Materials Sciences

Types of Degrees Materials Sciences Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many materials sciences graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	270
Bachelor’s Degree	203
Doctor’s Degree	144
Graduate Certificate	34
Basic Certificate	7

What Can You Do With a Materials Sciences 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 Sciences?

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 66% 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	39
Black or African American	6
Hispanic or Latino	20
White	98
International Students	21
Other Races/Ethnicities	19

Geographic Diversity

Materials Science appeals to people across the globe. About 10.3% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Saudi Arabia

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that materials sciences students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree made a median starting salary of $64,925 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $64,925 (25th percentile) and $64,925 (75th percentile).

Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a materials science degree.

Online Materials Sciences Programs

In 2020-2021, 64 schools offered a materials science program of some type. 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)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	6	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	41	0
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	43	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Majors Related to Materials Sciences

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

Major	Number of Grads
Chemistry	21,239
Physics	13,674
Geological & Earth Sciences	7,821
General Physical Sciences	3,823
Astronomy & Astrophysics	1,375
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	1,140
Other Physical Science	538
Physics and Astronomy	38

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.