Bioethics/Medical Ethics

Types of Degrees Bioethics/Medical Ethics Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many bioethics/medical ethics graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	4,109
Graduate Certificate	395
Doctor’s Degree	180

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Bioethics/Medical Ethics?

Bioethics/Medical Ethics runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #45 out of all the graduate majors we track. In 2021, about 4,105 graduates completed their master’s degree in this field. The major attracts more women than men. About 91% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of medical ethics majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	233
Black or African American	373
Hispanic or Latino	393
White	2,631
International Students	43
Other Races/Ethnicities	436

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Medical Ethics. About 1.0% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Saudi Arabia
• Canada
• Nigeria
• Romania
• Italy

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median starting salary of students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in medical ethics was $24,026 per year. These stats come from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $24,026 (25th percentile) and $24,026 (75th percentile).

It is possible that some of these people may have taken positions that were not related to medical ethics.

Online Bioethics/Medical Ethics Programs

In 2020-2021, 318 schools offered a medical ethics program of some type. 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)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	4	0
Bachelor’s Degree	85	25
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	210	77
Post-Master’s	115	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	21	5
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	5	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	2	2

Majors Related to Bioethics/Medical Ethics

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to medical ethics.

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
Allied Health Professions	12,950
Communication Sciences	10,547
Dentistry	6,770
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.

• 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

More about our data sources and methodologies.