By choosing a career in health sciences, you have the opportunity to work in an exciting, growing and interdisciplinary field that is health care today.
People who study health sciences and earn their master’s degree can work in hospitals, government agencies, public health offices, schools and nonprofit organizations.
The focus of a master’s degree in health sciences is on science and good health care, melding both of these subjects so that you can work to deliver high quality care to patients, no matter where they are. You can work in many different ways and with different patient populations, but you will always use STEM (science, engineering, math and technology) to advance human health.
Most master’s in health sciences degrees will allow you to focus on regulatory affairs, research and administration, or the quality of health care.
What You Can Do With A Master’s in Health Sciences
One of the interesting aspects of a health sciences master’s degree is that you have the choice of working in a clinical setting, or more on the research and academic side. Where you work exactly will depend upon the type of job you take and where your career interests lie. Typically, you can expect that a health sciences master’s degree will put you onto one of five basic career paths:
- Diagnostic services: You will work on diagnosing health problems by monitoring existing or new problems and following up on any unusual lab results, such as a mammogram.
- Therapeutic services: Assist patients with healing over a short or long time by offering direct care, plans of treatment, counseling and education about a condition or an illness.
- Support services: This type of role includes many types of aides and assistants, and can span from medical assistants to veterinary assistants. You will work in support of primary care providers and patients in every area of health care.
- Health informatics: If you like technology and are comfortable teaching it to others, you will like health informatics. This field involves studying design, development and application of IT systems in the delivery of healthcare services, planning and management. A very important area given that health care providers are adopting electronic health care records.
- Biotechnology: If you are interested more in research, biotechnology R&D is of great importance. You will study new therapies to treat diseases, and will come up with new treatments using biologic products.
You should be able to find work that pays well for many years: The Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that healthcare jobs will grow by 20% by 2024, which is much faster than other occupations. In fact, by 2024, more than 2.3 million jobs will be added. Many of those will be clinical jobs for nurses and related fields, but there also will be many new jobs for health sciences and health administration professionals.
Earn Your Master’s in Health Sciences with No GRE Online
There are more online master’s in health sciences degree options today than ever before. You can also earn your degree in as little as two years online and never have to even take the GRE examination. This is a fantastic way for you to save significant costs and a lot of money.
#1 Rutgers University
Rutgers University has a Master of Science in Health Sciences that is designed to prepare you for a career in health professions education. The master’s degree program is designed to blend your online programs with an education based on health science competency.
All through this two year program, you will be working on a Teaching Portfolio that includes a major graded project for each class that you take. Each part of the teaching portfolio projects must be integrated into your final teaching portfolio.
This is a 33 credit hour program and the required classes include:
- Healthcare Data Technologies for Research and Practice
- Data Analysis and Interpretation
- Research Methods for Health Sciences
- Evidence Based Literature Review
- Teaching in the Health Professions
- Evaluation and Assessment
- Clinical and Community Based Teaching
- Curriculum Development in Health Professions
More information:
- Campus: Newark NJ; online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Middle States Commission
- Tuition: $682 per credit hour
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Master of Science in Health Sciences
#2 Nova Southeastern University
The Master of Health Science degree from Nova Southeastern University is designed for students who already have a bachelor’s degree in another field. Required classes for this two year, accredited program that is completed 100% online:
- Current Trends and Issues in Health Care
- Writing for Medical Publication
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Research Methods
- Ethical Issues in Healthcare
- Principles of Management in Healthcare
- US Health Policy
- Practicum
More information:
- Campus: Ft. Lauderdale FL; online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
- Tuition: $450 per credit hour
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Master of Science Health Sciences
#3 St. Francis University
St. Francis University offers an online Master of Health Science program that is one of the oldest in the US. It is designed to help passionate, talented health science professionals to advance into leadership and management positions.
The curriculum in this 24 month program looks at ethical dilemmas, management issues, and essential communication strategies that are needed as a healthcare leader.
Depending upon your career goals, you can choose the following specialties:
- Clinical
- Health Education
- Health Leadership
To earn your degree, you must finish 21 credit hours of core classes, and nine credits of electives in one of the above specialties. The core curriculum includes these classes:
- Research Methodology
- Ethical Issues in Practice
- Communication for Healthcare Professionals
- Clinical Residency
- Leadership
- Strategies in Health Policy
- Diversity in Healthcare
Option classes, depending upon your specialty, are:
- Special Topics
- Health Promotion Across the Lifespan
- Introduction to Public Health
- Health Professionals as Educators
- Designing Instruction for Health Programs
- Curriculum Development for Health Programs
- Healthcare Systems Management
- Quality and Performance for Health Leaders
- Conflict Resolution for Health Leaders
More information:
- Campus: Loretto PA; online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- Tuition: $607 per credit hour
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Master of Science in Health Science
#4 Arizona State University
Arizona State University offers an unusual Master of Science in Health Care Delivery. This is a two year program that is designed to provide you with a complete foundation in health care delivery. You will learn the competencies and knowledge that you need to work to create a safe, effective and patient centered healthcare environment wherever you work.
This two year program that is fully online is most appropriate for professionals who have a strong interest in health care delivery. This is a collaborative program that stresses quality improvement, improving health disparities among many populations, and also health policy and leadership skills.
Most of the coursework will focus on a case based approach that creates various solutions to difficult health care delivery challenges. Your classes will include:
