Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	17,084
Bachelor’s Degree	5,783
Graduate Certificate	1,157
Basic Certificate	754
Doctor’s Degree	149
Undergraduate Certificate	36
Associate Degree	20

What Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, management science majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Management Science Majors

Management Science majors often go into careers in which the following 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.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

Skills for Management Science Majors

management science majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• 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.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Abilities for Management Science Majors

Management Science majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with management science:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
General and Operations Managers	9.1%	$100,930

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This major attracts more men than women. About 60% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	843
Black or African American	291
Hispanic or Latino	641
White	3,073
International Students	627
Other Races/Ethnicities	308

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Management Science, too. About 10.8% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Management Science majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $88,350 to $123,880 (25th to 75th percentile). 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

Some degrees associated with management science may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for management science careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.1%
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)	3.0%
Some College Courses	7.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	4.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	25.0%
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.	10.4%
Master’s Degree	22.5%
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.	4.4%
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.	0.7%
Doctoral Degree	17.6%

Online 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)	4	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	1
Associate’s Degree	9	2
Bachelor’s Degree	91	31
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	220	46
Post-Master’s	10	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	27	3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a management science 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

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

Major	Number of Grads
Other Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	16,666
Business Statistics	4,333
Actuarial Science	2,055

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 в±® under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.