Communications

Types of Degrees Communications Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many communication & media studies graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	4,685
Doctor’s Degree	573
Graduate Certificate	300

What Communications Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to communications and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Communications Majors

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

• 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.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Skills for Communications Majors

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

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• 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.
• 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 Communications Majors

Communications 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Communications Major?

People with a communications degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Communications Professors	10.0%	$68,910
Copy Writers	7.6%	$62,170
Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers	7.6%	$62,170
Public Address System and Other Announcers	2.6%	$27,720
Public Relations Specialists	8.9%	$60,000

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Communications?

Communication & Media Studies runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #44 out of all the graduate majors we track. In 2021, about 4,407 graduates completed their master’s degree in this field. This major is dominated by women with about 75% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	174
Black or African American	532
Hispanic or Latino	664
White	2,292
International Students	685
Other Races/Ethnicities	338

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Communications, too. About 14.6% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Communications

Some degrees associated with communications 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 communications careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	6.8%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	6.5%
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)	1.5%
Some College Courses	6.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	56.3%
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.	0.8%
Master’s Degree	13.5%
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.	0.3%
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.	0.5%
Doctoral Degree	2.5%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.2%

Online Communications 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)	36	3
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	328	42
Bachelor’s Degree	63	24
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	343	51
Post-Master’s	8	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	98	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Communications

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

Major	Number of Grads
Public Relations & Advertising	20,666
Radio, Television & Digital Communication	18,257
Journalism	12,280
Communication & Journalism (Other)	1,238
Publishing	371

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 UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.