Business Administration & Management

Types of Degrees Business Administration & Management Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general business administration and management graduations there were in 2019-2020 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	144,211
Master’s Degree	104,189
Associate Degree	56,717
Basic Certificate	28,218
Undergraduate Certificate	5,401
Graduate Certificate	2,592
Doctor’s Degree	1,874

What Business Administration & Management Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to business administration 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 Business Administration Majors

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

• 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.
• 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.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Skills for Business Administration Majors

When studying business administration, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• 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.
• 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.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Business Administration Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a business administration 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.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Business Administration & Management Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with business administration:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Administrative Services Managers	10.1%	$96,180
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Construction Managers	11.1%	$93,370
Cost Estimators	10.5%	$64,040
General and Operations Managers	9.1%	$100,930
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Loss Prevention Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Management Analysts	14.3%	$83,610
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Sales Managers	7.5%	$124,220
Security Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Social and Community Service Managers	18.0%	$65,320
Storage and Distribution Managers	6.8%	$94,730
Supply Chain Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Transportation Managers	6.8%	$94,730
Wind Energy Operations Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Wind Energy Project Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration & Management?

According to recent stats this major attracts about equal numbers of men and women. Roughly 47% of the graduates are women, and 53% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	10,404
Black or African American	15,320
Hispanic or Latino	22,406
White	72,527
International Students	8,638
Other Races/Ethnicities	14,916

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Business Administration, too. About 6.0% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Business Administration & Management Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $94,390 to $115,590 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to business administration. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Business Administration & Management

Some degrees associated with business administration may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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 business administration have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.2%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	9.1%
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)	4.1%
Some College Courses	7.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	8.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	45.4%
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.	4.0%
Master’s Degree	14.1%
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.	2.3%
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.	0.3%
Doctoral Degree	5.1%

Online Business Administration & Management Programs

In the 2019-2020 academic year, 2,476 schools offered some type of general business administration and management program. 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)	337	99
Certificate (2-4 Years)	7	1
Associate’s Degree	1,186	372
Bachelor’s Degree	217	79
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	1,033	390
Post-Master’s	51	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	159	28
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	11	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	2	0

Is a Degree in Business Administration & Management Worth It?

The median salary for a business administration grad is $103,330 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 159% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,268,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Business Administration & Management

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

Major	Number of Grads
Interior Design Management	15,201
Organizational Leadership	12,896
Supply Chain Management	9,941
Operations Management	8,397
Office Administration	4,447
Project Management	3,713
Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management	2,905
Purchasing, Procurement/Acquisitions and Contracts Management	1,097
Retail Management	943
Transportation/Mobility Management	658
Risk Management	432
Science/Technology Management	256
E-Commerce	246
Research and Development Management	206
Customer Service Management	194

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.