Physical Education

Types of Degrees Physical Education Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	9,039
Associate Degree	2,288
Master’s Degree	1,102
Basic Certificate	258
Undergraduate Certificate	61
Graduate Certificate	43
Doctor’s Degree	18

What Physical Education Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, physical education 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 Physical Education Majors

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

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

Skills for Physical Education Majors

A major in physical education prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Physical Education Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a physical education student include the following:

• 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Can You Do With a Physical Education Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with physical education:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Athletes and Sports Competitors	7.6%	$50,650
Coaches and Scouts	12.9%	$33,780
Fitness Trainers and Aerobics Instructors	10.0%	$39,820
Recreation and Fitness Studies Professors	9.7%	$62,620

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education?

Roughly 51% of the graduates are women, and 49% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	999
Black or African American	936
Hispanic or Latino	2,404
White	3,723
International Students	174
Other Races/Ethnicities	803

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Physical Education, too. About 1.9% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Physical Education

Some careers associated with physical education require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for physical education careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	9.2%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	9.2%
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)	10.0%
Some College Courses	3.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	12.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	27.2%
Master’s Degree	11.6%
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.	1.0%
Doctoral Degree	16.4%

Online Physical 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)	25	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	169	14
Bachelor’s Degree	12	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	77	12
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	7	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Physical Education

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

Major	Number of Grads
Exercise Science and Kinesiology	32,325
Sports Management	17,134
Outdoor Health & Physical Education/Fitness	1,269
Physical Fitness Technician	1,232
Sports Studies	616

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

More about our data sources and methodologies.