Environmental Design

Types of Degrees Environmental Design Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Graduate Certificate	49
Master’s Degree	38
Doctor’s Degree	27

What Environmental Design Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to environment design 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 Environment Design Majors

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

• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Environment Design Majors

When studying environment design, 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:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Environment Design Majors

As a environment design major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• 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.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Environmental Design Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with environment design:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architects, Except Landscape and Naval	4.2%	$79,380
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Architecture Professors	10.5%	$86,980
Landscape Architects	6.5%	$68,230

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Environmental Design?

This major is dominated by women with about 58% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of environment design majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	1
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	18
International Students	15
Other Races/Ethnicities	3

Geographic Diversity

Environment Design appeals to people across the globe. About 39.5% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• South Korea
• Canada
• Saudi Arabia

How Much Do Environmental Design Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that environmental design students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree made a median starting salary of $50,901 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $50,901 (25th percentile) and $50,901 (75th percentile).

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

Salaries According to BLS

Environment Design majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $73,160 to $99,320 (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 Environmental Design

Some careers associated with environment design require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. 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 environment design careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Some College Courses	0.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	55.8%
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.	6.1%
Master’s Degree	18.5%
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.	0.9%
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.	8.6%
Doctoral Degree	7.7%

Online Environmental Design Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 57 schools offered some type of environmental design 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)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	3	0
Bachelor’s Degree	7	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	10	0
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	8	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Environmental Design Worth It?

The median salary for a environment design grad is $88,860 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 123% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $979,200 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Environmental Design

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to environment design.

Major	Number of Grads
Architectural Sciences & Technology	3,366
Urban & Regional Planning	1,613
General Architecture	1,096
Landscape Architecture	285
Real Estate Development	223
Interior Architecture	169
Architectural History	45
Architecture (Other)	33

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 Stan9999 under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.