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Infection control practitioner education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become an infection control practitioner. Infection control practitioners usually study nursing, medical technician, or public health. 53% of infection control practitioners hold a bachelor's degree, and 24% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 395 real infection control practitioner resumes to see exactly what infection control practitioner education sections show.
The most common colleges for infection control practitioners are the Excelsior College and the Excelsior College.
There are also many online infection control practitioner courses to help get the education required to be an infection control practitioner.
What education do you need to become an infection control practitioner?
What degree do you need to be an infection control practitioner?
- Bachelor's, 53%
- Associate, 24%
- Master's, 17%
- Diploma, 4%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become an infection control practitioner?
- Nursing, 64%
- Public Health, 5%
- Biology, 4%
- Other Majors, 22%
Most common colleges for infection control practitioners
| Infection control practitioner common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Excelsior College | 10.94% |
| East Tennessee State University | 7.81% |
| University of Phoenix | 7.81% |
| Midland College | 6.25% |
| University of South Florida | 6.25% |
Best majors for infection control practitioners
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nursing | 64.3% |
| 2 | Medical Technician | 5.0% |
| 3 | Public Health | 4.7% |
| 4 | Biology | 3.7% |
| 5 | Psychology | 3.3% |
Best colleges for infection control practitioners
The best colleges for infection control practitioners are Vanderbilt University, Johns Hopkins University, and Duke University.
An infection control practitioner with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for infection control practitioners. 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 infection control practitioners.
1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
4. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
In-state tuition
$53,430
Enrollment
5,963
5. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$13,226
Enrollment
31,568
6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
7. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
In-state tuition
$17,653
Enrollment
16,405
8. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$54,104
Enrollment
7,089
9. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
10. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
20 best online courses for infection control practitioners
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1. Bacteria and Chronic Infections
This course will give you an introduction to bacteria and chronic infections. Leading experts in the field will make you familiar with the fundamental concepts of microbiology and bacteriology such as single cell bacteria, biofilm formation, and acute and chronic infections...
2. Infection Prevention in Nursing Homes
Learn about the role of environment in disease transmission and how to implement standard and transmission-based precautions to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria and other infections in your facility...
3. High Level Biocontainment for Healthcare Facilities
The goal of this 4-week course is to equip learners to safely care for a patient infected with a pathogen requiring high-level biocontainment. This can be accomplished in any healthcare facility given the correct approach and protocols. Please copy and paste the following link into a new tab/browser to view the video overview of our course. http://bit.ly/2bPZ6Cz In this course, we will: 1. Discuss the essentials of intake screening. 2. Investigate pathogen transmission characteristics and the...
4. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations
Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...
5. Health Coaching Conversations
Are you a healthcare practitioner or student in a healthcare field? Do you want to learn how to have more empowering conversations with your patients and support them to take control of their own health and wellbeing? Are you looking for a course to start learning these skills that also fits with your busy life? If so, this is the course for you! In this course, you will become much more familiar with some key health coaching principles and skills, and will be equipped to start applying these...
6. Global Health Policy
In this course, learners will become familiar with principles and theories of global health problems, and major challenges and controversies in improving global population health as well as practical applications of quantitative methods to analyze and interpret issues and challenges for policy. Topics will include health and foreign policy, health governance, acute disease surveillance, non-communicable diseases, burden of disease, universal health coverage, health systems strengthening, health...
7. Health for All Through Primary Health Care
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...
8. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
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...
9. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
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...
10. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
11. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers
COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across the globe and all providers must be prepared to recognize, stabilize and treat patients with novel coronavirus infection. Following completion of this short course physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals will have a unified, evidenced-based approach to saving the lives of patients with COVID-19, including those who are critically ill. Learning modules are broken into short videos presented in a richly illustrated and compelling manner. The...
12. Health Care IT: Challenges and Opportunities
A strong argument can be made that the health care field is one of the most information-intensive sectors in the U.S. economy and avoidance of the rapid advances in information technology is no longer an option. Consequently, the study of health care information technology and systems has become central to health care delivery effectiveness. This course covers the modern application of information technology that is critical to supporting the vision and operational knowledge of the health care...
13. Sustainable Food Production Through Livestock Health Management
Learn about the impact of infectious disease on sustainable animal-based food production by understanding the science of growth, immunity, and infection and by learning the problem-solving skills needed to advance animal health and food production through optimal management practices. There is a growing global need in agricultural production for a workforce that is capable of integrating knowledge of animal health and production with an understanding of consumer preferences in the context of...
14. Epidemics
“If history is our guide, we can assume that the battle between the intellect and will of the human species and the extraordinary adaptability of microbes will be never-ending.” (1) Despite all the remarkable technological breakthroughs that we have made over the past few decades, the threat from infectious diseases has significantly accelerated. In this course, we will learn why this is the case by looking at the fundamental scientific principles underlying epidemics and the public health...
15. Extracellular Vesicles in Health and Disease
This course aims to provide current understanding about extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their role in health and diseases. The EVs are known to be involved in cell to cell communication. Apart from maintaining normal cell physiology, EVs deliver messages that can drive or influence the progression of a disease. This course discusses recent advances made in the field to give an introduction on their function in health as well as in disease.This course includes four modules. Module 1 is an...
16. COVID-19: What You Need to Know
Register for this free course here: https://www.coursera.org/learn/covid-19-what-you-need-to-know?edocomorp=public-health-free-courses COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has already resulted in hundreds of thousands of infections and thousands of deaths, with many more anticipated. This course is a go-to resource that will be regularly updated with all of the current information put forth by the CDC, WHO, and other leading agencies and covers the basics, personal protective equipment,...
17. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers
This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...
18. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...
19. Population Health: Syndemics
Do you wish to contribute to breaking cycles of ill-health in disadvantaged populations? And explore co-occurrence of diseases, such as substance abuse, infectious and chronic disease, and the relation with social factors (disparities)? Are you disappointed in the poor effectiveness of interventions for combined social and medical problems? Then this syndemics course might provide you with some answers. In medicine, diseases are generally approached as distinct entities, in isolation from other...
20. Data and Health Indicators in Public Health Practice
Epidemiology is often described as the cornerstone science in public health. Epidemiology in public health practice uses study design and analyses to identify causes in an outbreak situation, guides interventions to improve population health, and evaluates programs and policies. In this course, we'll define the role of the professional epidemiologist as it relates to public health services, functions, and competencies. With that foundation in mind, we'll introduce you to the problem solving...
Top 10 most affordable universities for infection control practitioners
The most affordable schools for infection control practitioners are Hunter College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and brigham young university.
If the best universities for infection control practitioners 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 infection control practitioners.
1. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
2. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
3. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
4. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
5. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
6. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
7. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
8. Lehman College of the City University of New York
Bronx, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,210
Cost of attendance
14,359
9. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,886
Cost of attendance
17,645
10. Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$4,831
Cost of attendance
19,559
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for infection control practitioners
The hardest universities for infection control practitioners to get into are Vanderbilt University, Johns Hopkins University, and Duke University.
Some great schools for infection control practitioners 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 infection control practitioners 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. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
2. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
3. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
4. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
5. University of Rochester
Rochester, NY • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,422
6. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
7. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
8. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
9. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
Admissions rate
26%
SAT average
1,427
10. Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,443
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for infection control practitioners
The easiest schools for infection control practitioners to get into are D'Youville College, felician university, and curry college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an infection control practitioner 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 infection control practitioners.
1. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
2. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
3. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,026
4. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
5. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
6. Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Standish, ME • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,069
7. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
8. American International College
Springfield, MA • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
1,010
9. Dominican College of Blauvelt
Orangeburg, NY • Private
Admissions rate
77%
SAT average
1,038
10. Linfield College
McMinnville, OR • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
1,117
Average infection control practitioner salary by education level
| Infection control practitioner education level | Infection control practitioner salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $88,247 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $80,005 |
| Doctorate Degree | $82,490 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $70,464 |
Infection control practitioner education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025