Public Health Education and Promotion Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Public Health Education and Promotion maps to BLS occupations averaging about $89,176, with roughly 736,960 workers nationwide in those roles. About 2,423 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median in-state published tuition is about $9,992.
Key Statistics
Public Health Education and Promotion: what the data shows
Common questions about public health education and promotion degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a public health education and promotion degree?
A Public Health Education and Promotion program is classified under NCES CIP 51.2207 in the Public Health field family (51.22).
A program that focuses on the application of educational and communications principles and methods to the promotion of preventive health measures and the education of targeted populations on health issues, and prepares individuals to function as public health educators and health promotion specialists. Includes instruction in human development, health issues across the life span, population-specific health issues, principles and methods of public health education, administration of health education campaigns and programs, evaluation methods, public communications, and applications to specific public health subjects and issues
IPEDS counted 2,423 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of public health education and promotion 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)
- Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality (CIP 51.2213)
- Public Health Genetics (CIP 51.2214)
- Public Health, General (CIP 51.2201)
How long does it take to get a public health education and promotion degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.2207 in our file:
- 121 Associate (3.7% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 2,423 Bachelor's (73.1% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 747 Master's (22.5% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 24 Doctorate (0.7% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
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 Teachers and Instructors, All Other (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%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 51.2207, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a public health education and promotion degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Public Health Education and Promotion 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers and Instructors, All Other | 125,010 | $64,690 |
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 11,430 | $84,290 |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | 114,410 | $61,430 |
| Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary | 5,260 | $95,770 |
| Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | 97,890 | $80,190 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 382,960 | $58,570 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a public health education and promotion 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 Public Health Education and Promotion 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 Public Health Education and Promotion majors are, on average, $9,992 for in-state public colleges, and $39,800 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Public Health Education and Promotion programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Public Health Education and Promotion from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Public Health Education and Promotion.
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 Public Health Education and Promotion 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 Public Health Education and Promotion 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 Public Health Education and Promotion programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Public Health Education and Promotion programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Public Health Education and Promotion is in NC (469 completions). That state represents about 19.4% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is DE (0.80% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| NC | 469 | 19.4% | 0.38% |
| SC | 227 | 9.4% | 0.41% |
| NY | 162 | 6.7% | 0.06% |
| PA | 141 | 5.8% | 0.08% |
| GA | 133 | 5.5% | 0.12% |
| MI | 124 | 5.1% | 0.11% |
| ID | 121 | 5.0% | 0.43% |
| DE | 111 | 4.6% | 0.80% |
| UT | 83 | 3.4% | 0.08% |
| CA | 70 | 2.9% | 0.02% |
| VA | 64 | 2.6% | 0.05% |
| MS | 61 | 2.5% | 0.20% |
| TX | 52 | 2.1% | 0.02% |
| MD | 48 | 2.0% | 0.07% |
| NM | 48 | 2.0% | 0.30% |
| OK | 48 | 2.0% | 0.12% |
| KS | 41 | 1.7% | 0.11% |
| MN | 40 | 1.6% | 0.05% |
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
- Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality CIP 51.2213
- Public Health Genetics CIP 51.2214
- Public Health, General CIP 51.2201
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.2207 in the survey year used in our extract (3,315 total across levels below).
- 121 Associate (3.7% of IPEDS total)
- 2,423 Bachelor's (73.1% of IPEDS total)
- 747 Master's (22.5% of IPEDS total)
- 24 Doctorate (0.7% 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 $89,176. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Public Health Education and Promotion graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers and Instructors, All Other | $92,692 | 125,010 |
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $129,630 | 11,430 |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | $91,347 | 114,410 |
| Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary | $126,897 | 5,260 |
| Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | $130,318 | 97,890 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | $75,138 | 382,960 |
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 Public Health Education and Promotion 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
$89,176 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Public Health Education and Promotion majors is $89,176.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Public Health Education and Promotion majors.
Occupations by Share
736,960 2023 Workforce
The number of Public Health Education and Promotion graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Public Health Education and Promotion by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Public Health Education and Promotion in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Public Health Education and Promotion.
Age distribution for Public Health Education and Promotion degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
2,423 Total Degrees Awarded
385 Male (15.89%)
2,038 Female (84.11%)
Gender distribution of Public Health Education and Promotion degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
1,245 White (51.38%)
483 Black or African American (19.93%)
350 Hispanic or Latino (14.44%)
147 Asian (6.07%)
95 Two or More Races (3.92%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Public Health Education and Promotion degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Public Health Education and Promotion are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Public Health Education and Promotion.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Public Health Education and Promotion field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Public Health Education and Promotion majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Public Health Education and Promotion 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 Public Health Education and Promotion majors.
About
A program that focuses on the application of educational and communications principles and methods to the promotion of preventive health measures and the education of targeted populations on health issues, and prepares individuals to function as public health educators and health promotion specialists. Includes instruction in human development, health issues across the life span, population-specific health issues, principles and methods of public health education, administration of health education campaigns and programs, evaluation methods, public communications, and applications to specific public health subjects and issues
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Public Health Education and Promotion.
CIP Code
51.2207 - Public Health Education and Promotion
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 Public Health Education and Promotion graduate.
Women earned 83.6% of 3,785 Public Health Education and Promotion completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $89,176. The largest mapped role by headcount is Teachers and Instructors, All Other (125,010 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.