Biological & Physical Science

Types of Degrees Biological & Physical Science Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many biological and physical science graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	496
Doctor’s Degree	72
Graduate Certificate	71

What Biological & Physical Science Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, biological 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 Biological Science Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in biological science 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Skills for Biological Science Majors

When studying biological science, 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:

• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• 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.

Abilities for Biological Science Majors

As a biological science major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 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 Biological & Physical Science Major?

People with a biological science degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Clinical Research Coordinators	9.9%	$123,860
Natural Sciences Managers	9.9%	$123,860

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Biological & Physical Science?

The major attracts more women than men. About 62% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	100
Black or African American	54
Hispanic or Latino	53
White	180
International Students	69
Other Races/Ethnicities	40

Geographic Diversity

Biological Science appeals to people across the globe. About 13.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Canada

How Much Do Biological & Physical Science Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that biological and physical science students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree made a median starting salary of $72,133 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $50,183 (25th percentile) and $74,298 (75th percentile).

It is possible that some of these people may have taken positions that were not related to biological science.

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to biological science is $139,680. This median refers to 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 Biological & Physical Science

Some degrees associated with biological science 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 biological science careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	4.2%
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)	4.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	49.1%
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.	3.3%
Master’s Degree	14.2%
Doctoral Degree	11.4%
Post-Doctoral Training	7.1%

Online Biological & Physical Science Programs

In 2020-2021, 370 schools offered a biological science 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)	6	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	195	10
Bachelor’s Degree	10	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	47	2
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	17	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Biological & Physical Science Worth It?

The median salary for a biological science grad is $139,680 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 250% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,995,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Biological & Physical Science

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

Major	Number of Grads
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	2,491
Sustainability Science	1,547
Nutrition Science	1,496
Behavioral Science	1,358
Computational Science	1,063
International Studies	918
Human Computer Interaction	822
Data Analytics	793
Museum Studies	696
Gerontology	655
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution	522
Systems Theory	461
Dispute Resolution	416
Interdisciplinary Studies	402
Data Science	373
Mathematics & Computer Science	290
Historic Preservation	266
Science, Technology & Society	198
Multicultural & Diversity Studies	176
Cultural Studies & Analysis	161
Cognitive Science	123
Marine Science	104
Natural Sciences	76
Holocaust Studies	54
Medieval Studies	46
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature	28
Human Biology	18
Classical & Ancient Studies	17
Earth Systems Science	13
Maritime Studies	9
Accounting & Computer Science	8
Linguistics and Computer Science	6
Environmental Geosciences	6
Linguistics and Anthropology	2
Thanatology	0
Biopsychology	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

More about our data sources and methodologies.