Graduate degrees in healthcare are structured to move you deeper into an area of specialty, like informatics, physical (or occupational) therapy, dietetics, or communication science. They can also help you advance to an administrative position. Generally speaking, the higher your degree, the more specialized your career.
Depending on the direction you pursue, your program could be patient-focused, therapy-focused, technology-focused, research-focused, or administrative. In some areas, you’ll need to acquire and pay for a license.
A few examples of master’s degrees in healthcare include a master’s in biomedical sciences, healthcare administration, medical diagnostics, nutrition, or pharmacology. Most of these graduate programs take two years to complete, and many require a bachelor’s — but not all: if you study nursing, you could jump on an RN to MSN track. There are also dual degree programs available for students who want to work on a master’s and a doctorate at the same time.
You can divide the career options for healthcare graduate students into two categories: clinical and administrative. With a clinical focus, you might be an occupational therapist or speech language pathologist. With an administrative bent, you could be a health or medical services manager. You can also use your master’s as a preparatory degree before moving on to your doctorate.
