• Reports Analyst
• Business Systems Analyst
• Business Analyst
• Business Process Analyst
• Program Analyst
• Statistical Consultant
• Data Specialist
• Psychometric Consultant
• Applied Scientist
• Data Modeler
• Quantitative Methodologist
• Data Engineer
• Data Analytics Specialist

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to data analytics graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	63.4%
Master’s degree	21.6%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	4.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	4.3%
Some college courses	3.0%
Doctoral degree	2.4%
Post-doctoral training	0.4%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.2%
Postsecondary certificate	0.1%
First professional degree	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in data analytics?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 42.5% women and 57.5% men among data analytics graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	5,479	42.5%
Men	7,412	57.5%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of data analytics graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	3,620	28.1%
Asian	1,109	8.6%
Hispanic or Latino	824	6.4%
Black or African American	470	3.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native	22	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	8	0.1%
Two or More Races	231	1.8%
Race Unknown	306	2.4%
International Students	6,301	48.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

Online data analytics Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for data analytics. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	7	0
Bachelor’s	15	7
Master’s	50	30
Doctoral (Research)	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Multi Interdisciplinary Studies	30
Accounting and Computer Science	30.16
Anthrozoology	30.34
Behavioral Sciences	30.17
Biological and Physical Sciences	30.01
Biopsychology	30.10
Classical and Ancient Studies	30.22
Climate Science	30.35
Cognitive Science	30.25
Computational Science	30.30
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature	30.36
Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis	30.26

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.