Computational Science

Types of Degrees Computational Science Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many computational science graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,477
Graduate Certificate	92
Doctor’s Degree	91

What Computational Science Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to computational science 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 Computational Science Majors

Computational Science 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.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for Computational Science Majors

computational science majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• 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.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Computational Science Majors

Computational Science majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Computational Science Major?

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

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Business Intelligence Analysts	9.3%	$90,270
Clinical Research Coordinators	9.9%	$123,860
Data Warehousing Specialists	9.3%	$90,270
Database Architects	9.3%	$90,270
Geospatial Information Scientists and Technologists	9.3%	$90,270
Mathematical Science Occupations	9.1%	NA
Natural Sciences Managers	9.9%	$123,860
Professors	9.4%	$65,660

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Computational Science?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 65% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	126
Black or African American	19
Hispanic or Latino	39
White	324
International Students	918
Other Races/Ethnicities	51

Geographic Diversity

Computational Science appeals to people across the globe. About 62.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Computational Science

Some degrees associated with computational 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 computational science careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.3%
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)	2.3%
Some College Courses	1.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	57.2%
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.	4.6%
Master’s Degree	20.6%
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.	0.7%
Doctoral Degree	5.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.8%

Online Computational Science 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)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	4	0
Bachelor’s Degree	22	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	54	9
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	15	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Computational Science

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

Major	Number of Grads
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	29,596
Biological & Physical Science	28,469
Interdisciplinary Studies	9,341
Data Analytics	7,294
International Studies	6,458
Nutrition Science	5,514
Behavioral Science	4,777
Data Science	4,416
Sustainability Science	4,382
Cognitive Science	2,959
Human Computer Interaction	2,324
Natural Sciences	2,275
Human Biology	2,016
Mathematics & Computer Science	1,489
Systems Theory	1,080
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution	1,074
Gerontology	951
Museum Studies	892
Geography and Environmental Studies	809
Science, Technology & Society	805
Dispute Resolution	652
Multicultural & Diversity Studies	584
Marine Science	436
Historic Preservation	423
Cultural Studies & Analysis	375
Classical & Ancient Studies	290
Biopsychology	208
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics	153
Mathematical Economics	139
Climate Science	110
Medieval Studies	105
Environmental Geosciences	102
Economics and Computer Science	89
Maritime Studies	68
History and Political Science	68
Holocaust Studies	67
Accounting & Computer Science	55
Digital Humanities and Textual Studies	54
Anthrozoology	47
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature	40
Earth Systems Science	25
Economics and Foreign Language/Literature	12
Thanatology	8
Linguistics and Computer Science	4
Geoarcheaology	1
History and Language/Literature	1
Linguistics and Anthropology	1
Geobiology	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 Yearofthedragon under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.