Massage Therapy

Types of Degrees Massage Therapy Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many massage therapy/therapeutic massage graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	6,897
Undergraduate Certificate	3,186
Associate Degree	498
Bachelor’s Degree	14

What Massage Therapy Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, massage therapy/therapeutic massage 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 Massage Therapy/Therapeutic Massage Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in massage therapy/therapeutic massage should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Massage Therapy/Therapeutic Massage Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to massage therapy/therapeutic massage:

• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Massage Therapy/Therapeutic Massage Majors

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

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Massage Therapy Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with massage therapy/therapeutic massage:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370
Massage Therapists	26.3%	$41,420

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Massage Therapy?

This major is dominated by women with about 93% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of massage therapy/therapeutic massage majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	10
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	3

How Much Do Massage Therapy Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Massage Therapy/Therapeutic Massage majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $45,880 to $122,320 (25th to 75th percentile). 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 Massage Therapy

Some careers associated with massage therapy/therapeutic massage require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for massage therapy/therapeutic massage careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	2.0%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	12.0%
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)	35.2%
Some College Courses	6.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	7.0%
Master’s Degree	14.4%
Doctoral Degree	10.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	7.7%

Online Massage Therapy Programs

In 2020-2021, 493 schools offered a massage therapy/therapeutic massage program of some type. 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)	204	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	86	1
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Massage Therapy Worth It?

The median salary for a massage therapy/therapeutic massage grad is $45,880 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 15% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $119,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Massage Therapy

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to massage therapy/therapeutic massage.

Major	Number of Grads
Asian Bodywork Therapy	115
Somatic Bodywork	39
Other Somatic Bodywork and Related Therapeutic Services	2

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

More about our data sources and methodologies.