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Community Health & Preventive Medicine

A program that prepares public health specialists to plan and manage health services in local community settings, including the coordination of related support services, government agencies, and private resources. Includes instruction in public health, community health services and delivery, health behavior and cultural factors, local government operations, human services, health communication and promotion, health services administration in local settings, environmental health, preventive and comparative medicine, epidemiology, biostatistics, family and community health, and applicable law and regulations.

Types of Degrees Community Health & Preventive Medicine Majors Are Earning

Those studying Community Health & Preventive Medicine have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	47
Associate’s Degree	88
Bachelor’s Degree	1,441
Master’s Degree	953
Doctor’s Degree	42

What Community Health & Preventive Medicine Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Community Health & Preventive Medicine develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Community Health & Preventive Medicine graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Community Health & Preventive Medicine emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Community Health & Preventive Medicine program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Community Health & Preventive Medicine careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Community Health & Preventive Medicine graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.5 / 7
Working with Computers	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.4 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.2 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Community Health & Preventive Medicine professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Medical condition coding software	Medical software	—
IBM SPSS Statistics	Analytical or scientific software	—
SAS	Analytical or scientific software	—
Geographic information system GIS software	Geographic information system	—
Medical procedure coding software	Medical software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Community Health & Preventive Medicine graduates include:

• Urology Teacher
• Clinical Laboratory Science Professor
• Physiology Teacher
• Pharmacy Teacher
• Chiropractic Teacher
• Therapy Teacher
• Oxygen Therapy Teacher
• Respiratory Therapy Instructor
• Physical Therapy Professor
• Clinical Laboratory Service Teacher
• Nutrition Teacher
• Gericare Aide Teacher
• Surgical Aides Teacher
• Childbirth Teacher
• Dentistry Teacher

What Can You Do With a Community Health & Preventive Medicine Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Community Health & Preventive Medicine 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 Community Health & Preventive Medicine graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	30.0%
Bachelor’s degree	25.2%
Doctoral degree	16.2%
Post-doctoral training	13.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	8.5%
Postsecondary certificate	3.4%
High school diploma or equivalent	1.8%
Some college courses	1.1%
First professional degree	0.7%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Community Health & Preventive Medicine?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 83% of Community Health & Preventive Medicine degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	2,135	83.0%
Men	436	17.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Community Health & Preventive Medicine graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,004	39.1%
Asian	244	9.5%
Hispanic or Latino	545	21.2%
Black or African American	419	16.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	16	0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	7	0.3%
Two or More Races	110	4.3%
Race Unknown	151	5.9%
International Students	75	2.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Community Health & Preventive Medicine Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Community Health & Preventive Medicine graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$50,939
4 years	$60,432
5 years	$70,561

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $70,561 — roughly 39% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online Community Health & Preventive Medicine Programs

Fully online options are documented by IPEDS for Community Health & Preventive Medicine. 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
Bachelor’s	11	4
Master’s	14	3

^{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 Community Health & Preventive Medicine Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Community Health & Preventive Medicine graduates earn a median of $60,432 four years after completion — roughly 59% 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
Public Health	41,086
Public Health, General	25,004
Pharmacy	12,167
Public Health Education and Promotion	3,785
Public Health, Other	2,803
Health Services Administration	2,629
Environmental Health	1,269
Behavioral Aspects of Health	623
Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene	313
Health/Medical Physics	288
Maternal and Child Health	180
Pharmacoeconomics/Pharmaceutical Economics	150

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.