Political Communication

Types of Degrees Political Communication Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	78
Basic Certificate	49
Master’s Degree	43
Graduate Certificate	17

What Political Communication Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to political communication 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 Political Communication Majors

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

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• 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.

Skills for Political Communication Majors

political communication majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Political Communication Majors

Political Communication majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• 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.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Communication?

This major is dominated by women with about 73% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of political communication majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	3
Hispanic or Latino	9
White	56
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	10

How Much Do Political Communication Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Political Communication majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $55,530 to $78,090 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

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 Political Communication

Some degrees associated with political communication 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for political communication careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.5%
Some College Courses	2.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	62.2%
Master’s Degree	21.4%
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.	0.2%
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.	1.2%
Doctoral Degree	4.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.6%

Online Political Communication Programs

In 2020-2021, 18 schools offered a political communication 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	5	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	2	0
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Political Communication Worth It?

The median salary for a political communication grad is $68,440 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 72% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $570,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Political Communication

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to political communication.

Major	Number of Grads
Public Relations	5,216
Advertising	4,918
Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication	4,203
General Organizational Communication	2,013
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication	1,553
Communication Management and Strategic Communications	1,397
Sports Communication	729
Health Communication	410
International & Intercultural Communication	256
Technical & Scientific Communication	217

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 Bill Koplitz under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.