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medical/health humanities

Types of Degrees medical/health humanities Majors Are Earning

Those studying medical/health humanities have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	261
Master’s Degree	85
Doctor’s Degree	6

What medical/health humanities Majors Need to Know

Studies in medical/health humanities emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that medical/health humanities graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in medical/health humanities emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• History and Archeology — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Geography — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills developed in a medical/health humanities program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to medical/health humanities careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, medical/health humanities graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.7 / 7
Processing Information	4.5 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.4 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.4 / 7
Working with Computers	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.0 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.0 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by medical/health humanities professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
IBM SPSS Statistics	Analytical or scientific software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
ESRI ArcGIS software	Geographic information system	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Adobe Photoshop	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Adobe Acrobat	Document management software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Adobe Dreamweaver	Web page creation and editing software	—
SAS	Analytical or scientific software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for medical/health humanities graduates include:

• Humanities Teacher
• Labor Relations Teacher
• Weight Control Lecturer
• Foreign Service Teacher
• Survey Research Teacher
• City Planning Teacher
• Naval Science Teacher
• Urban Planning Teacher
• Liberal Arts Teacher
• College Teacher
• Lecturer
• Military Science Teacher
• Science Teacher
• Industrial Arts Teacher
• Social Science Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to medical/health humanities graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	38.6%
Doctoral degree	29.6%
Bachelor’s degree	21.2%
Post-doctoral training	5.3%
Less than a high school diploma	2.1%
Some college courses	2.0%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.8%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.2%
Postsecondary certificate	0.1%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in medical/health humanities?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 84.1% of medical/health humanities degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	296	84.1%
Men	56	15.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of medical/health humanities graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	151	42.9%
Asian	28	8.0%
Hispanic or Latino	101	28.7%
Black or African American	46	13.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	2	0.6%
Two or More Races	11	3.1%
Race Unknown	9	2.6%
International Students	4	1.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do medical/health humanities Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of medical/health humanities 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	$91,596
4 years	$89,352
5 years	$98,782

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $98,782 — roughly 8% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online medical/health humanities Programs

Distance learning is reported by IPEDS for medical/health humanities. 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	1
Master’s	2	0
Doctoral (Research)	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 medical/health humanities Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, medical/health humanities graduates earn a median of $89,352 four years after completion — roughly 135% 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
Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities	51.32
Arts in Medicine/Health	51.3206
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	51.3201
Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities, Other	51.3299
Health Professions Education	51.3202
History of Medicine	51.3205
Nursing Education	51.3203

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.