Conferred Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctor’s Degrees in the Health Professions
According to data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the numbers of conferred degrees in healthcare programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctor’s levels in the United States have increased in recent years.
For decades, IPEDS surveys have gathered institutional and student data from every college, university, and technical and vocational institution that participates in the federal student financial aid programs, as required by the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended.
As seen in the chart below, the number of conferred bachelor’s degrees in the health professions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia have increased by 162 percent from 163,018 in 2011–12 to 263,765 in 2021–22. Enrollment and graduation from bachelor’s programs such as nursing (BSN), public health, and health administration are driven by a strong job market and continue to attract large numbers of students. Of note is the uptick in conferred bachelor’s degrees in 2020–21, which might be explained by the COVID-19 pandemic inspiring students to study healthcare careers such as nursing (Andrews, 2021). Also of note is that the percentage of healthcare bachelor’s degrees that have been earned by females have remained steady across the years at 84–85 percent.
Note: Data in the chart represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia; Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
Similarly, the number of conferred master’s degrees in the health professions increased by 175 percent from 84,123 in 2011–12 to 147,035 in 2021–22. Many people who enroll in programs such as the Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Health Administration (MHA), and advanced-practice nursing (e.g., MSN for Nurse Practitioners) are professionals who are returning to school in pursuit of career advancement and specialization. The percentages of healthcare master’s degrees that have been earned by females have slightly increased across the years from 81 percent to 83 percent.
Note: Data in the chart represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia; Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
Finally, the next chart shows the number of conferred doctor’s degrees in the health professions. According to NCES, doctor’s degrees include medicine (M.D.), dentistry (D.D.S. and D.M.D), and other medical specialty degrees that were classified as first-professional prior to 2010–11. Institutions that offer these degrees maintain rigorous selection standards for enrollment because of limited faculty and clinical placements. Nonetheless, the numbers of conferred doctor’s degrees increased by 148 percent from 59,245 in 2011–12 to 87,750 in 2021–22.
Interestingly, the percentage of doctor’s degrees that have been earned by females have steadily increased from 57 percent in 2011–12 to 62 percent in 2021–22. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) (Boyle, 2024), the increase in women who graduate from medical school can be partially explained by the increase in women who apply to medical school. AAMC data show that in 2023–24, 57 percent of medical-school applicants and 55 percent of medical-school students were women.
Note: Data in the chart represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia; Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
References
Andrews, M. (2021, February 22). Nursing schools see enrollment bump amid pandemic. American Nurse. https://www.myamericannurse.com/nursing-schools-see-enrollment-increase-during-pandemic/
Boyle, P. (2024, July 9). Women in medicine make gains, but obstacles remain. AAMCNews. https://www.aamc.org/news/women-medicine-make-gains-obstacles-remain
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