Biological & Physical Sciences

Types of Degrees Biological & Physical Sciences Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many biological & physical sciences graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	551
Graduate Certificate	112
Doctor’s Degree	83

What Biological & Physical Sciences Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, biological & physical sciences 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 & Physical Sciences Majors

Biological & Physical Sciences majors often go into careers in which the following 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.
• 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 & Physical Sciences Majors

biological & physical sciences majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• 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 & Physical Sciences Majors

Biological & Physical Sciences 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.
• 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 Sciences Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with biological & physical sciences:

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 Sciences?

The major attracts more women than men. About 65% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	109
Black or African American	52
Hispanic or Latino	64
White	191
International Students	88
Other Races/Ethnicities	47

Geographic Diversity

Biological & Physical Sciences appeals to people across the globe. About 16.0% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Biological & Physical Sciences

Some degrees associated with biological & physical sciences may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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 biological & physical sciences 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 Sciences 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)	6	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	193	14
Bachelor’s Degree	12	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	48	2
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	18	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	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.