Speech Communication

Types of Degrees Speech Communication Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	2,257
Doctor’s Degree	314
Graduate Certificate	167

What Speech Communication Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to speech communication 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 Speech Communication Majors

Speech Communication 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.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• 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.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Skills for Speech Communication Majors

When studying speech communication, 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 Speech Communication Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a speech communication student include the following:

• 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Speech Communication Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with speech communication:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Communications Professors	10.0%	$68,910
Copy Writers	7.6%	$62,170
Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers	7.6%	$62,170
Public Address System and Other Announcers	2.6%	$27,720
Public Relations Specialists	8.9%	$60,000

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Speech Communication?

This major is dominated by women with about 75% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of speech communication majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	83
Black or African American	214
Hispanic or Latino	273
White	1,162
International Students	368
Other Races/Ethnicities	157

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Speech Communication, too. About 16.3% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Speech Communication

Some degrees associated with speech communication 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.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to speech communication have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	8.9%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	8.4%
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)	1.9%
Some College Courses	8.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	48.8%
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.	0.8%
Master’s Degree	14.4%
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.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	3.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.6%

Online Speech Communication 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)	16	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	210	24
Bachelor’s Degree	30	13
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	167	21
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	48	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Speech Communication

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to speech communication.

Major	Number of Grads
Communications	11,269
Communication & Media Studies	9,221
Other Communication & Media Studies	2,831

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 UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.