Materials Sciences

Contains Stem Majors

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Total Degrees​
Awarded in 2021
658
declining 4.5%
Median In-State​
Public Tuition
$9,790
growing 2.21%
Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition
$57,560
growing 6.93%
Average Wage
$117,432
growing 5.46%
People in Workforce
1.15M
growing 2.69%
Average Employee Age
44.9
declining 0.0741%

About

In 2021, the locations with the highest concentration of Materials Sciences degree recipients are Pittsburgh, PA, State College, PA, and Berkeley, CA. In 2021, the locations with a relatively high number of Materials Sciences degree recipients are Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, Berkeley, CA, and Pittsburgh, PA. The most common degree awarded to students studying Materials Sciences is a masters degree.

learningInstitutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Materials Sciences and the types of students that study this field. Carnegie Mellon University awards the most degrees in Materials Sciences in the US, having also the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Materials Sciences, followed by Norfolk State University.

Tuition costs for Materials Sciences majors are, on average, $9,790 for in-state public colleges, and $57,560 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Materials Sciences programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (48 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (432 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Materials Sciences

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Materials Sciences, is Public, 4-year or above (432 completions in 2021).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Materials Sciences programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$9,790
Median In-State Public
$57,560
Median Out of State Private

Carnegie Mellon University has the most Materials Sciences degree recipients, with 105 degrees awarded in 2021.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Materials Sciences.

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Specialized Colleges

Out of all institutions that offer Materials Sciences programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Carnegie Mellon University has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Materials Sciences, with 1.95%.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Materials Sciences

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Materials Sciences by year.

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Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Materials Sciences.

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briefcaseEmployment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Physical Sciences graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Physical Sciences majors is $117,432 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Physicians, and Other Physical Scientists.

The industry that employs the most Physical Sciences majors is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Offices of physicians.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
$117,432
Average Wage in Workforce
± $2,697
5.46%
1 Year Growth
± 3.1%

The average salary for Physical Sciences majors is $117,432 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Physicians, and Other Physical Scientists.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Physical Sciences majors.

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Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Physical Sciences majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Physical Sciences majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

The most common occupations Physical Sciences majors, by number of employees, are Postsecondary teachers, Physicians, and Other Physical Scientists.

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Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Physical Sciences majors working as Geoscientists and hydrologists, except geographers, Astronomers & physicists, and Atmospheric & space scientists.

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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
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Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
1.15M
2021 Workforce
± 26,206
2.69%
1 Year Growth
± 3.16%

The number of Physical Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.69%, from 1.12M in 2020 to 1.15M in 2021.

The largest single share of Physical Sciences graduates go on to work as Postsecondary teachers (8.05%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Physical Sciences by share of the total number of graduates.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
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Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
1.15M
2021 Workforce
± 26,206
2.69%
1 Year Growth
± 3.16%

The number of Physical Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.69%, from 1.12M in 2020 to 1.15M in 2021.

The industry which employs the most Physical Sciences graduates by share is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, followed by General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Physical Sciences.

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Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Physical Sciences majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Physical Sciences majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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geosearchDiversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Physical Sciences in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Physical Sciences is 44.9.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Masters Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Physical Sciences degrees, and Non-resident Alien students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Physical Sciences (239 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
44.9
Average Age in 2021
± 0.319 Years
0.0741%
1 Year Change
± 1.01%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Physical Sciences. The most common ages of employees with this major are 30 and 31 years old, which represent 2.57% and 2.57% of the population, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Materials Sciences are Masters Degree, Bachelors Degree, and Research Doctorate.

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Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Physical Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Doctorate degree.

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Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Male (66.3%)
Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Materials Sciences.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity
  1. Non-resident Alien
    239 degrees awarded
  2. White
    227 degrees awarded
  3. Asian
    85 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Materials Sciences for each race & ethnicity. Non-resident Alien students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

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Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination
  1. Non-resident Alien Male
    91 degrees awarded
  2. Non-resident Alien Female
    48 degrees awarded
  3. White Male
    47 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Masters Degree recipients in Materials Sciences.

Non-resident Alien Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

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Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 4 Digit Course Materials Sciences is from the 2 Digit Course Physical Sciences.
Most Common Countries of Origin
  1. India
    54,710 degree recipients
  2. China
    53,447 degree recipients
  3. Korea
    12,570 degree recipients
High Relative Number of Students
  1. Sri Lanka
    4.67 times more than expected
  2. China
    3.85 times more than expected
  3. USSR
    3.78 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Sri Lanka that hold Physical Sciences degrees (4.67 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (54,710 degree recipients).

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predictive-analysisSkills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Materials Sciences field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Materials Sciences majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Materials Sciences majors need more than the average amount of Science, Troubleshooting, Quality Control Analysis, Repairing, Equipment Maintenance, Operation and Control, Operations Analysis, Operation Monitoring, Mathematics, Technology Design, Programming, Systems Analysis, Systems Evaluation, Complex Problem Solving, Reading Comprehension, Management of Material Resources, Monitoring, Writing, Learning Strategies, Active Learning, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Judgment and Decision Making, Active Listening, Instructing, Time Management, Negotiation, Persuasion, Management of Financial Resources, Equipment Selection, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Coordination, Management of Personnel Resources, and Installation.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Materials Sciences majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Science is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Complex Problem Solving, Monitoring, Judgment and Decision Making, Active Learning, Science, Mathematics, Systems Analysis, Systems Evaluation, Time Management, Social Perceptiveness, Learning Strategies, Coordination, Instructing, Quality Control Analysis, Persuasion, Service Orientation, Operations Analysis, Operation Monitoring, Negotiation, Management of Personnel Resources, Troubleshooting, Operation and Control, Management of Material Resources, Management of Financial Resources, Technology Design, Programming, Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, Equipment Selection, and Installation are the three most important skills for people in the field.

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Bar Chart

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