1. African Americans:
College Majors and
Earnings
Anthony P. Carnevale, Megan L. Fasules, Andrea Porter,
Jennifer Landis-Santos
February 9, 2016

2. Overview
• Access to college for African Americans has
increased, but African Americans are highly
concentrated in lower-paying majors
• African Americans, who represent 12 percent of the
U.S. population, are underrepresented in the number
of degree holders in college majors associated with
the fastest-growing, highest-paying occupations—
STEM, health, and business

3. Since 2009, African Americans have gained ground in
social sciences, psychology and social work, and health

4. Earnings vary greatly among college majors
• African Americans who earned a Bachelor’s degree in
a STEM related major, such as architecture or
engineering, can earn as much as 50 percent more
than African Americans who earned a Bachelor’s
degree in art or psychology and social work

5. Architecture and engineering is the major group with the highest
median earnings for African Americans with a Bachelor’s degree

6. Majors and earnings
African Americans account for 12 percent of all Bachelor’s degree holders
who majored in psychology and social work, and only 5 percent of architecture
and engineering majors

7. African American representation is low in the fastest-growing fields
African Americans who majored in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences and
administration have the highest median earnings at $84,000

8. National top ten median earnings for African
Americans with Bachelor's degrees

9. African Americans tend to be overrepresented in low-earning majors
Majors associated with serving the community, including human services and
community organization (20%) and social work (19%), are highly represented

10. Conclusion
• Careful career planning is especially crucial for all African
American students to help them avoid debt and
underemployment later in life
• African Americans who choose majors in well-paying, growing
fields are likely to be better positioned to get higher paying
jobs, acquire less student debt and nurture future generations

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See the full report at: cew.georgetown.edu/africanamericanmajors