Materials Science

Types of Degrees Materials Science Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	279
Doctor’s Degree	209
Bachelor’s Degree	166
Graduate Certificate	18
Basic Certificate	7

What Can You Do With a Materials Science Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with materials science:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Chemistry Professors	9.9%	$79,550
Chemists	6.5%	$76,890
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Materials Scientists	7.6%	$99,800
Natural Sciences Managers	9.9%	$123,860
Professors	9.4%	$65,660

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

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 203 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in materials sciences in 2021, making it rank #255 in popularity. This major tends to be male dominated. About 71% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	31
Black or African American	5
Hispanic or Latino	17
White	69
International Students	34
Other Races/Ethnicities	10

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Materials Science, too. About 20.5% of those with this major are international students.

Online Materials 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)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	8	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	44	1
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	46	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Materials Science

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

Major	Number of Grads
Chemistry	19,976
Physics	13,306
Geological & Earth Sciences	7,691
General Physical Sciences	2,747
Astronomy & Astrophysics	1,573
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	1,288
Other Physical Science	404
Physics and Astronomy	45

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
• Image Credit: By Per Henning under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.