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health professions education

A program that focuses on education and administration leadership skills for clinical educators across health professions and specialties. Includes instruction in academic leadership, assessment, clinical decision making, curriculum development, ethics, primary care education, program evaluation, research methods, and statistics. Examples: [Teaching Certificate for Pharmacists], [Medical Education Teaching]

Types of Degrees health professions education Majors Are Earning

Those studying health professions education can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	80
Doctor’s Degree	22

What health professions education Majors Need to Know

Coursework for health professions education develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that health professions education graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in health professions education emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 6.1 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.8 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Communications and Media — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set developed in a health professions education program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to health professions education careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, health professions education graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.5 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7
Working with Computers	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by health professions education professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
SAS	Analytical or scientific software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for health professions education graduates include:

• Professor
• Lecturer
• College Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Instructor
• Faculty Member
• Associate Professor
• Adjunct Instructor
• Adjunct Education Professor
• Primary Education Professor
• Educational Leadership Professor
• Mathematics Education Professor
• Educator
• Physical Education Instructor
• Educational Administration Teacher

What Can You Do With a health professions education Degree?

Graduates with a degree in health professions education commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	10.7%	$46,663	$40,304–$53,022

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	57.9%
Master’s degree	23.9%
Post-doctoral training	8.7%
Bachelor’s degree	6.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.0%
Postsecondary certificate	1.2%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in health professions education?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 72.5% of health professions education degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	74	72.5%
Men	28	27.5%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of health professions education graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	64	62.7%
Asian	8	7.8%
Hispanic or Latino	2	2.0%
Black or African American	15	14.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	1.0%
Two or More Races	2	2.0%
Race Unknown	6	5.9%
International Students	4	3.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do health professions education Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of health professions education graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$91,596
4 years	$89,352
5 years	$98,782

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $98,782 — roughly 8% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online health professions education Programs

Online study is reported by IPEDS for health professions education. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Master’s	2	0
Doctoral (Research)	5	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in health professions education Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, health professions education graduates earn a median of $89,352 four years after completion — roughly 135% 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.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities	5,250
Nursing Education	3,933
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	757
Medical/Health Humanities	352
Advanced General Dentistry	238
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Other	150
Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities, Other	101
Arts in Medicine/Health	5
History of Medicine	—

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.