Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality maps to BLS occupations averaging about $144,997, with roughly 3,702,730 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $9,992; common paths include Registered Nurses and Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors.
Key Statistics
Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality: what the data shows
Common questions about patient safety and healthcare quality degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a patient safety and healthcare quality degree?
A Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality program is classified under NCES CIP 51.2213 in the Public Health field family (51.22).
A program that focuses on the application of transformative mechanisms and evidence-based protocols to reduce preventable patient harm and improve clinical outcomes. Includes instruction in healthcare quality, patient safety, research methods, program evaluation, epidemiology, legal and regulatory compliance, systems thinking, human factors engineering, and risk management
Types of patient safety and healthcare quality degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 51.22 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Behavioral Aspects of Health (CIP 51.2212)
- Community Health and Preventive Medicine (CIP 51.2208)
- Environmental Health (CIP 51.2202)
- Health Services Administration (CIP 51.2211)
- Health/Medical Physics (CIP 51.2205)
- International Public Health/International Health (CIP 51.2210)
- Maternal and Child Health (CIP 51.2209)
- Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene (CIP 51.2206)
- Public Health Education and Promotion (CIP 51.2207)
- Public Health Genetics (CIP 51.2214)
- Public Health, General (CIP 51.2201)
How long does it take to get a patient safety and healthcare quality degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.2213 in our file:
- 45 Master's (100.0% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Registered Nurses (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a patient safety and healthcare quality degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 3,282,010 | $93,600 |
| Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors | 23,220 | $109,660 |
| Public Safety Telecommunicators | 101,140 | $50,730 |
| Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers | 6,770 | $101,020 |
| Healthcare Support Workers, All Other | 103,650 | $46,050 |
| Healthcare Social Workers | 185,940 | $68,090 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a patient safety and healthcare quality degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Public Health bachelor's program family: median debt $25,768, median earnings $58,808 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.69.
About 5.0% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $9,992 and median net price is $17,321.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$9,992 Median In-State Public
$39,800 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality majors are, on average, $9,992 for in-state public colleges, and $39,800 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 3 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 4 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 5 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haskell Indian Nations University | KS | $600 |
| 2 | Cypress College | CA | $1,150 |
| 3 | MiraCosta College | CA | $1,158 |
| 4 | San Joaquin Delta College | CA | $1,180 |
| 5 | Monterey Peninsula College | CA | $1,188 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 3 | St Petersburg College | FL | $1,471 |
| 4 | Middlesex College | NJ | $2,288 |
| 5 | San Joaquin Delta College | CA | $2,407 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality programs across institutions.
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 51.22 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Behavioral Aspects of Health CIP 51.2212
- Community Health and Preventive Medicine CIP 51.2208
- Environmental Health CIP 51.2202
- Health Services Administration CIP 51.2211
- Health/Medical Physics CIP 51.2205
- International Public Health/International Health CIP 51.2210
- Maternal and Child Health CIP 51.2209
- Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene CIP 51.2206
- Public Health Education and Promotion CIP 51.2207
- Public Health Genetics CIP 51.2214
- Public Health, General CIP 51.2201
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.2213 in the survey year used in our extract (45 total across levels below).
- 45 Master's (100.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $144,997. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | $152,361 | 3,282,010 |
| Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors | $127,278 | 23,220 |
| Public Safety Telecommunicators | $81,733 | 101,140 |
| Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers | $138,731 | 6,770 |
| Healthcare Support Workers, All Other | $59,145 | 103,650 |
| Healthcare Social Workers | $99,729 | 185,940 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Public Health CIP family (89 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality graduate.
- $25,768 median federal loan debt among completers
- $58,808 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.69 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 5.0% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$144,997 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality majors is $144,997.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality majors.
Occupations by Share
3,702,730 2023 Workforce
The number of Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality.
Age distribution for Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
121 Total Degrees Awarded
31 Male (25.62%)
90 Female (74.38%)
Gender distribution of Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
80 White (66.12%)
19 Black or African American (15.70%)
10 Asian (8.26%)
3 Hispanic or Latino (2.48%)
2 Two or More Races (1.65%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality majors.
About
A program that focuses on the application of transformative mechanisms and evidence-based protocols to reduce preventable patient harm and improve clinical outcomes. Includes instruction in healthcare quality, patient safety, research methods, program evaluation, epidemiology, legal and regulatory compliance, systems thinking, human factors engineering, and risk management
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality.
CIP Code
51.2213 - Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $25,768 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $58,808, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.69. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality graduate.
Women earned 74.4% of 121 Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $144,997. The largest mapped role by headcount is Registered Nurses (3,282,010 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,992 in-state at public colleges and $39,800 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.