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Residency Programs

Programs that prepare dentists (DDS, DMD), nurse practitioners, pharmacists (PharmD), physician assistants, and veterinarians (DVM) for certification as practitioners of recognized specialties in their respective professions. These programs are approved and accredited by designated professional associations. Residency or fellowship programs that also result in the completion of an academic degree (e.g., MS, PhD), should be reported under the appropriate CIP code, rather than in a residency code located in Series 60. These CIP codes are not valid for IPEDS reporting.

What Residency Programs Majors Need to Know

Programs in Residency Programs build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Residency Programs graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Residency Programs emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.8 / 5; level 5.7 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Residency Programs program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Complex Problem Solving — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Residency Programs careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Residency Programs graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.6 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.5 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.3 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7
Processing Information	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Residency Programs professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
eClinicalWorks EHR software	Medical software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Patient management software	Medical software	—
Medical procedure coding software	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Residency Programs graduates include:

• General Surgery NP (General Surgery Nurse Practitioner)
• Surgical Nurse Practitioner
• Internal Medicine Nurse Practitioner
• Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
• Licensed Nurse Practitioner (LNP)
• ACNP (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner)
• PCNP (Primary Care Nurse Practitioner)
• Travel NP (Travel Nurse Practitioner)
• Wound Care NP (Wound Care Nurse Practitioner)
• Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP)
• OB-GYN NP (Obstetrics-Gynecology Nurse Practitioner)
• Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner
• Psychiatric Mental Health NP (Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner)
• Gerontological Nurse Practitioner
• Electrophysiology Nurse Practitioner

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Residency Programs graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	42.0%
Doctoral degree	40.5%
Post-doctoral training	6.9%
First professional degree	5.4%
Bachelor’s degree	4.2%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.4%
Postsecondary certificate	0.3%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.2%
Some college courses	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

How Much Do Residency Programs Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Residency Programs graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$229,117
4 years	$192,703
5 years	$242,047

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $242,047 — roughly 6% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Residency Programs Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Residency Programs graduates earn a median of $192,703 four years after completion — roughly 407% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.