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Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry.

A program that prepares individuals for the independent professional practice of podiatric medicine, involving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and injuries to the foot and lower extremities. Includes instruction in the basic medical sciences, anatomy of the lower extremity, functional orthopedics, foot biomechanics, podiatric radiology, dermatology, podiatric surgery, podopediatrics, sports medicine, physical diagnosis, emergency medicine and traumatology, practice management, and professional standards and ethics. Examples: [Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry (DPM)]

Types of Degrees Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Doctor’s Degree	569

What Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. Majors Need to Know

Studies in Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 5.0 / 5; level 6.1 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 6.0 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills built by a Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Learning — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.9 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.6 / 7
Working with Computers	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Processing Information	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.0 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	3.9 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Quick Notes PDQ Podiatry	Medical software	—
DocSite Registry	Medical software	—
Facebook	Web page creation and editing software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Advantage Software Podiatry Advantage	Medical software	—
Fox Meadows Software MediNotes e	Medical software	—
Scanner imaging software	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. graduates include:

• Orthopedic Podiatrist
• Podiatric Medicine Doctor (DPM)
• Attending Physician
• Physician
• Doctor of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery (DPM and Surgery)
• Podiatry Doctor (DP)
• Chiropodist
• Foot Specialist
• Pododermatologist
• Podiatric Physician
• Doctor Podiatric Medicine (DPM)
• Foot Orthopedist
• Doctor of Podiatry
• Foot Doctor
• Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	52.9%
Post-doctoral training	32.4%
First professional degree	14.1%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.7%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry.?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 51.3% women and 48.7% men among Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	292	51.3%
Men	277	48.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	250	43.9%
Asian	148	26.0%
Hispanic or Latino	58	10.2%
Black or African American	53	9.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.2%
Two or More Races	26	4.6%
Race Unknown	13	2.3%
International Students	19	3.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. 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	$65,021
4 years	$106,601
5 years	$171,848

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $171,848 — roughly 164% above the 1-year mark.

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

Is a Degree in Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry. graduates earn a median of $106,601 four years after completion — roughly 181% 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
Medicine	29,737
Medicine	20,703
Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy	8,465
Medicine, Other	—

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.