Allied Health
Types of Degrees Allied Health Majors Are Getting
The following table lists how many allied health professions graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.
| Education Level | Number of Grads |
|---|---|
| Associate Degree | 29,240 |
| Basic Certificate | 22,225 |
| Master’s Degree | 14,052 |
| Undergraduate Certificate | 11,022 |
| Bachelor’s Degree | 7,962 |
| Doctor’s Degree | 786 |
| Graduate Certificate | 126 |
What Allied Health Majors Need to Know
O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to allied health and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.
Knowledge Areas for Allied Health Majors
According to O*NET survey takers, a major in allied health 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.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- 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.
- 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.
Skills for Allied Health Majors
When studying allied health, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:
- 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.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Abilities for Allied Health Majors
As you progress with your allied health degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:
- 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.
- 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.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- 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 Allied Health Major?
People with a allied health degree often go into the following careers:
| Job Title | Job Growth Rate | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Athletic Trainers | 22.7% | $47,510 |
| Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians | 10.0% | $56,850 |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographers | 23.2% | $72,510 |
| Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics | 15.1% | $34,320 |
| Health Specialties Professors | 25.9% | $97,370 |
| Health Technologists and Technicians | 19.6% | $42,920 |
| Hearing Aid Specialists | 20.6% | $52,770 |
| Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists | 13.4% | $71,670 |
| Neurodiagnostic Technologists | 19.6% | $42,920 |
| Nuclear Medicine Technologists | 10.0% | $76,820 |
| Occupational Health and Safety Technicians | 9.9% | $50,780 |
| Physician Assistants | 37.4% | $108,610 |
| Radiation Therapists | 12.6% | $82,330 |
| Radiologic Technologists | 12.3% | $59,520 |
| Respiratory Therapists | 23.3% | $60,280 |
Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Allied Health?
Racial-Ethnic Diversity
At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of allied health majors is as follows:
| Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
|---|---|
| Asian | 455 |
| Black or African American | 591 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,265 |
| White | 4,956 |
| International Students | 138 |
| Other Races/Ethnicities | 557 |
Geographic Diversity
Allied Health appeals to people across the globe. About 1.7% of those with this major are international students.
Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Allied Health
Some degrees associated with allied health 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.
How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to allied health have obtained the following education levels.
| Education Level | Percentage of Workers |
|---|---|
| Less than a High School Diploma | 0.1% |
| High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) | 5.1% |
| 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) | 12.1% |
| Some College Courses | 5.9% |
| Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 40.8% |
| Bachelor’s Degree | 17.7% |
| 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. | 1.4% |
| Master’s Degree | 7.7% |
| 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. | 2.9% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.0% |
| Post-Doctoral Training | 0.7% |
Online Allied Health Programs
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) | 892 | 19 |
| Certificate (2-4 Years) | 127 | 2 |
| Associate’s Degree | 2,325 | 33 |
| Bachelor’s Degree | 48 | 10 |
| Post-Baccalaureate | 0 | 0 |
| Master’s Degree | 585 | 24 |
| Post-Master’s | 6 | 0 |
| Doctor’s Degree (Research) | 10 | 2 |
| Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) | 12 | 7 |
| Doctor’s Degree (Other) | 1 | 1 |
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Majors Related to Allied Health
You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to allied health.
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
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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