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Public Health Major

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Public Health

19,511 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
16,133 Master's Degrees Annually
#2 in Popularity
$75,690 Median Salary

Types of Degrees Public Health Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many public health graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree 19,511
Master’s Degree 16,133
Graduate Certificate 2,359
Doctor’s Degree 981
Basic Certificate 792
Associate Degree 764
Undergraduate Certificate 56

What Public Health Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, public health 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 Public Health Majors

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

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  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • 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.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • 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.

Skills for Public Health Majors

public health majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

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  • 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.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Public Health Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a public health student include the following:

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  • 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.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Public Health Major?

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

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Community Health Workers 17.9% $39,540
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health 11.1% $71,130
Epidemiologists 8.2% $69,660
Health Educators 14.6% $54,220
Health Specialties Professors 25.9% $97,370
Industrial Ecologists 11.1% $71,130
Medical and Health Services Managers 20.5% $99,730
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists 8.1% $73,020
Occupational Health and Safety Technicians 9.9% $50,780
Physicists 14.5% $120,950

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health?

19,511 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
81% Percent Women
52% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This is one of the most frequently chosen healthcare majors. It is the 2nd most popular in the country with 19,511 students graduating with a bachelor’s in public health in 2021. This major is dominated by women with about 81% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 2,512
Black or African American 3,096
Hispanic or Latino 3,627
White 8,394
International Students 472
Other Races/Ethnicities 1,410

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Public Health. About 2.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

  • China
  • India
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Nigeria
  • Canada

How Much Do Public Health Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

The median starting salary of students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree in public health was $32,238 per year. These stats come from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $29,498 (25th percentile) and $36,179 (75th percentile).

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It is possible that some of these people may have taken positions that were not related to public health.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $59,660 to $113,730 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to public health. 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.

Median Salary for a Public Health Major  ( 59660 to 113730 )
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250K
Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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250K
Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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250K
Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some degrees associated with public health may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to public health have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 1.2%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 0.7%
Some College Courses 0.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 10.9%
Bachelor’s Degree 42.4%
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 27.5%
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. 0.4%
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. 0.8%
Doctoral Degree 9.1%
Post-Doctoral Training 5.2%

Online Public Health Programs

In 2020-2021, 774 schools offered a public health program of some type. 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) 31 4
Certificate (2-4 Years) 2 0
Associate’s Degree 118 12
Bachelor’s Degree 245 73
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 632 136
Post-Master’s 52 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 197 8
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 17 2
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 6 1

Is a Degree in Public Health Worth It?

The median salary for a public health grad is $75,690 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 90% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $715,800 after 20 years!

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

Major Number of Grads
Nursing 322,592
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308
Health Sciences & Services 35,945
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 29,833
Mental & Social Health Services 29,053
Medicine 28,629
Dental Support Services 26,399
Communication Sciences 22,298
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 20,393
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 18,901
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services 10,751
Health/Medical Prep Programs 9,210
Other Health Professions 7,984
Dentistry 6,770
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 6,158
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 5,115
Alternative Medicine & Systems 3,564
Chiropractic 2,658
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies 2,374
Medical Illustration & Informatics 2,089
Optometry 1,822
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences 1,775
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services 960
Medical Science 909
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies 294
Alternative Medical Support Services 227
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies 68

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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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