Human/Medical Genetics

Types of Degrees Human/Medical Genetics Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	215
Doctor’s Degree	87
Graduate Certificate	43

What Human/Medical Genetics Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to human/medical genetics 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 Human/Medical Genetics Majors

Human/Medical Genetics majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.
• Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Skills for Human/Medical Genetics Majors

When studying human/medical genetics, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• 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.

Abilities for Human/Medical Genetics Majors

As you progress with your human/medical genetics 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.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Human/Medical Genetics Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with human/medical genetics:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	13.4%	$84,810

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Human/Medical Genetics?

The major attracts more women than men. About 79% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	18
Black or African American	9
Hispanic or Latino	20
White	149
International Students	10
Other Races/Ethnicities	9

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Human/Medical Genetics. About 4.7% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Human/Medical Genetics

Some careers associated with human/medical genetics require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. 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 human/medical genetics have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Bachelor’s Degree	4.1%
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.	1.2%
Master’s Degree	20.4%
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.	0.2%
Doctoral Degree	29.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	45.6%

Online Human/Medical Genetics 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	6	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	31	3
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	19	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Human/Medical Genetics

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to human/medical genetics.

Major	Number of Grads
General Genetics	712
Molecular Genetics	276
Genome Sciences/Genomics	225
Animal Genetics	76
Other Genetics	27
Plant Genetics	21

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 Domaina under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.