Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many alternative medicine & systems graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,359
Doctor’s Degree	922
Bachelor’s Degree	458
Basic Certificate	295
Undergraduate Certificate	205
Graduate Certificate	103
Associate Degree	92

What Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, alternative medicine majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Alternative Medicine Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Skills for Alternative Medicine Majors

A major in alternative medicine prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Alternative Medicine Majors

As you progress with your alternative medicine degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Major?

People with a alternative medicine degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Acupuncturists	13.3%	$73,960
Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners	13.3%	$73,960
Midwives	12.5%	$54,620
Naturopathic Physicians	13.3%	$73,960
Orthoptists	13.3%	$73,960

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This is one of the most frequently chosen healthcare majors. It is the 16th most popular in the country with 348 students graduating with a bachelor’s in alternative medicine in 2021. The major attracts more women than men. About 83% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of alternative medicine majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	17
Black or African American	62
Hispanic or Latino	115
White	220
International Students	2
Other Races/Ethnicities	42

Geographic Diversity

Alternative Medicine appeals to people across the globe. About 0.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• South Korea
• China
• Taiwan
• Canada
• Japan

How Much Do Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $63,340 to $85,600 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to alternative medicine. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to

Some degrees associated with alternative medicine may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to alternative medicine have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.3%
Some College Courses	4.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	7.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	7.1%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	26.4%
Master’s Degree	20.8%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	5.0%
Doctoral Degree	25.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.6%

Online Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	14	3
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	9	1
Bachelor’s Degree	16	6
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	69	7
Post-Master’s	9	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	4	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	29	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	5	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a alternative medicine grad is $63,340 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 59% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $468,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to alternative medicine.

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	319,502
Health & Medical Administrative Services	88,600
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	85,339
Allied Health Professions	83,905
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	83,587
Public Health	41,651
Health Sciences & Services	36,762
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	30,594
Mental & Social Health Services	30,331
Medicine	29,089
Dental Support Services	26,024
Communication Sciences	23,558
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	19,400
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	18,884
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services	10,622
Health/Medical Prep Programs	9,605
Other Health Professions	7,676
Dentistry	6,771
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	6,113
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	4,980
Chiropractic	2,881
Medical Illustration & Informatics	2,163
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	1,818
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	1,796
Optometry	1,746
Medical Science	1,051
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	817
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	452
Alternative Medical Support Services	140
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	89

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Aphiwat chuangchoem under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.