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Pulmonologist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a pulmonologist. Pulmonologists usually study medicine, nursing, or biology. 31% of pulmonologists hold a bachelor's degree, and 31% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 20 real pulmonologist resumes to see exactly what pulmonologist education sections show.

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

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

What education do you need to become a pulmonologist?

What degree do you need to be a pulmonologist?

The most common degree for pulmonologists is bachelor's degree, with 31% of pulmonologists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 31% and associate degree degree at 15%.
  • Bachelor's, 31%
  • Associate, 31%
  • High School Diploma, 15%
  • Doctorate, 15%
  • Other Degrees, 8%

What should I major in to become a pulmonologist?

You should major in medicine to become a pulmonologist. 27% of pulmonologists major in medicine. Other common majors for a pulmonologist include nursing and biology.

Most common colleges for pulmonologists

Pulmonologists often get their degrees at University of Florida, The University of Texas Medical Branch, and Benedict College. Here are the most common colleges for pulmonologists in the US based on their resumes.
Pulmonologist common collegePercentages
University of Florida25.00%
The University of Texas Medical Branch25.00%
Benedict College25.00%
Seattle University25.00%

Best majors for pulmonologists

RankMajorPercentages
1Medicine26.7%
2Nursing13.3%
3Biology6.7%
4International Business6.7%
5Marketing6.7%

Best colleges for pulmonologists

The best colleges for pulmonologists are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

A pulmonologist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for pulmonologists. 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 pulmonologists.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

4. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

5. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

6. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

7. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

9. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

10. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

In-state tuition

$49,816

Enrollment

6,840

20 best online courses for pulmonologists

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1. Clinical Trials Data Management and Quality Assurance

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5. Introduction to Clinical Data Science

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This course will prepare you to complete all parts of the Clinical Data Science Specialization. In this course you will learn how clinical data are generated, the format of these data, and the ethical and legal restrictions on these data. You will also learn enough SQL and R programming skills to be able to complete the entire Specialization - even if you are a beginner programmer. While you are taking this course you will have access to an actual clinical data set and a free, online...

6. Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials

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10. Drug Commercialization

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The University of California San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Drug Commercialization course brings you lectures from both faculty and industry experts. With this course, recorded on campus at UCSD, we seek to share our access to top people in the field who bring an unprecedented range of expertise on drug commercialization. This course will cover pharmacoeconomic, marketing strategy, intellectual property strategy, portfolio management, managed markets and...

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13. Clinical Natural Language Processing

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This course teaches you the fundamentals of clinical natural language processing (NLP). In this course you will learn the basic linguistic principals underlying NLP, as well as how to write regular expressions and handle text data in R. You will also learn practical techniques for text processing to be able to extract information from clinical notes. Finally, you will have a chance to put your skills to the test with a real-world practical application where you develop text processing...

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Top 10 most affordable universities for pulmonologists

The most affordable schools for pulmonologists are University of Florida, california state university - long beach, and baruch college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for pulmonologists 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 pulmonologists.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

3. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

4. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

5. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

6. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

7. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

8. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

9. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

10. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for pulmonologists

The hardest universities for pulmonologists to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

Some great schools for pulmonologists 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 pulmonologists 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 Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

3. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

5. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

6. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

7. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

8. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,456

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

10. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for pulmonologists

The easiest schools for pulmonologists to get into are Barry University, d'youville college, and university of the incarnate word.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a pulmonologist 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 pulmonologists.

1. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

2. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

3. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

4. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

5. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

6. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

7. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

8. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

9. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

10. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

Average pulmonologist salary by education level

Pulmonologist education levelPulmonologist salary
Doctorate Degree$315,331

Pulmonologist 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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