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Dental Public Health & Education

Types of Degrees Dental Public Health & Education Majors Are Earning

Those studying Dental Public Health & Education can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	5
Associate’s Degree	3
Bachelor’s Degree	31
Master’s Degree	45

What Dental Public Health & Education Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Dental Public Health & Education emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Dental Public Health & Education program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Dental Public Health & Education careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Dental Public Health & Education graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.6 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Working with Computers	4.4 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Dental Public Health & Education professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Adobe Presenter	Computer based training software	—
Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS	Medical software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Dental Public Health & Education graduates include:

• Instructor
• Clinical Instructor
• Nutrition Educator
• Physical Therapy Teacher
• Mental Health Aides Teacher
• Psychiatric Aides Teacher
• Gericare Aide Teacher
• Otolaryngology Teacher
• Professor
• Health Diagnostics Teacher
• Optometry Teacher
• Nutrition Professor
• Dietetics Teacher
• Neurological Surgery Teacher
• Activity Therapy Teacher

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Dental Public Health & Education graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	32.1%
Doctoral degree	22.0%
Post-doctoral training	16.9%
Bachelor’s degree	14.7%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	11.5%
Postsecondary certificate	2.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.3%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Dental Public Health & Education?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 75% of Dental Public Health & Education degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	63	75.0%
Men	21	25.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Dental Public Health & Education graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	31	36.9%
Asian	7	8.3%
Hispanic or Latino	7	8.3%
Black or African American	10	11.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native	7	8.3%
Two or More Races	1	1.2%
Race Unknown	6	7.1%
International Students	15	17.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Dental Public Health & Education Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Dental Public Health & Education 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	$209,489
4 years	$191,956
5 years	$225,886

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $225,886 — roughly 8% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online Dental Public Health & Education Programs

Fully online options is reported by IPEDS for Dental Public Health & 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
Bachelor’s	1	0
Master’s	1	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 Dental Public Health & Education Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Dental Public Health & Education graduates earn a median of $191,956 four years after completion — roughly 405% 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	CIP Code
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences	51.05
Advanced General Dentistry	51.0502
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Other	51.0599
Dental Clinical Sciences, General	51.0501
Dental Materials	51.0505
Digital Dentistry	51.0512
Endodontics/Endodontology	51.0506
Geriatric Dentistry	51.0513
Implantology/Implant Dentistry	51.0514
Oral Biology and Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology	51.0503
Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery	51.0507
Orthodontics/Orthodontology	51.0508

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.