Why Healthcare Is One of the Fastest-Growing Fields for Graduate Degrees
Do you feel like you've taken your undergraduate healthcare degree about as far as it can go? Are you interested in building a more robust skill set or even exploring a new healthcare niche? If so, it may be time to think about returning to school for a graduate healthcare degree. Not only is the demand for graduate-educated professionals rising across the industry, but there are also exciting opportunities for career growth.
Learn more about the growth of healthcare graduate degrees below, then explore Bay Path University's diverse healthcare graduate degree options to see which could be the right fit for you.
A Field That Keeps Growing and Raising the Bar
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), healthcare remains one of the largest employment sectors in the United States, with healthcare and social assistance positions accounting for approximately 13.3% of the country's workforce in 2024.
Aside from being one of the largest employment sectors, healthcare is also among the most credentialed. Between formal schooling, individual certifications, and state licensure, those working (or planning to work) in healthcare have options to take their credentials a step further.
The Drivers Behind Healthcare's Graduate Degree Boom
So, what's driving the increased demand for graduate-educated healthcare professionals? Experts speculate that there are many factors at play here, ranging from an aging population to increased role complexity.
An Aging Population Creating Relentless Demand
One of the most notable drivers behind the healthcare industry's current graduate degree boom is an aging population. As the "Baby Boomer" population continues to age, rates of chronic illness that require complex and long-term care management are also rising.
The Long Shadow of the Pandemic
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still felt strongly throughout the healthcare industry. Studies show that about 100,000 nurses left the field during the pandemic due to burnout alone. Meanwhile, one-fifth of registered nurses (including APRNs) intend to leave the workforce by 2027. This shortage of advanced practice nurses comes with an increased demand for MSN-educated nurses to replace them.
Complexity Demands Higher Credentials
The healthcare field is constantly evolving, with new specialties and technologies emerging seemingly every day. As the field becomes more complex, the need for more educated and knowledgeable professionals to navigate these advancements has increased — particularly in areas such as health administration/management, public health, and informatics/data science.
Graduate Enrollment Is Responding to the Signal
With healthcare career growth and demand spiking, schools and students are responding with record enrollment numbers. Health sciences, for example, saw the largest average first-time graduate enrollment across all institution sizes from 2023 to 2024, according to data by the Council of Graduate Schools.
Where Graduate Degrees Are Making the Biggest Impact
Healthcare graduate degrees are making a major difference in many areas of the field, ranging from nursing and healthcare administration to public health and mental health counseling.
Nursing — From Bedside to Leadership
Skilled and educated nursing professionals are valued across the board, with advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) needing a minimum of a master's degree (usually an MSN degree) to practice in their area of expertise.
According to the BLS, the demand for nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners is projected to grow 35% between 2024 and 2034 alone. That's much faster than the average for all occupations nationwide.
Healthcare Administration and Management
There’s also a growing demand for graduate-school-educated healthcare administrators and health services managers — with BLS data estimating a 23% growth in job outlook between 2024 and 2034 alone. Although a bachelor's degree may be the entry-level requirement for some administration and management roles, many employers prefer to hire applicants with a master's degree and specialized experience in healthcare leadership.
Public Health
Public/community health is another area where having a master's degree can pay off. Depending on the degree, graduates may go on to pursue public health roles such as epidemiologist, community health worker, or public health education specialist. The demand for epidemiologists alone is expected to grow 16% (much faster than average) between 2024 and 2034, according to BLS healthcare projections.
Behavioral Health and Mental Health Counseling
Interested in making a difference as a behavioral health specialist or mental health counselor? As awareness of mental health disorders continues to grow, so does the need for compassionate mental health counselors who can advise patients on different issues.
Typically, a master's degree is required to become a mental health counselor, with additional requirements (such as licensing) varying from one state to the next. BLS data shows that the demand for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is expected to grow 17% between 2024 and 2034.
Allied Health and Clinical Specialties
Healthcare professionals interested in more specialized or niche areas may want to pursue allied health roles (along with a related graduate degree). Some of the fastest-growing healthcare fields in allied health and clinical specialties that may benefit from a master's degree include:
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Respiratory therapy
- Medical laboratory science
Health Data, Informatics, Applied Data Science, and Cybersecurity
For healthcare workers who are fascinated with numbers and data, there's a booming healthcare workforce demand for master's-educated health data, informatics, applied data science, and cybersecurity professionals.
Many jobs in data science, including more specialized roles, require a master's degree. As the collection and use of healthcare data becomes increasingly important to facility operations and patient care, the need for health data specialists and data scientists is likely to increase. In fact, according to the BLS, employment of data scientists is projected to grow 34% from 2024 to 2034 alone.
The Graduate Degree Advantage in Healthcare Careers
Why get a graduate degree in healthcare? There are several potential benefits to consider.
Salary Differentiation
Specific earnings can vary greatly based on many factors (including level of experience, employer, and location). However, in general, healthcare workers with a graduate-level education tend to have higher salaries than those with an undergraduate education.
For example, the BLS lists the median salary for a BSN-educated RN as $93,600 in 2024. Meanwhile, a nurse practitioner (NP), midwife, or anesthetist with a specialized graduate education earns a median of $132,050 per year. That's a difference of more than $38,000 per year — or about $769,000 over the course of 20 working years.
Leadership Pipeline
Another reason to consider pursuing a graduate healthcare degree is to strategically position yourself for leadership opportunities down the road. While a graduate degree alone cannot guarantee a specific job, many advanced leadership and management roles in healthcare require a graduate-level education (along with specialized experience).
A graduate-level healthcare degree may also include dedicated coursework in healthcare management, administration, conflict resolution, and other critical skills that are needed in today's leaders. Whether you're interested in an executive/C-suite role, clinical leadership position, or healthcare administration job, a graduate degree could be the next logical step toward career advancement.
Flexibility and Career Pivots
Last but not least, consider the fact that advancing your education with a graduate degree in healthcare could empower you to become more agile and versatile in your skill set — which could open up opportunities to move into more specialized roles or even make that career pivot.
For instance, if you've been working as an RN with a BSN but are eager to move away from bedside roles, pursuing your MSN could be a great way to build the necessary skills and knowledge.
Is a Healthcare Graduate Degree Right for You?
Still not sure whether returning to school for a healthcare graduate degree is the best choice for you? Here are a few key considerations:
- Your professional interests and goals. If you're aspiring for that big promotion or advancement opportunity that requires a master's degree, it might be time to get serious about graduate school.
- Earnings potential and return on investment (ROI). Graduate school requires a financial investment. However, since graduate-educated healthcare professionals tend to have higher salaries, a return to school can be seen as a long-term investment. Take the time to research salary projections for any advanced role/promotion to get a better feel for your expected ROI on a healthcare graduate degree.
- Your capacity to dedicate time and effort to graduate school. Even part-time graduate study can be a major commitment, so you'll want to consider your own time management skills and scheduling needs. For those seeking additional flexibility, an online or hybrid healthcare degree program could be a viable alternative to 100% on-campus options.
Advance Your Healthcare Career With Bay Path University
With a growing need for advanced practice nurses, physicians, and other specialized healthcare providers across the country, now could be a great time to take that next step and return to school. Through Bay Path University’s flexible online graduate degree programs, busy healthcare professionals don't have to put their careers on hold to earn an advanced degree.
Some examples of graduate-level healthcare degrees offered at Bay Path University include:
Learn more about any of our programs, online course offerings, and resources/support available by requesting information today. If you're ready to get the ball rolling on your education, you can also review our graduate admissions requirements or start your application now.
