Admissions for healthcare graduate degrees

Admissions requirements and prerequisites for online graduate degrees in healthcare will vary based on university and program. In general, most graduate-level healthcare programs require:

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and college transcripts

• A minimum GPA score

• Standardized test scores, such as the GRE, MCAT, PCAT, or DAT

• Personal essays or a statement of purpose

• A resume or CV

• Letters of recommendation

• An interview (typically video) with an admission professional

Some master's programs no longer require GRE scores to apply. However, depending on your field of study, they may require prerequisite courses such as statistics, calculus, geometry, physics, organic and physical chemistry, anatomy, biology, and others. You should complete these courses before you submit your online healthcare degree applications. Many programs also require health-related work experience to apply.

Physical therapy degree jobs

With an online Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), you will use research-backed methodologies to promote, maintain, and restore the physical wellbeing of people — regardless of their age or background. Physical therapists work in diverse environments, including clinical offices, hospitals, and nursing facilities. Potential job titles include:

• Exercise physiologist: Create personalized exercise regimens to meet patients’ fitness goals.

• Recreational therapist: Utilize recreational activities, such as sports or music, to promote patients’ physical, social, and mental health.

• Physical therapy consultant: Provide expert advice to health-related software and machinery companies in need of advanced medical insight.

• Geriatric physical therapist: Maintain and restore the mobility and strength of elderly patients. Help relieve their chronic pain and aid them in their post-surgery recoveries.

• Orthopedic physical therapist: Heal and improve patients’ orthopedic system — muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons.

• Pediatric physical therapist: Observe and promote the physical wellness and development of children under 18.

• Neurological physical therapist: Treat injuries or diseases affecting patients’ brain, spinal cord, or nervous system.

• Cardiopulmonary physical therapist: Improve patients’ cardiopulmonary systems with exercises to promote blood flow and heart health.

• Travel physical therapist: Fill temporary physical therapy positions in health facilities across the country.

• Vestibular rehabilitation therapist: Utilize exercise to help patients manage vestibular disorders, such as vertigo, concussions, and inner-ear disorders.

Physical therapy is a person-first profession. If you become a physical therapist, you must use your communication skills and resourcefulness to curate the best exercise regimens and treatments for your patients. This career path requires physical stamina and dexterity to demonstrate proper techniques and to provide essential care. However, compassion as a physical therapist is paramount. Daily interaction with patients requires empathy and a motivated desire to alleviate their pain and discomfort.

Physical therapist salaries

Physical therapy is a rapidly growing occupation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in physical therapy careers is projected to grow 21% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the national average of all occupations.¹ The BLS projects that 15,600 new job openings will be made available over the decade.

In 2021, physical therapist’s overall median salary was $95,620.

Median annual pay in top physical therapy settings (2021)²

• Home healthcare services: $99,800

• Nursing and residential care facilities: $99,640

• Hospital; state, local, and private: $99,040

• Offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists, and audiologists: $79,470

Health informatics degree: career paths

You may be wondering, what is health informatics? Health informatics specialists optimize healthcare services by compiling and analyzing data from a range of sources. With an online master’s in health informatics, you will blend information technology with communication and healthcare to ensure efficiency and to safeguard sensitive patient histories. Potential health informatics job titles include:

• Health informatics consultant: Comply with federal regulations, train and support staff, and communicate across multiple levels of an organization.

• Clinical informatics specialist: Collaborate with healthcare providers to ensure the proper function of clinical information systems.

• Public health informatics: Connect and interpret data to inform effective decisions on behalf of individuals and their communities.

A career in health informatics requires refined skillsets to succeed. These competencies include:

• Analytical skills: Interpret medical documentation to assess diagnoses and code them into your healthcare employer’s electronic database.

• Attention to detail: Code and organize patient information with confidence and efficiency.

• Integrity: Protect patients’ lawful right to privacy with discretion and a strong code of ethics.

• Interpersonal skills: Engage with physicians, finance personnel, and others to accurately discuss patient information, discrepancies, and data requirements.

Health informatics salaries

Health informatics is an interdisciplinary field with a variety of career options. These professionals possess advanced skills that range from data science to information technology and systems. You will find them working in settings, including hospitals, insurance companies, government agencies, public health institutions and more. Since the scope of these careers is broad, health informatics salaries can vary widely.

Healthcare administration degree careers

Healthcare administrators are the backbones of hospitals, nonprofits, and other care facilities. But what is health administration? As a member of an administrative team, you will oversee daily operations, organize financial records, create budgets and strategies, and ensure professionalism. Potential healthcare administration job titles include:

• Hospital chief administrative officer: Oversee and manage hospital staff while you strive for operational and financial goals with other hospital leaders.

• Healthcare policy analyst: Apply medical policy and research to specific areas, such as education, Medicaid funding, and community outreach.

• Finance and operations administrator: Manage your hospital or health facilities’ budget and enforce policies and procedures.

• Healthcare marketing manager: Utilize data to develop marketing campaigns and public relations strategies to enhance your facilities’ brand image and measure success.

To become a healthcare administrator, you must display certain skillsets, including:

• Analytical skills: Understand and follow current regulations, policies, and laws.

• Communication skills: Communicate policies and procedures to healthcare faculty.

• Organizational skills: Organize and maintain large volumes of information, including schedules and budgets.

• Interpersonal skills: Discuss personnel insights and patient information with physicians and healthcare facility executives.

• Leadership skills: Create solutions to administrative and lead your staff to success.

• Technical skills: Remain informed on healthcare technology and data analytics updates and advancements.

Healthcare administration salaries

A position in healthcare administration can prove to be a lucrative career path. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment of medical and health services managers is projected to grow 32% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations.”³ An online master of health administration could give you an edge and enhance your earning potential. In 2021, healthcare administrators’ overall median annual salary was $101,340.

Median annual pay in healthcare administration settings (2021)⁴

• Hospitals; state, local, and private: $119,450

• Government: $117,000

• Outpatient care centers: $99,540

• Offices of physicians: $98,230

• Nursing and residential care facilities: $83,550

Pharmacy degree career paths

Pharmacists stand at the intersection of medical expertise, technology, ethics, and business. If you become a pharmacist, you will dispense medication, provide clinical advice, and protect patients from risky drug interactions and side effects.

Earning your online Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) will prepare you for a future-focused career in pharmacy. Potential job titles include:

• Community pharmacist: Prepare and dispense prescriptions to members of your community. Provide general medical insight and communicate with physicians.

• Clinical pharmacist: Collaborate with healthcare providers from various healthcare environments and provide experienced care.

• Institutional pharmacist: Work in a variety of healthcare environments to verify prescriptions, ensure medication safety and effectiveness, and prevent harmful prescription side effects.

• Consultant pharmacist: Improve partners’ workflow and organizational functions. These partners may be hospitals, insurance providers, pharmaceutical companies, or others.

• Pharmaceutical industry pharmacist: Combine pharmaceutical expertise with business insight to design clinical drugs trails, initiate safety regulations, and more.

Pharmacists require a robust skillset to excel in the profession. As a licensed pharmacist, you must display:

• Analytical skills: Provide safe medications to patients and possess extensive clinical knowledge.

• Communication skills: Offer medical advice and detail possible side effects to patients.

• Computer skills: Use your employer’s electronic health record (EHR) with confidence and efficiency.

• Managerial skills: Oversee staff and manage prescription inventory.

Average pharmacist salaries

With an online Pharm.D., you could work in a variety of innovative medical environments and increase your earning potential. In 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported pharmacists make a median annual salary of $128,570.⁵ These pharmaceutical professionals work in a variety of medical environments with varying reported salaries.

Median pay in pharmaceutical settings (2021)⁶

Ambulatory healthcare services: $131,790

Hospitals; state, local, and private: $130,280

Food and beverage stores: $128,190

Pharmacies and drug stores: $127,820

¹ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Physical Therapists, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physical-therapists.htm (visited May 2022).

² Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Physical Therapists, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physical-therapists.htm (visited May 2022).

³ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Medical and Health Services Managers, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm (visited May 2022).

⁴ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Medical and Health Services Managers, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm (visited May 2022).

⁵ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Pharmacists, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/pharmacists.htm (visited May 2022).

⁶ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Pharmacists, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/pharmacists.htm (visited May 2022).

⁷ U.S. News and World Report, Best Health Care Jobs, at https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/best-healthcare-jobs (visited May 2022).