Nursing Education

Types of Degrees Nursing Education Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many nursing education graduations there were in 2018-2019 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,542
Graduate Certificate	198
Doctor’s Degree	151
Associate’s Degree	48
Undergraduate Certificate	29
Bachelor’s Degree	23

What Nursing Education Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, nursing education majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Nursing Education Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Skills for Nursing Education Majors

nursing education majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Nursing Education Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a nursing education student include the following:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Nursing Education Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with nursing education:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Nursing Instructors and Professors	24.0%	$73,490

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing Education?

The major attracts more women than men. About 87% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of nursing education majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	4
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	19
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

How Much Do Nursing Education Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to nursing education is $81,350. This median refers to all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Nursing Education

Some degrees associated with nursing education may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for nursing education careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Bachelor’s Degree	5.0%
Master’s Degree	50.1%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.0%
Doctoral Degree	36.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	6.7%

Online Nursing Education Programs

In the 2018-2019 academic year, 234 schools offered some type of nursing education program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	4	0
Bachelor’s Degree	42	20
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	156	72
Post-Master’s	89	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	9	6
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	2
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Is a Degree in Nursing Education Worth It?

The median salary for a nursing education grad is $81,350 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 104% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $829,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Nursing Education

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to nursing education.

Major	Number of Grads
Registered Nursing	251,279
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	15,536
Nursing Administration	9,071
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	6,319
Nursing Practice	6,250
Nursing Science	4,704
Nurse Anesthetist	2,031
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing	2,012
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing	1,266
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing	1,022
Critical Care Nursing	643
Clinical Nurse Leader	527
School Nursing	523
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery	475
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing	464
Clinical Nurse Specialist	428
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing	236
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing	211
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing	37
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing	35
Palliative Care Nursing	23

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Aleksahgabrielle under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.