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Allied Health Professions Major

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Allied Health Professions

12,328 Master's Degrees Annually
533 Doctor's Degrees Annually
#18 in Popularity (Master's)
$61,540 Median Salary

Types of Degrees Allied Health Professions Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many allied health professions graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Master’s Degree 12,328
Doctor’s Degree 533
Graduate Certificate 89

What Allied Health Professions Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to allied health 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 Allied Health Majors

Allied Health majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

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  • 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.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  • 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.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Allied Health Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to allied health:

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  • 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.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Allied Health Majors

As a allied health major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

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  • 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.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Allied Health Professions Major?

People with a allied health degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Athletic Trainers 22.7% $47,510
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians 10.0% $56,850
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers 23.2% $72,510
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics 15.1% $34,320
Health Specialties Professors 25.9% $97,370
Health Technologists and Technicians 19.6% $42,920
Hearing Aid Specialists 20.6% $52,770
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists 13.4% $71,670
Neurodiagnostic Technologists 19.6% $42,920
Nuclear Medicine Technologists 10.0% $76,820
Occupational Health and Safety Technicians 9.9% $50,780
Physician Assistants 37.4% $108,610
Radiation Therapists 12.6% $82,330
Radiologic Technologists 12.3% $59,520
Respiratory Therapists 23.3% $60,280
Surgical Technologists 11.7% $47,300

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Allied Health Professions?

12,328 Master's Degrees Annually
72% Percent Women
25% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This is one of the most frequently chosen graduate majors. It is the 18th most popular in the country with 12,328 students graduating with a master’s in allied health in 2021. The major attracts more women than men. About 72% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 1,079
Black or African American 473
Hispanic or Latino 1,049
White 8,180
International Students 117
Other Races/Ethnicities 1,430

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Allied Health, too. About 0.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

  • Saudi Arabia
  • Canada
  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • United Kingdom

How Much Do Allied Health Professions Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median starting salary of students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in allied health was $101,254 per year. These stats come from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $95,547 (25th percentile) and $108,044 (75th percentile).

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Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a allied health degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $51,380 to $78,870 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to allied health. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Median Salary for an Allied Health Professions Major  ( 51380 to 78870 )
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250K
Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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250K
Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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250K
Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some degrees associated with allied health 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 allied health careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma 0.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 5.1%
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) 12.1%
Some College Courses 5.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 40.8%
Bachelor’s Degree 17.7%
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. 1.4%
Master’s Degree 7.7%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 2.9%
Doctoral Degree 1.0%
Post-Doctoral Training 0.7%

Online Allied Health Professions Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 1,786 schools offered some type of allied health professions program. 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) 930 23
Certificate (2-4 Years) 129 1
Associate’s Degree 2,220 35
Bachelor’s Degree 46 6
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 511 17
Post-Master’s 4 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 11 3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 9 6
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

Is a Degree in Allied Health Professions Worth It?

The median salary for a allied health grad is $61,540 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 54% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $432,800 after 20 years!

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

Major Number of Grads
Nursing 66,964
Medicine 28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 24,774
Public Health 19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services 17,335
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 16,952
Mental & Social Health Services 16,815
Communication Sciences 10,547
Dentistry 6,770
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 4,684
Chiropractic 2,658
Alternative Medicine & Systems 2,582
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 2,481
Optometry 1,822
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences 1,762
Medical Illustration & Informatics 1,747
Health Sciences & Services 1,746
Other Health Professions 1,261
Health/Medical Prep Programs 1,122
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 954
Medical Science 909
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 462
Dental Support Services 122
Alternative Medical Support Services 80
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies 55
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies 37
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services 11
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 4
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies 0

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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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