Mental & Social Health Services

Types of Degrees Mental & Social Health Services Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	14,517
Graduate Certificate	2,009
Doctor’s Degree	289

What Mental & Social Health Services Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, mental health services 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 Mental Health Services Majors

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

• 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.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.

Skills for Mental Health Services Majors

A major in mental health services 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.
• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Mental Health Services Majors

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

• 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Mental & Social Health Services Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with mental health services:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Clergy	8.2%	$48,990
Community Health Workers	17.9%	$39,540
Counseling Psychologists	14.2%	$76,990
Counselors	14.2%	$42,130
Genetic Counselors	29.0%	$80,370
Health Educators	14.6%	$54,220
Healthcare Social Workers	20.1%	$56,200
Marriage and Family Therapists	23.4%	$50,090
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers	19.4%	$44,840
Mental Health Counselors	23.1%	NA
Psychiatric Technicians	5.9%	$32,870
Psychology Professors	15.1%	$76,710
Social Work Professors	9.4%	$68,300
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors	23.2%	NA

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

This is one of the most frequently chosen graduate majors. It is the 16th most popular in the country with 14,492 students graduating with a master’s in mental health services in 2021. This major is dominated by women with about 84% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	472
Black or African American	2,398
Hispanic or Latino	2,149
White	7,659
International Students	315
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,524

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Mental Health Services. About 2.2% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Canada
• China
• Saudi Arabia
• India
• South Korea

How Much Do Mental & Social Health Services Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median early-career salary of mental and social health services students with a master’s degree is $42,421 a year according to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $38,341 (25th percentile) and $45,346 (75th percentile).

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

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $47,740 to $77,520 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to mental health services. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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 Mental & Social Health Services

Some degrees associated with mental health services 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 mental health services careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	9.0%
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)	0.9%
Some College Courses	2.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	6.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	14.4%
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.	2.2%
Master’s Degree	42.6%
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.	4.1%
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.	2.3%
Doctoral Degree	10.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	5.6%

Online Mental & Social Health Services Programs

In 2020-2021, 962 schools offered a mental health services 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)	241	24
Certificate (2-4 Years)	4	0
Associate’s Degree	410	41
Bachelor’s Degree	146	45
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	550	76
Post-Master’s	92	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	52	11
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	14	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Mental & Social Health Services Worth It?

The median salary for a mental health services grad is $54,150 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 36% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $285,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Mental & Social Health Services

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

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
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
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.