Medical Illustration

Types of Degrees Medical Illustration Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many medical illustration & informatics graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	2,134
Graduate Certificate	204
Doctor’s Degree	75

What Medical Illustration Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, medical illustration 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 Medical Illustration Majors

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

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Skills for Medical Illustration Majors

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

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• 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.

Abilities for Medical Illustration Majors

Medical Illustration majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• 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).
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

What Can You Do With a Medical Illustration Major?

People with a medical illustration degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Business Intelligence Analysts	9.3%	$90,270
Computer and Information Research Scientists	19.0%	$118,370
Data Warehousing Specialists	9.3%	$90,270
Database Architects	9.3%	$90,270
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators	6.8%	$49,380
Software Developers, Applications	30.7%	$103,620

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Medical Illustration?

The major attracts more women than men. About 69% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	319
Black or African American	308
Hispanic or Latino	155
White	597
International Students	616
Other Races/Ethnicities	139

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Medical Illustration. About 28.9% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Medical Illustration

Some degrees associated with medical illustration 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.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to medical illustration have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	4.3%
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)	1.1%
Some College Courses	7.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	60.9%
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.	1.5%
Master’s Degree	17.9%
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.	0.3%
Doctoral Degree	4.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.5%

Online Medical Illustration 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)	5	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	14	3
Bachelor’s Degree	58	23
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	119	51
Post-Master’s	20	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	23	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Medical Illustration

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

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	308,114
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	88,809
Allied Health Professions	85,413
Health & Medical Administrative Services	85,302
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	79,189
Public Health	42,551
Health Sciences & Services	35,887
Mental & Social Health Services	31,550
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	29,934
Medicine	29,206
Dental Support Services	25,040
Communication Sciences	23,288
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	19,017
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	18,729
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services	10,516
Health/Medical Prep Programs	9,413
Other Health Professions	7,387
Dentistry	6,961
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	5,644
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	5,056
Alternative Medicine & Systems	3,431
Chiropractic	2,698
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	2,244
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	1,845
Optometry	1,789
Medical Science	1,090
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	760
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	468
Alternative Medical Support Services	136
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	116

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.