Health Communication

Types of Degrees Health Communication Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many health 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	149
Graduate Certificate	39
Doctor’s Degree	10

What Health Communication Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, health communication majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Health Communication Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these 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.
• 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.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• 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.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Health Communication Majors

A major in health communication prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Health Communication Majors

As you progress with your health communication degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Health Communication Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with health communication:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Communications Professors	10.0%	$68,910
Community Health Workers	17.9%	$39,540
Health Educators	14.6%	$54,220
Public Relations Specialists	8.9%	$60,000

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

This major is dominated by women with about 90% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	14
Black or African American	17
Hispanic or Latino	19
White	64
International Students	11
Other Races/Ethnicities	24

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Health Communication, too. About 7.4% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Health Communication

Some degrees associated with health 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for health communication careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.6%
Some College Courses	0.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	19.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	46.2%
Master’s Degree	24.6%
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.	0.2%
Doctoral Degree	4.4%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.6%

Online Health 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)	2	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	20	5
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	23	5
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Health Communication

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

Major	Number of Grads
Public Relations	4,566
Advertising	4,315
Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication	4,239
Communication Management and Strategic Communications	2,031
General Organizational Communication	1,835
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication	1,470
Sports Communication	1,161
International & Intercultural Communication	245
Political Communication	221
Technical & Scientific Communication	167

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 Bill Koplitz under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.