Public Health Education and Promotion

Types of Degrees Public Health Education and Promotion Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many public health education and promotion graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	2,620
Master’s Degree	953
Graduate Certificate	269
Associate Degree	116
Doctor’s Degree	112
Basic Certificate	28
Undergraduate Certificate	14

What Public Health Education and Promotion Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to public health education and promotion 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 Public Health Education and Promotion Majors

Public Health Education and Promotion majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Skills for Public Health Education and Promotion Majors

A major in public health education and promotion prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• 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.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Public Health Education and Promotion Majors

Public Health Education and Promotion majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• 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.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Public Health Education and Promotion Major?

People with a public health education and promotion degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Community Health Workers	17.9%	$39,540
Health Educators	14.6%	$54,220
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health Education and Promotion?

This major is dominated by women with about 85% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of public health education and promotion majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	146
Black or African American	504
Hispanic or Latino	374
White	1,363
International Students	50
Other Races/Ethnicities	183

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Public Health Education and Promotion. About 1.9% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Public Health Education and Promotion

Some degrees associated with public health education and promotion 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 public health education and promotion have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	3.6%
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)	1.0%
Some College Courses	1.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	28.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	32.9%
Master’s Degree	18.6%
Doctoral Degree	8.5%
Post-Doctoral Training	6.3%

Online Public Health Education and Promotion 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)	5	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	11	0
Bachelor’s Degree	31	14
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	61	10
Post-Master’s	5	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	20	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Public Health Education and Promotion

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to public health education and promotion.

Major	Number of Grads
General Public Health	25,558
Other Public Health	3,157
Health Services Administration	3,047
Community Health and Preventive Medicine	2,042
International Public Health/International Health	1,696
Environmental Health	1,439
Behavioral Aspects of Health	633
Maternal and Child Health	275
Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene	261
Health/Medical Physics	244
Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality	87

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
• Image Credit: By Article 25 Flickr under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.