Nursing Practice
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Types of Degrees Nursing Practice Majors Are Getting
The following table lists how many nursing practice graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.
Education Level | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Doctor’s Degree | 6,164 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 1,122 |
Master’s Degree | 336 |
Graduate Certificate | 239 |
Associate Degree | 80 |
Undergraduate Certificate | 26 |
Basic Certificate | 25 |
What Nursing Practice Majors Need to Know
In an O*NET survey, nursing practice 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 Nursing Practice Majors
According to O*NET survey takers, a major in nursing practice should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

- 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.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- 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.
- 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 Nursing Practice Majors
The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to nursing practice:

- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- 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.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- 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.
Abilities for Nursing Practice Majors
Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a nursing practice student include the following:

- 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.
- 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.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
What Can You Do With a Nursing Practice Major?
People with a nursing practice degree often go into the following careers:
Job Title | Job Growth Rate | Median Salary |
---|---|---|
Medical and Health Services Managers | 20.5% | $99,730 |
Nurse Practitioners | 36.1% | $107,030 |
Registered Nurses | 14.8% | $71,730 |
Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing Practice?
Racial-Ethnic Diversity
At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of nursing practice majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 78 |
Black or African American | 93 |
Hispanic or Latino | 101 |
White | 755 |
International Students | 7 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 88 |
Geographic Diversity
Students from other countries are interested in Nursing Practice, too. About 0.6% of those with this major are international students.
How Much Do Nursing Practice Majors Make?
Salaries According to BLS
Average salaries range from $75,510 to $113,730 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to nursing practice. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.
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 Nursing Practice
Some degrees associated with nursing practice may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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 nursing practice careers below.

Education Level | Percentage of Workers |
---|---|
Some College Courses | 4.4% |
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 32.7% |
Bachelor’s Degree | 28.0% |
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 | 30.4% |
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. | 1.1% |
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. | 1.1% |
Doctoral Degree | 2.2% |
Online Nursing Practice Programs
In the 2020-2021 academic year, 340 schools offered some type of nursing practice program. 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) | 10 | 0 |
Certificate (2-4 Years) | 0 | 0 |
Associate’s Degree | 5 | 1 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 14 | 5 |
Post-Baccalaureate | 0 | 0 |
Master’s Degree | 26 | 12 |
Post-Master’s | 27 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Research) | 56 | 18 |
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) | 231 | 95 |
Doctor’s Degree (Other) | 22 | 12 |
Is a Degree in Nursing Practice Worth It?
The median salary for a nursing practice grad is $110,030 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.
This is 176% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,402,600 after 20 years!

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Majors Related to Nursing Practice
You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to nursing practice.
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
- Image Credit: By Aleksahgabrielle under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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