Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

Types of Degrees Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many acupuncture and oriental medicine graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,074
Doctor’s Degree	716
Bachelor’s Degree	20
Graduate Certificate	15
Undergraduate Certificate	5

What Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to acupuncture and oriental medicine and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in acupuncture and oriental medicine should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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 Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to acupuncture and oriental medicine:

• 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.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Majors

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

• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 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.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Can You Do With a Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with acupuncture and oriental medicine:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Acupuncturists	13.3%	$73,960

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine?

This major is dominated by women with about 80% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	9
White	9
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

Some careers associated with acupuncture and oriental medicine require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

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

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Some College Courses	9.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.0%
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.	11.4%
Master’s Degree	49.3%
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.	14.3%
Doctoral Degree	13.0%

Online Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine 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)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	46	0
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	21	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	5	0

Majors Related to Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to acupuncture and oriental medicine.

Major	Number of Grads
Holistic/Integrative Health	465
General Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems	442
Naturopathic Medicine/Naturopathy	272
Ayurvedic Medicine/Ayurveda	150
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chinese Herbology	147
Other Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems	125

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.