Missouri·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-1041

Best Epidemiologist programs in Missouri, ranked by enrollment

Investigate and describe the determinants and distribution of disease, disability, or health outcomes.

7 schools in Missouri run programs that feed this job, graduating 208 people a year. The job pays a median of $66,890 in Missouri across about 120 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledEpidemiologistNurse EpidemiologistResearch EpidemiologistInfection Control Practitioner (ICP)MalariologistHistopathologistClinical ResearcherEpidemiology Analyst
Graduates / yr
208
in Missouri
Median pay · Missouri
$66,890
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
120
people employed
Schools
7
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
66%
across those schools
Median net price
$24,886
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Missouri that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

4 programs in Missouri that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Missouri (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 Missouri page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 51.2202In Missouri
90
43.3%
3$36,762$25,076
2
CIP 26.1309In Missouri
71
34.1%
2$29,460$23,480
3
CIP 51.1401In Missouri
34
16.3%
3$223,926$16,250
4
CIP 26.0509In Missouri
13
6.2%
1$38,383$22,065

Top 7 schools in Missouri

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 0 of the 7 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Washington University in St Louis
St. Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
92Environmental Health94%$14,12612%
2Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
55Epidemiology80%$24,88675%
3University of Missouri - Columbia
Columbia, MO Public · 2 feeder programs
20Epidemiology75%78%
4Missouri Southern State University
Joplin, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
19Environmental Health42%97%
5Missouri State University - Springfield
Springfield, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
13Infectious Disease and Global Health58%91%
6University of Missouri - Kansas City
Kansas City, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
6Medical Science/Scientist55%72%
7Westminster College
Fulton, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Environmental Health55%$25,18579%

All 7 schools in Missouri

Every school in Missouri 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.

All schools in Missouri that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Washington University in St LouisSt. LouisPrivate not-for-profit922
Saint Louis UniversitySaint LouisPrivate not-for-profit551
University of Missouri - ColumbiaColumbiaPublic202
Missouri Southern State UniversityJoplinPublic191
Missouri State University - SpringfieldSpringfieldPublic131
University of Missouri - Kansas CityKansas CityPublic61
Westminster CollegeFultonPrivate not-for-profit31

What epidemiologists earn in Missouri

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Missouri
$66,890
Mean annual
$71,890
Jobs in state
120
What the range looks like
10th pct$54,410Median$66,89090th pct$95,730
Versus the national median
-23.3%

U.S. median $87,220. Missouri pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.50×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Missouri

Kansas City, MO-KS
$79,620median
50 jobs
St. Louis, MO-IL
$67,010median
40 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+16.2%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
800
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
2,000
12,300 → 14,300
Typical entry education
Master's degree

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 Epidemiologists page.

How to become a Epidemiologist

Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above
Typical entry education
Master's degree

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingActive ListeningWritingSpeakingScience

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Missouri

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 6 majors mapped to Epidemiologists6 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 26.0401Cell/Cellular Biology and Histology
  • 26.0509Infectious Disease and Global Health
  • 26.1309Epidemiology
  • 26.1311Epidemiology and Biostatistics
  • 51.1401Medical Science/Scientist
  • 51.2202Environmental Health

Common questions

Answers for people weighing epidemiologists programs in Missouri.

What degree do you need to become an Epidemiologist?+

Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Environmental Health, which awarded 90 degrees in Missouri in 2024-25, 43.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Epidemiologist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Public Health, Ecology, Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies, Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. Together they graduate about 208 people a year in Missouri.

How much do epidemiologists earn in Missouri?+

The median is $66,890 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 23.3% below the U.S. median of $87,220. 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 epidemiologists growing?+

BLS projects a +16.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Missouri?+

7 institutions in Missouri reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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 epidemiologists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Epidemiologist, Nurse Epidemiologist, Research Epidemiologist, Infection Control Practitioner (ICP) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-1041.

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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