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data visualization

Types of Degrees data visualization Majors Are Earning

People majoring in data visualization may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	30
Master’s Degree	37

What data visualization Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing data visualization emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Computers and Electronics — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set built by a data visualization program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Complex Problem Solving — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to data visualization careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

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

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Working with Computers	4.7 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Processing Information	4.5 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.0 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by data visualization professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Go	Development environment software	—
SAS	Analytical or scientific software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft SQL Server	Data base user interface and query software	✓
Oracle Java	Object or component oriented development software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
C++	Object or component oriented development software	✓
Structured query language SQL	Data base user interface and query software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
IBM SPSS Statistics	Analytical or scientific software	—
C#	Object or component oriented development software	✓

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for data visualization graduates include:

• Data Analyst
• Program Analyst
• Business Process Analyst
• Business Analyst
• Business Systems Analyst
• Business Consultant
• Reports Analyst
• Instructor
• Urban Planning Teacher
• Naval Science Teacher
• Humanities Teacher
• Labor Relations Teacher
• Packaging Professor
• College Instructor
• Interdisciplinary Professor

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	74.6%
Master’s degree	13.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	5.0%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	4.3%
Some college courses	2.9%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in data visualization?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 52.2% women and 47.8% men among data visualization graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	35	52.2%
Men	32	47.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	24	35.8%
Asian	18	26.9%
Hispanic or Latino	3	4.5%
Black or African American	4	6.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	1.5%
Race Unknown	1	1.5%
International Students	16	23.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

Related Programs

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

Program	CIP Code
Data Analytics	30.71
Business Analytics	30.7102
Data Analytics, General	30.7101
Data Analytics, Other	30.7199
Financial Analytics	30.7104
Computational Science	30.3001
Data Science, General	30.7001
Data Science, Other	30.7099
Anthrozoology	30.3401

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.