Medical Science

Types of Degrees Medical Science Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many medical science graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	725
Doctor’s Degree	193
Graduate Certificate	170
Bachelor’s Degree	2

What Medical Science Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to medical science 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 Medical Science Majors

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

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 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.

Skills for Medical Science Majors

A major in medical science prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• 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.
• 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.

Abilities for Medical Science Majors

As you progress with your medical science degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Medical Science Major?

People with a medical science degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Clinical Research Coordinators	9.9%	$123,860
Epidemiologists	8.2%	$69,660
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	13.4%	$84,810
Natural Sciences Managers	9.9%	$123,860

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Science?

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of medical science majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	1
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	1

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Medical Science

Some degrees associated with medical science 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 medical science have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.0%
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)	2.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	26.9%
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.	2.0%
Master’s Degree	27.1%
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.	0.8%
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.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	19.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	17.1%

Online Medical Science 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)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	29	6
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	72	2
Post-Master’s	12	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	36	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	5	2
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	1

Majors Related to Medical Science

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to medical science.

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	308,114
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	88,809
Allied Health Professions	85,413
Health & Medical Administrative Services	85,302
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	79,189
Public Health	42,551
Health Sciences & Services	35,887
Mental & Social Health Services	31,550
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	29,934
Medicine	29,206
Dental Support Services	25,040
Communication Sciences	23,288
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	19,017
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	18,729
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services	10,516
Health/Medical Prep Programs	9,413
Other Health Professions	7,387
Dentistry	6,961
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	5,644
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	5,056
Alternative Medicine & Systems	3,431
Chiropractic	2,698
Medical Illustration & Informatics	2,689
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	2,244
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	1,845
Optometry	1,789
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	760
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	468
Alternative Medical Support Services	136
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	116

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.