Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine

Types of Degrees Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many acupuncture and oriental medicine graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,087
Doctor’s Degree	841
Undergraduate Certificate	1
Graduate Certificate	1

What Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, acupuncture and oriental 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 Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Majors

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine majors often go into careers in which the following 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 Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Majors

A major in acupuncture and oriental 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.
• 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

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• 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 & 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

How Much Do Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to acupuncture and oriental medicine is $85,600. This median refers to 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 Acupuncture & 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 & Oriental Medicine Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 52 schools offered some type of acupuncture and oriental medicine program. 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	49	0
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	19	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	6	1

Is a Degree in Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine Worth It?

The median salary for a acupuncture and oriental medicine grad is $85,600 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 115% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $914,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Acupuncture & 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	521
General Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems	410
Naturopathic Medicine/Naturopathy	329
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chinese Herbology	152
Ayurvedic Medicine/Ayurveda	138
Other Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems	84

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.