Management Science Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Management Science maps to BLS occupations averaging about $64,987, with roughly 1,596,050 workers nationwide in those roles. About 8,318 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median program completion runs near 61%.
Key Statistics
Management Science: what the data shows
Common questions about management science degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a management science degree?
A Management Science program is classified under NCES CIP 52.1301 in the Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods field family (52.13).
A general program that focuses on the application of statistical modeling, data warehousing, data mining, programming, forecasting and operations research techniques to the analysis of problems of business organization and performance. Includes instruction in optimization theory and mathematical techniques, data mining, data warehousing, stochastic and dynamic modeling, operations analysis, and the design and testing of prototype systems and evaluation models
IPEDS counted 8,318 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of management science degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 52.13 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Actuarial Science (CIP 52.1304)
- Business Statistics (CIP 52.1302)
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other (CIP 52.1399)
How long does it take to get a management science degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 52.1301 in our file:
- 22 Associate (0.1% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 8,318 Bachelor's (25.8% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 23,761 Master's (73.7% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 127 Doctorate (0.4% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in management science?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a management science degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Management Science to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | 1,500,000 | — |
| Secondary School Teachers | 1,072,540 | $64,580 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a management science degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods bachelor's program family: median debt $29,826, median earnings $86,176 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.50.
About 3.0% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $7,593 and median net price is $17,919.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Management Science and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$7,593 Median In-State Public
$36,278 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Management Science majors are, on average, $7,593 for in-state public colleges, and $36,278 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Management Science programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
8,318 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Management Science from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Management Science.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 156,755 |
| 2 | Western Governors University | UT | 135,822 |
| 3 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 68,619 |
| 4 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,398 |
| 5 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Management Science programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of the Canyons | CA | $1,176 |
| 2 | Southeast New Mexico College | NM | $1,176 |
| 3 | San Bernardino Valley College | CA | $1,185 |
| 4 | Crafton Hills College | CA | $1,188 |
| 5 | Golden West College | CA | $1,196 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Management Science programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $29 |
| 2 | Texas A&M University-Central Texas | TX | $1,113 |
| 3 | College of the Canyons | CA | $2,114 |
| 4 | Fort Peck Community College | MT | $2,449 |
| 5 | Northern Marianas College | MP | $2,795 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Management Science programs.
Graduation Rates
61.30% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
61.30% Average Graduation Rate
600 Institutions Reporting
49.38% - 73.31% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Management Science programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Management Science is in CA (1,435 completions). That state represents about 17.2% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is WY (1.27% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 1,435 | 17.2% | 0.32% |
| NY | 846 | 10.2% | 0.31% |
| IL | 759 | 9.1% | 0.55% |
| VA | 543 | 6.5% | 0.44% |
| PA | 469 | 5.6% | 0.28% |
| GA | 429 | 5.2% | 0.38% |
| UT | 378 | 4.5% | 0.35% |
| NJ | 319 | 3.8% | 0.37% |
| FL | 305 | 3.7% | 0.13% |
| AZ | 255 | 3.1% | 0.18% |
| MI | 246 | 3.0% | 0.21% |
| TX | 239 | 2.9% | 0.08% |
| NC | 200 | 2.4% | 0.16% |
| AL | 188 | 2.3% | 0.28% |
| SC | 188 | 2.3% | 0.34% |
| OH | 168 | 2.0% | 0.12% |
| MA | 152 | 1.8% | 0.12% |
| WA | 147 | 1.8% | 0.21% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 52.13 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Actuarial Science CIP 52.1304
- Business Statistics CIP 52.1302
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other CIP 52.1399
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 52.1301 in the survey year used in our extract (32,228 total across levels below).
- 22 Associate (0.1% of IPEDS total)
- 8,318 Bachelor's (25.8% of IPEDS total)
- 23,761 Master's (73.7% of IPEDS total)
- 127 Doctorate (0.4% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $64,987. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Management Science graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | $36,511 | 1,500,000 |
| Secondary School Teachers | $104,813 | 1,072,540 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods CIP family (50 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Management Science graduate.
- $29,826 median federal loan debt among completers
- $86,176 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.50 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 3.0% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$40,621 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Management Science majors is $40,621.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Management Science majors.
Occupations by Share
1,596,050 2023 Workforce
The number of Management Science graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Management Science by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Management Science in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Management Science.
Age distribution for Management Science degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
8,318 Total Degrees Awarded
5,109 Male (61.42%)
3,209 Female (38.58%)
Gender distribution of Management Science degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
3,782 White (45.47%)
1,657 Asian (19.92%)
1,027 Hispanic or Latino (12.35%)
402 Black or African American (4.83%)
328 Two or More Races (3.94%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Management Science degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Management Science are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Management Science.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Management Science field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Management Science majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Management Science majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Management Science majors.
About
A general program that focuses on the application of statistical modeling, data warehousing, data mining, programming, forecasting and operations research techniques to the analysis of problems of business organization and performance. Includes instruction in optimization theory and mathematical techniques, data mining, data warehousing, stochastic and dynamic modeling, operations analysis, and the design and testing of prototype systems and evaluation models
In 2023, 8,318 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Management Science.
CIP Code
52.1301 - Management Science
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $29,826 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $86,176, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.50. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Management Science graduate.
Men earned 41.5% of 34,245 Management Science completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $64,987. The largest mapped role by headcount is Teachers, Postsecondary (1,500,000 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $7,593 in-state at public colleges and $36,278 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.