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Health Sciences & Services Major

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Health Sciences & Services

1,304 Master's Degrees Annually
192 Doctor's Degrees Annually
#94 in Popularity (Master's)
$43,480 Median Salary

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

People with careers related to health science were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Health Science Majors

Health Science 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.
  • 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

health science majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

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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.
  • 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

Health Science majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

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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.
  • 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?

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

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?

1,333 Master's Degrees Annually
74% Percent Women
50% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
The major attracts more women than men. About 74% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

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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

According to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a master’s degree in health science have a median salary of $45,782 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $38,510 (25th percentile) and $58,176 (75th percentile).

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We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to health science so take that into consideration.

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.

Median Salary for a Health Sciences & Services Major  ( 43480 to 59660 )
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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 careers associated with health science require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. 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.

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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 2020-2021, 829 schools offered a health science 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) 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!

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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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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