Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many dental public health & education graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	56
Graduate Certificate	28
Master’s Degree	17
Basic Certificate	14
Undergraduate Certificate	3

What Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, dental public health and education 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 Dental Public Health and Education Majors

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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for Dental Public Health and Education Majors

When studying dental public health and education, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• 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.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Dental Public Health and Education Majors

Dental Public Health and Education 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.
• 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 Major?

People with a dental public health and education degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Dentists	14.1%	$146,970
Health Educators	14.6%	$54,220

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

The major attracts more women than men. About 93% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of dental public health and education majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	6
Black or African American	3
Hispanic or Latino	14
White	27
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	6

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $59,660 to $178,800 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to dental public health and education. 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

Some careers associated with dental public health and education require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for dental public health and education careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	62.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	30.9%
Master’s Degree	3.4%
Doctoral Degree	0.9%

Online 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)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	7	1
Post-Master’s	9	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a dental public health and education grad is $59,660 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 50% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $395,200 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to dental public health and education.

Major	Number of Grads
General Dental Clinical Sciences	382
Orthodontics/Orthodontology	295
Advanced General Dentistry	189
Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics	148
Oral Biology & Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology	140
Periodontics/Periodontology	139
Endodontics/Endodontology	131
Other Advanced/Graduate Dentistry & Oral Sciences	124
Prosthodontics/Prosthodontology	92
Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery	35
Implantology/Implant Dentistry	2
Dental Materials	1

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.