Youth Ministry

Types of Degrees Youth Ministry Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	270
Master’s Degree	29
Associate Degree	4
Basic Certificate	2
Graduate Certificate	1

What Youth Ministry Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to youth ministry were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Youth Ministry Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in youth ministry should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Youth Ministry Majors

youth ministry majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• 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.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Abilities for Youth Ministry Majors

As a youth ministry major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

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

What Can You Do With a Youth Ministry Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with youth ministry:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Clergy	8.2%	$48,990
Directors, Religious Activities and Education	7.1%	$40,810

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Youth Ministry?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 61% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	6
Black or African American	10
Hispanic or Latino	10
White	220
International Students	7
Other Races/Ethnicities	17

Geographic Diversity

Youth Ministry appeals to people across the globe. About 2.6% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Youth Ministry

Some careers associated with youth ministry 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.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to youth ministry have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.5%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	3.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	53.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	4.2%
Master’s Degree	38.4%
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.	0.1%
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.	0.2%
Doctoral Degree	0.5%

Online Youth Ministry 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)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	1
Associate’s Degree	7	3
Bachelor’s Degree	2	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	19	5
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 Youth Ministry

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

Major	Number of Grads
Pastoral Studies/Counseling	1,385
Other Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries	908
Lay Ministry	681
Women’s Ministry	66
Urban Ministry	58
Chaplain/Chaplaincy Studies	29

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.