Quick answer: An online health sciences degree is a completion credential, not an entry credential. It is designed to sit on top of an allied-health associate degree or certificate you already hold, finishing the four-year qualification without a second clinical program. It does not license you for any role on its own, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not code a “health science” occupation. Its value is what it unlocks alongside the credential you already have.
Read This Before the Rest of the Page
Most degree pages on this site point at one occupation with one wage. This one cannot, and the reason matters more than any number below.
There is no “health scientist” job. BLS publishes no such occupation, because the degree is a general allied-health qualification rather than training for a specific licensed role. The closest coded category is healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other, at a median $65,790 across 35,010 people (BLS OEWS, May 2025) - and “all other” is exactly what it sounds like, a residual bucket for roles not classified elsewhere.
So judge this degree by what it is: a completion path. If you already hold a clinical credential, it finishes your bachelor’s. If you do not, it trains you for nothing in particular, and a licensed path will serve you better.
Metric
Detail
Source
Closest coded occupation
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Median annual wage
$65,790
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Wage range
$38,660 (10th pct) - $129,830 (90th pct)
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Employment
35,010
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected change (2024-34)
3.6%, about 2,600 openings per year
BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34
License
None. This degree does not license you for clinical practice
-
Best paired with
An allied-health associate degree or certificate you already hold
-
The Credentials It Is Built To Sit On
These are the licensed and certified roles this degree is commonly used to complete. Every one of them is an occupation with its own data, and if you hold one, the wage below is what you already earn - the bachelor’s does not replace it.
Existing credential
SOC
Median
90th pct
Employment
Projected change
Respiratory therapists
29-1126
$82,280
$118,050
139,790
+12.1%
Radiologic technologists
29-2034
$80,110
$118,660
230,490
+4.3%
Physical therapist assistants
31-2021
$68,380
$89,510
112,430
+22.0%
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians
29-2010
$62,930
$100,990
332,940
+1.7%
Wages and employment: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Projections: BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34.
Notice that three of the four already pay more than the residual health-sciences category. That is the clearest possible statement of what this degree does and does not do: it is not a raise on its own. What it changes is eligibility - for supervisory and coordinator postings that list a bachelor’s, for employer tuition ladders, and for graduate programs.
Graduate school prerequisites. This is the strongest use. It satisfies the bachelor’s requirement for physical therapy, occupational therapy and physician assistant programs. Confirm the specific prerequisite courses each program wants before choosing electives, because the general degree does not automatically satisfy them and requirements vary by program.
Supervisory and coordinator roles. Lead technologist, department coordinator and clinical educator postings frequently list a bachelor’s as a requirement regardless of subject. If you already hold the clinical credential, this is the cheapest way to clear that bar.
A pivot toward management or population health. From here, healthcare administration leads to medical and health services managers, and public health leads to health education and program work. Both are coded occupations with real wage data, and both are more direct routes if you already know that is the goal.
Employer tuition ladders. Many health systems tie pay bands or promotion eligibility to holding a bachelor’s, regardless of subject. Whether that applies to you is an employer-by-employer question worth asking your HR department before you enrol anywhere, because it changes the arithmetic completely. Ask which specific roles the bachelor’s unlocks and get the answer in writing.
What These Programs Cover
Anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology at a depth beyond the associate level.
Health-care systems and policy - how care is organized, funded and regulated.
Epidemiology and statistics for reading evidence rather than producing it.
Ethics and law in clinical settings.
Management and supervision of clinical teams, which is the part that maps to the coordinator roles above.
A capstone or applied project, usually built around your existing practice setting.
There is no single programmatic accreditor for a general health sciences degree the way CAHIIM covers health information or JRCERT covers imaging. Institutional accreditation from a recognized institutional accreditor is what to verify, and it is what governs credit transfer. Because this is a completion degree, transfer policy matters more here than on almost any other page in this silo: ask specifically how many credits your associate degree brings in, and get it in writing.
Who Should Skip This Degree
Being direct, because the search results for this credential are not: if you have no clinical credential and are choosing a first degree, this is a weaker option than a licensed path. Nursing, respiratory therapy, radiologic technology, imaging and laboratory science all lead to specific occupations with published wages and defined licensure. A general health sciences bachelor’s does not.
The people it suits are already in the building - working technologists, therapists and technicians who need the four-year credential and cannot stop working to get it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a health sciences degree?
It is a general allied-health bachelor's, most often taken by someone who already holds a clinical associate degree or certificate. Rather than training you for one licensed occupation, it completes the four-year credential on top of the one you already have. That is why it is common as a degree-completion track for radiologic technologists, respiratory therapists, physical therapist assistants and laboratory staff.
What jobs does a health sciences degree qualify you for?
This is the honest catch: on its own, it does not license you for any clinical role. Its value is in what it unlocks alongside an existing credential, in supervisory and coordinator work, and as the prerequisite for graduate programs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a 'health science' occupation, which tells you something real about the credential.
Is a health sciences degree worth it?
It depends entirely on whether you already hold a clinical credential. For a working radiologic technologist or respiratory therapist, it is a practical way to finish a bachelor's without abandoning the licensed role that pays the bills. As a standalone first degree with no clinical credential attached, it is much weaker than a licensed path. Individual outcomes may vary.
Can you earn a health sciences degree online?
Yes, and it is one of the most widely available online degrees in health care, precisely because it carries no clinical component. The clinical hours came with your associate degree or certificate; the bachelor's completion adds coursework you can do at a distance while working.
What is the difference between health sciences and healthcare administration?
Health sciences is broad allied-health coursework built on top of a clinical credential. Healthcare administration is management training for running clinics, departments and health systems, and it maps to a specific coded occupation with its own published wage. If management is the goal, administration is the more direct route and has its own page here.
Which clinical credentials pair best with this degree?
Any allied-health associate or certificate. Radiologic technologists earn a median $80,110, respiratory therapists $82,280, physical therapist assistants $68,380 and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians $62,930 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The bachelor's sits on top of whichever of those you already hold.
Does a health sciences degree lead to graduate school?
That is one of its main uses. It satisfies the bachelor's prerequisite for occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant and public health programs. Confirm the specific prerequisite coursework each graduate program requires before you choose your electives, because those requirements vary and the general degree does not automatically satisfy them.
How long does it take?
For someone bringing an allied-health associate degree, the completion portion is commonly about two years part-time while working. Credit transfer is decided by the receiving institution and genuinely varies, so request a written transfer evaluation before you enroll.
Colleges Offering This Degree
How we rank schools – graduation rate, graduate earnings, cost and retention.
Advertising plays no part.
This page lists 10 schools, closest group first, then ordered by
BOC Score with the highest at the top.
10 of them carry a score.
LOCAL RANK
Location / proximity to this page
Defines the local group
Graduation rate how often students finish
30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry whether it paid off
25%
Average net price what students actually pay after aid; lower ranks higher
20%
Retention rate how many come back for year two
15%
Fully online availability whether you can study while working
10%
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal
about the institution rather than about this subject.
Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from
this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 - Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers All Other (SOC 29-9099), Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians (SOC 29-2010), Respiratory Therapists (SOC 29-1126), Physical Therapist Assistants (SOC 31-2021), Radiologic Technologists and Technicians (SOC 29-2034)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2024-34
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
