Optical Sciences
Stem Major
Add ComparisonIn 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of Optical Sciences degree recipients are Tucson, AZ, Rochester, NY, and Rochester Institute of Technology, NY. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of Optical Sciences degree recipients are Rochester, NY, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, and Tucson, AZ. The most common degree awarded to students studying Optical Sciences is a masters degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Optical Sciences and the types of students that study this field. University of Arizona awards the most degrees in Optical Sciences in the US, but University of Rochester and University of Arizona have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Optical Sciences.
Tuition costs for Optical Sciences majors are, on average, $11,812 for in-state public colleges, and $65,870 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Optical Sciences programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (18 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (177 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Optical Sciences, is Public, 4-year or above (177 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Optical Sciences programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
University of Arizona has the most Optical Sciences degree recipients, with 128 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Optical Sciences.
Out of all institutions that offer Optical Sciences programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, University of Rochester has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Optical Sciences, with 1.12%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Optical Sciences by year.
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 $130,842 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Other Physical Scientists, and Physicians.
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.
The average salary for Physical Sciences majors is $130,842 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Other Physical Scientists, and Physicians.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Physical Sciences majors.
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.
The most common occupations for Physical Sciences majors, by number of employees, are Postsecondary teachers, Other Physical Scientists, and Physicians.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Physical Sciences majors working as Astronomers & physicists, Chemists & materials scientists, and Environmental scientists & geoscientists.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Physical Sciences majors are Surgeons, Physicians, and Securities, commodities, & financial services sales agents.
The number of Physical Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.38%, from 1.2M in 2023 to 1.23M in 2024.
The largest single share of Physical Sciences graduates go on to work as Postsecondary teachers (7.13%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Physical Sciences by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ Physical Sciences majors, by number of employees, are Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, and Scientific research & development services.
The highest paying industries of Physical Sciences majors, by average wage, are Offices of physicians, Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals, and Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments.
The number of Physical Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.38%, from 1.2M in 2023 to 1.23M in 2024.
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.
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.
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 44.5.
The most common degree type these workers hold is a Masters Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Physical Sciences degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Physical Sciences (117 students).
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 32 years old, which represent 2.9% and 2.84% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Optical Sciences are Masters Degree, Research Doctorate, and Bachelors Degree.
The most common degree types held by the working population in Physical Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Doctorate degree.
This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Optical Sciences.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Optical Sciences for each race & ethnicity.
In 2024, White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.
This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Masters Degree recipients in Optical Sciences.
White Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.
There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Sri Lanka that hold Physical Sciences degrees (5.23 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 (57,996 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Optical Sciences field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Optical Sciences majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Optical Sciences majors need more than the average amount of Management of Material Resources, Management of Financial Resources, and Technology Design.
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 Optical 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 Management of Material Resources is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Active Listening are the three most important skills for people in the field.
