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Preventive medicine specialist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a preventive medicine specialist. Preventive medicine specialists usually study psychology, public health, or general studies. 46% of preventive medicine specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 19% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 326 real preventive medicine specialist resumes to see exactly what preventive medicine specialist education sections show.

The most common colleges for preventive medicine specialists are the American University and the American University.

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

What education do you need to become a preventive medicine specialist?

What degree do you need to be a preventive medicine specialist?

The most common degree for preventive medicine specialists is bachelor's degree, with 46% of preventive medicine specialists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 19% and associate degree degree at 14%.
  • Bachelor's, 46%
  • Associate, 19%
  • High School Diploma, 14%
  • Master's, 8%
  • Other Degrees, 13%

What should I major in to become a preventive medicine specialist?

You should major in psychology to become a preventive medicine specialist. 11% of preventive medicine specialists major in psychology. Other common majors for a preventive medicine specialist include public health and general studies.

Most common colleges for preventive medicine specialists

Preventive medicine specialists often get their degrees at American University, Columbia Southern University, and University of Central Arkansas. Here are the most common colleges for preventive medicine specialists in the US based on their resumes.
Preventive medicine specialist common collegePercentages
American University14.58%
Columbia Southern University10.42%
University of Central Arkansas6.25%
University of Maryland - College Park6.25%
Austin Peay State University4.17%

Best majors for preventive medicine specialists

RankMajorPercentages
1Psychology10.6%
2Public Health9.8%
3General Studies9.1%
4Business8.3%
5Biology7.6%

Best colleges for preventive medicine specialists

The best colleges for preventive medicine specialists are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

A preventive medicine 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 preventive medicine 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 preventive medicine specialists.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

3. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

4. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

5. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

6. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

7. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

9. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

10. SUNY at Buffalo

Buffalo, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$10,099

Enrollment

21,404

20 best online courses for preventive medicine specialists

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1. Major Depression in the Population: A Public Health Approach

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Public Mental Health is the application of the principles of medicine and social science to prevent the occurrence of mental and behavioral disorders and to promote mental health of the population. This course illustrates the principles of public health applied to depressive disorder, including principles of epidemiology, transcultural psychiatry, health services research, and prevention. It is predicted that by 2020 depressive disorder will be the most important cause of disease burden in the...

2. Everyday Chinese Medicine

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This course aims to serve as an education platform on Chinese medicine (CM) for the general public. Our primary goal is to empower healthcare choices by promoting awareness and practical application on CM diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, as well as regulation on CM services and herbal products using international examples. In the first part of this course, learners will develop skills in applying basic theory of Chinese medicine (CM) for understanding health and illnesses, and be able to...

3. Occupational Health & Safety Training

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4.4
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Workplace Health and Safety Course For Employees & Managers...

4. Herbalism:: Introduction & Medicine Making Certificate

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4.7
(13,479)

Take charge of your health with herbal medicine. Using herbs and natural holistic medicine is easy, effective and safe...

5. Integrative Health and Medicine

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If you want to help your patients or clients manage conditions or symptoms such as pain and anxiety, this specialization will provide the knowledge and skills needed. In these five courses, you will explore integrative therapies, including herbal medicine, guided imagery, aromatherapy, and mindfulness. For each therapy studied, you will gain skills to: Assess if a therapy is appropriate, Educate patients or clients about benefit and risk, Administer or advise on use, and Evaluate if the therapy...

6. Fire Safety and Prevention Planning

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7. Herbalism:: Medicinal Kitchen Herbs & Spices Certificate

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8. Fun food safety and sanitation course

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9. Herbalism:: Medicinal Mushrooms Certificate

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10. Basic Certificate in Health Safety & Environment-HSE Level 2

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11. ISO 45001. Occupational health & safety management system

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12. Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine Advanced Diploma

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13. Fully Accredited Certificate in Natural Medicine & Herbalism

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An Introduction to Natural Medicine and Herbalism Learn how to use these skills for yourself and others...

14. Herbalism:: Identify & Harvest Medicinal Plants Certificate

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Identify, harvest and use easy to find herbs from the wild that are commonly used in herbal, holistic, natural medicine...

15. NEBOSH health and safety Management System

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It Shows the Start point to Build your Health & safety Career and how to Join the field and becoming HSE Specialist...

16. Herbalism:: Growing Top Medicinal Plants Certificate

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Growing your own herbal medicine is easy and allows you to have quick access to medicinal plants when you need them...

17. Doctor of Natural Medicine

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This course is a mini encyclopedia in natural medicine field...

18. Complete Health and Safety Auditor Course. OHSAS 18001.

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How to implement and audit a health & safety management system and obtain certification to OHSAS 18001 Standard...

19. Introduction to Longevity Medicine

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A Medical Guide to Longevity Medicine for Physicians...

20. ISO 22000:2018. Food Safety Management System

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Understand the requirements for a food safety management system applicable for any organization in the food chain...

Top 10 most affordable universities for preventive medicine specialists

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

If the best universities for preventive medicine 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 preventive medicine 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. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

5. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

6. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

7. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

8. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

9. Lehman College of the City University of New York

Bronx, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,210

Cost of attendance

14,359

10. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for preventive medicine specialists

The hardest universities for preventive medicine specialists to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

Some great schools for preventive medicine 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 preventive medicine 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. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

5. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

6. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

7. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

8. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

9. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,517

10. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for preventive medicine specialists

The easiest schools for preventive medicine specialists to get into are D'Youville College, curry college, and barry university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a preventive medicine 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 preventive medicine specialists.

1. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

2. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

3. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

4. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

5. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

6. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

7. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

8. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

9. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

10. Ursuline College

Pepper Pike, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,102

Average preventive medicine specialist salary by education level

Preventive medicine specialists with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $70,138 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, preventive medicine specialists earn a median annual income of $56,094 compared to $54,645 for preventive medicine specialists with an Associate degree.
Preventive medicine specialist education levelPreventive medicine specialist salary
Master's Degree$70,138
High School Diploma or Less$47,029
Bachelor's Degree$56,094
Some College/ Associate Degree$54,645

Preventive medicine 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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