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hospice and palliative care

Types of Degrees hospice and palliative care Majors Are Earning

People majoring in hospice and palliative care can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	3

What hospice and palliative care Majors Need to Know

Programs in hospice and palliative care develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that hospice and palliative care graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in hospice and palliative care emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Psychology — Importance 4.9 / 5; level 6.3 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 6.6 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.8 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills built by a hospice and palliative care program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Service Orientation — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to hospice and palliative care careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, hospice and palliative care graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.7 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.3 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.3 / 7
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by hospice and palliative care professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Zoom	Video conferencing software	✓
Adobe PageMaker	Desktop publishing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Intrado SchoolMessenger	Mobile messaging service software	—
Google Meet	Video conferencing software	✓
Microsoft Publisher	Desktop publishing software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Medical procedure coding software	Medical software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Teams	Project management software	✓
Relational database software	Data base user interface and query software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for hospice and palliative care graduates include:

• Case Manager
• Case Worker
• Social Worker
• Disability Coordinator
• LICSW (Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker)
• Hospital Social Worker
• Caseworker
• Long Term Care Social Worker
• Family Support Specialist
• Disability Advocate
• Public Health Social Worker
• Discharge Planner
• Client Advocate
• Health Care Social Worker
• AIDS Social Worker

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to hospice and palliative care graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	70.4%
Bachelor’s degree	14.8%
Post-master’s certificate	11.1%
First professional degree	3.7%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in hospice and palliative care?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 100% of hospice and palliative care degrees.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of hospice and palliative care graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1	33.3%
Asian	1	33.3%
Two or More Races	1	33.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do hospice and palliative care Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of hospice and palliative care graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$46,066
4 years	$46,824
5 years	$52,641

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $52,641 — roughly 14% above the 1-year mark.

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

Is a Degree in hospice and palliative care Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, hospice and palliative care graduates earn a median of $46,824 four years after completion — roughly 23% 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
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	51.15
Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling	51.1506
Clinical/Medical Social Work	51.1503
Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling	51.1504
Genetic Counseling/Counselor	51.1509
Infant/Toddler Mental Health Services	51.1510
Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling	51.1505
Medical Family Therapy/Therapist	51.1511
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions, Other	51.1599
Mental Health Counseling/Counselor	51.1508
Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician	51.1502
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy	51.1507

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.