Medical Science

Types of Degrees Medical Science Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	687
Graduate Certificate	112
Doctor’s Degree	110

What Medical Science Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, medical 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 Medical Science Majors

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

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 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.

Skills for Medical Science Majors

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

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• 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.
• 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 Science Majors

A major in medical science will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Medical Science Major?

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

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Clinical Research Coordinators	9.9%	$123,860
Epidemiologists	8.2%	$69,660
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	13.4%	$84,810
Natural Sciences Managers	9.9%	$123,860

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

The major attracts more women than men. About 59% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	125
Black or African American	50
Hispanic or Latino	49
White	295
International Students	108
Other Races/Ethnicities	60

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Medical Science. About 15.7% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• India
• China
• Libya
• Saudi Arabia
• Canada

How Much Do Medical Science Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in medical science made a median starting salary of $115,564 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $79,640 (25th percentile) and $145,203 (75th percentile).

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

Salaries According to BLS

Medical Science majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $75,690 to $139,680 (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 Medical Science

Some careers associated with medical 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.

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

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.0%
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)	2.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	26.9%
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.	2.0%
Master’s Degree	27.1%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.8%
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.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	19.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	17.1%

Online Medical Science Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 86 schools offered some type of medical science 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)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	22	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	72	4
Post-Master’s	12	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	34	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	2	1

Is a Degree in Medical Science Worth It?

The median salary for a medical science grad is $96,420 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 142% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,130,400 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Medical Science

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to medical 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
Health Sciences & Services	1,746
Other Health Professions	1,261
Health/Medical Prep Programs	1,122
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	954
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.