Physical Science

Types of Degrees Physical Science Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general 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	50
Doctor’s Degree	11
Graduate Certificate	10

What Physical Science Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to physical science 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 Physical Science Majors

Physical 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.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• 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.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Physical Science Majors

When studying physical 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:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• 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.
• 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 Physical Science Majors

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

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 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.
• 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 Physical Science Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with physical science:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Natural Sciences Managers	9.9%	$123,860
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$60,320

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

This major is dominated by women with about 62% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	4
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	3
White	25
International Students	13
Other Races/Ethnicities	3

Geographic Diversity

Physical Science appeals to people across the globe. About 26.0% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Physical Science

Some degrees associated with physical 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 physical science careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Bachelor’s Degree	48.6%
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.	12.0%
Master’s Degree	21.4%
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.	2.6%
Doctoral Degree	13.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.7%

Online Physical 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)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	125	10
Bachelor’s Degree	4	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	13	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Physical Science

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

Major	Number of Grads
Chemistry	19,976
Physics	13,306
Geological & Earth Sciences	7,691
Astronomy & Astrophysics	1,573
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	1,288
Materials Sciences	679
Other Physical Science	404
Physics and Astronomy	45

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.