Environmental Design

Types of Degrees Environmental Design Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many environmental design & architecture graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Graduate Certificate	66
Doctor’s Degree	19
Master’s Degree	16

What Environmental Design Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to environmental 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 Environmental Design Majors

Environmental Design majors often go into careers in which the following 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 Environmental Design Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to environmental design:

• 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 Environmental Design Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a environmental design student include the following:

• 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 environmental 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?

Roughly 50% of the graduates are women, and 50% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	1
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	13
International Students	1
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Environmental Design, too. About 6.3% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Environmental Design

Some careers associated with environmental 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.

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

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

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	4	0
Bachelor’s Degree	8	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	8	0
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	8	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Environmental Design

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

Major	Number of Grads
Sustainable Design/Architecture	50
Healthcare Environment Design/Architecture	11
Environmental Design, Other	0

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.