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Cardiovascular specialist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a cardiovascular specialist. Cardiovascular specialists usually study business, nursing, or marketing. 71% of cardiovascular specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 15% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 649 real cardiovascular specialist resumes to see exactly what cardiovascular specialist education sections show.

The most common colleges for cardiovascular specialists are the University of Florida and the University of Florida.

There are also many online cardiovascular specialist courses to help get the education required to be a cardiovascular specialist.

There are certain cardiovascular specialist certifications that you should consider. These cardiovascular specialist certifications include Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Experienced Provider (EP) (ACLS) and Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (RCIS).

What education do you need to become a cardiovascular specialist?

What degree do you need to be a cardiovascular specialist?

The most common degree for cardiovascular specialists is bachelor's degree, with 71% of cardiovascular specialists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 15% and associate degree degree at 6%.
  • Bachelor's, 71%
  • Associate, 15%
  • Master's, 6%
  • Diploma, 3%
  • Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become a cardiovascular specialist?

You should major in business to become a cardiovascular specialist. 16% of cardiovascular specialists major in business. Other common majors for a cardiovascular specialist include nursing and marketing.

Most common colleges for cardiovascular specialists

Cardiovascular specialists often get their degrees at University of Florida, Ohio State University, and California State University - San Bernardino. Here are the most common colleges for cardiovascular specialists in the US based on their resumes.
Cardiovascular specialist common collegePercentages
University of Florida7.89%
Ohio State University6.58%
California State University - San Bernardino6.58%
University of Maryland - College Park6.58%
Florida State University6.58%

Best majors for cardiovascular specialists

RankMajorPercentages
1Business16.4%
2Nursing15.3%
3Marketing10.8%
4Medical Technician9.7%
5Communication6.9%

Best colleges for cardiovascular specialists

The best colleges for cardiovascular specialists are Northwestern University, University of Southern California, and New York University.

A cardiovascular specialist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for cardiovascular specialists. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become cardiovascular specialists.

1. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

2. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

3. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

4. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

5. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

6. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

7. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

8. SUNY at Buffalo

Buffalo, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$10,099

Enrollment

21,404

9. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

10. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

20 best online courses for cardiovascular specialists

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1. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care

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2. Anatomy: Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Urinary Systems

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In this anatomy course, part of the Anatomy Specialization, you will explore the interactive relationships of the cardiovascular, respiratory and urinary systems, and the roles they play in your body. This course is a primer for the cardiovascular, respiratory, and urinary systems in which students learn the pertinent details of the structures and functions through a combination of lectures, videos, labeling activities and quizzes...

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5. Health for All Through Primary Health Care

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This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...

6. Trauma Emergencies and Care

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Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

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9. Myocardial Infarction

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Cardiovascular diseases are – according to the (World Health Organization (WHO) – the number one cause of death globally. Myocardial infarction (heart attack) is the most prominent under the Cardiovascular diseases. In Switzerland alone, the risk to develop a coronary heart disease during life time is around 25% for men and 18% for women. Most cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by addressing behavioral risk factors, the understanding of these risk factors, their mechanisms and impact on...

10. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children

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Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...

11. Providing Trauma-Informed Care

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Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...

12. Medical Emergencies: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation

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In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1) assess a basic medical patient 2) describe general pharmacologic principles and the skills associated with medication administration, 3) explain airway physiology, the assessment of the airway and available interventions for airway management, 4) identify, assess and formulate a plan to stabilize a patient with a...

13. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course

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The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...

14. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative

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Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...

15. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale

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Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...

16. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers

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17. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes

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18. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness

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In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: (1) Identify the signs and symptoms associated with a patient in shock, to describe the major categories of shock, to assess a patient with signs of shock and formulate a plan for treatment to stabilize the patient for transport, (2) Identify a patient in cardiac arrest and to describe the components of high performance CPR...

19. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff

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Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...

20. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care

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In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...

Top 10 most affordable universities for cardiovascular specialists

The most affordable schools for cardiovascular specialists are SUNY Farmingdale, university of florida, and california state university - bakersfield.

If the best universities for cardiovascular specialists are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for cardiovascular specialists.

1. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

6. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

7. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

8. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

9. Minot State University

Minot, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$7,064

Cost of attendance

15,576

10. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for cardiovascular specialists

The hardest universities for cardiovascular specialists to get into are Northwestern University, University of Southern California, and New York University.

Some great schools for cardiovascular specialists are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for cardiovascular specialists based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

3. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

4. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

5. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,517

6. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

7. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

8. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

9. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

10. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for cardiovascular specialists

The easiest schools for cardiovascular specialists to get into are D'Youville College, gwynedd mercy university, and barry university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a cardiovascular specialist without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for cardiovascular specialists.

1. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

2. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

3. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

4. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

5. AdventHealth University

Orlando, FL • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,016

6. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

7. Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

8. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

9. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

10. Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,017

Average cardiovascular specialist salary by education level

Cardiovascular specialists with a Bachelor's degree earn more than those without, at $71,534 annually. With a Associate degree, cardiovascular specialists earn a median annual income of $64,185 compared to $60,421 for cardiovascular specialists with an High School Diploma degree.
Cardiovascular specialist education levelCardiovascular specialist salary
High School Diploma or Less$60,421
Bachelor's Degree$71,534
Some College/ Associate Degree$64,185

Cardiovascular specialist education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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