Ethics

Types of Degrees Ethics Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	72
Bachelor’s Degree	60
Basic Certificate	27
Graduate Certificate	10
Undergraduate Certificate	2

What Ethics Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to ethics and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Ethics Majors

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

• Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills for Ethics Majors

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

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• 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.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Ethics Majors

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

• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

What Can You Do With a Ethics Major?

People with a ethics degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Philosophy and Religion Professors	12.3%	$71,890

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Ethics?

This major is dominated by women with about 80% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	7
Black or African American	5
Hispanic or Latino	14
White	29
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	5

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Ethics

Some careers associated with ethics 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 ethics careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Master’s Degree	12.9%
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.	0.6%
Doctoral Degree	72.7%
Post-Doctoral Training	12.3%

Online Ethics 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)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	6	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	8	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Ethics

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

Major	Number of Grads
Philosophy	8,662
Other Philosophy	304
Applied & Professional Ethics	173
Logic	21

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.