Best Health Education Specialist programs in Illinois, ranked by enrollment
Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles.
35 schools in Illinois run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,194 people a year. The job pays a median of $60,120 in Illinois across about 1,010 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Illinois that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
8 programs in Illinois that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Illinois (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Illinois page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 51.2201In Illinois → | 743 | 62.2% | 16 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 2 | CIP 51.1504In Illinois → | 239 | 20.0% | 7 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
| 3 | Health and Wellness, Generalmain feeder CIP 51.0001In Illinois → | 76 | 6.4% | 9 | $34,545 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 51.2207In Illinois → | 57 | 4.8% | 5 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 5 | CIP 51.2212In Illinois → | 38 | 3.2% | 1 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 6 | CIP 09.0905In Illinois → | 25 | 2.1% | 4 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 7 | CIP 51.2209In Illinois → | 15 | 1.3% | 1 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 8 | CIP 51.2210In Illinois → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
Top 25 schools in Illinois
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 7 of the 35 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 210 | Public Health, General | $41,585 | 62% | — | 77% |
| 2 | Benedictine University Lisle, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 168 | Public Health, General | — | 50% | $23,570 | 95% |
| 3 | Chamberlain University - Illinois Addison, IL Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 135 | Public Health, General | — | 42% | $29,024 | 83% |
| 4 | City Colleges of Chicago - Richard J Daley College Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 83 | Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling | — | 27% | — | — |
| 5 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 80 | Public Health, General | $39,956 | 95% | $14,799 | 8% |
| 6 | City Colleges of Chicago - Malcolm X College Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 65 | Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling | — | 18% | — | — |
| 7 | Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 58 | Public Health, General | — | 73% | $33,454 | 82% |
| 8 | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 44 | Public Health, General | — | 49% | — | 70% |
| 9 | Southwestern Illinois College Belleville, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling | — | 36% | — | — |
| 10 | Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Carbondale, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 38 | Behavioral Aspects of Health | — | 62% | — | 87% |
| 11 | Roosevelt University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Health and Wellness, General | — | 35% | $21,085 | 97% |
| 12 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 27 | Public Health, General | $40,564 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 13 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Public Health Education and Promotion | $35,023 | 57% | — | 97% |
| 14 | Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 21 | Public Health, General | — | 70% | $20,794 | 74% |
| 15 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 18 | Public Health, General | — | 68% | $28,141 | 76% |
| 16 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Public Health, General | — | 22% | — | 75% |
| 17 | University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Public Health, General | — | 53% | — | 86% |
| 18 | National Louis University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Maternal and Child Health | — | 30% | $18,904 | 95% |
| 19 | Augustana College Rock Island, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Public Health, General | — | 73% | $14,960 | 63% |
| 20 | Heartland Community College Normal, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling | — | 54% | — | — |
| 21 | Bradley University Peoria, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Public Health Education and Promotion | — | 76% | $21,768 | 77% |
| 22 | Illinois State University Normal, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Public Health, General | $59,207 | 65% | — | 88% |
| 23 | William Rainey Harper College Palatine, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling | — | 48% | — | — |
| 24 | Western Illinois University Macomb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Public Health Education and Promotion | — | 45% | — | 71% |
| 25 | North Park University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Health and Wellness, General | $40,374 | 58% | $18,494 | 69% |
All 35 schools in Illinois
Every school in Illinois with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago | Public | 210 | 1 |
| Benedictine University | Lisle | Private not-for-profit | 168 | 3 |
| Chamberlain University - Illinois | Addison | Private for-profit | 135 | 2 |
| City Colleges of Chicago - Richard J Daley College | Chicago | Public | 83 | 1 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston | Private not-for-profit | 80 | 2 |
| City Colleges of Chicago - Malcolm X College | Chicago | Public | 65 | 1 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 58 | 1 |
| Northern Illinois University | Dekalb | Public | 44 | 2 |
| Southwestern Illinois College | Belleville | Public | 43 | 1 |
| Southern Illinois University - Carbondale | Carbondale | Public | 38 | 1 |
| Roosevelt University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 28 | 1 |
| University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign | Champaign | Public | 27 | 2 |
| Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Edwardsville | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Elmhurst University | Elmhurst | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 2 |
| DePaul University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 18 | 2 |
What health education specialists earn in Illinois
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $64,070. Illinois pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Illinois
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Health Education Specialists page.
How to become a Health Education Specialist
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Illinois
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Health Education Specialists9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0905Health Communication
- 51.0001Health and Wellness, General
- 51.0504Dental Public Health and Education
- 51.1504Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling
- 51.2201Public Health, General
- 51.2207Public Health Education and Promotion
- 51.2209Maternal and Child Health
- 51.2210International Public Health/International Health
- 51.2212Behavioral Aspects of Health
Common questions
Answers for people weighing health education specialists programs in Illinois.
What degree do you need to become a Health Education Specialist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Public Health, General, which awarded 743 degrees in Illinois in 2024-25, 62.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Health Education Specialist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Public Health, Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions, Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, Public Relations. Together they graduate about 1,194 people a year in Illinois.
How much do health education specialists earn in Illinois?+
The median is $60,120 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 6.2% below the U.S. median of $64,070. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for health education specialists growing?+
BLS projects a +4.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 7,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Illinois?+
35 institutions in Illinois reported graduates from at least one of the 8 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do health education specialists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Health Educator, Clinical Instructor, Public Health Educator, Health Education Specialist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1091.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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