Health Sciences & Services

Types of Degrees Health Sciences & Services Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many health sciences and services graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,333
Graduate Certificate	221
Doctor’s Degree	192

What Health Sciences & Services Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, health science 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 Science Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in health science should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Health Science Majors

A major in health science 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.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Health Science Majors

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

• 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.
• 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Health Sciences & Services Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with health science:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Community Health Workers	17.9%	$39,540
Health Educators	14.6%	$54,220

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Health Sciences & Services?

This major is dominated by women with about 74% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	121
Black or African American	273
Hispanic or Latino	232
White	548
International Students	18
Other Races/Ethnicities	141

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Health Science, too. About 1.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Saudi Arabia
• China
• Canada
• South Korea
• Nigeria

How Much Do Health Sciences & Services Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that health sciences and services students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree made a median starting salary of $45,782 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $38,510 (25th percentile) and $58,176 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to health science.

Salaries According to BLS

Health Science majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $43,480 to $59,660 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

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.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Health Sciences & Services

Some degrees associated with health science may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

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

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.4%
Some College Courses	1.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	40.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	42.9%
Master’s Degree	10.1%
Doctoral Degree	0.4%

Online Health Sciences & Services Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 829 schools offered some type of health sciences and services 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)	50	5
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	309	44
Bachelor’s Degree	43	19
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	69	28
Post-Master’s	6	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	16	3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	5	2
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	2	1

Is a Degree in Health Sciences & Services Worth It?

The median salary for a health science grad is $43,480 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 9% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $71,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Health Sciences & Services

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

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
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
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
• Image Credit: By Sandra M. Palumbo under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.