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Physical Therapy

A program that prepares individuals to evaluate, examine, diagnose, and alleviate physical functional impairments and limitations caused by injury or disease through the design and implementation of therapeutic interventions to promote fitness and health. Includes instruction in anatomy, behavioral sciences, biology, biomechanics, biophysical agents, care plan development and documentation, cellular histology, clinical evaluation and measurement, clinical reasoning, communication, exercise physiology, kinesiology, neuroscience, pharmacology, pathology, physiology, professional standards and ethics, rehabilitation psychology, and therapeutic exercise. Examples: [Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)]

Types of Degrees Physical Therapy Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Physical Therapy have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	57
Bachelor’s Degree	199
Master’s Degree	451
Doctor’s Degree	12,717

What Physical Therapy Majors Need to Know

Studies in Physical Therapy build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Physical Therapy graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Physical Therapy emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Physical Therapy program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Physical Therapy careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Physical Therapy graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.4 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.4 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.3 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Physical Therapy professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Medical procedure coding software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Medical condition coding software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Hands On Technology TheraWriter.PT	Medical software	—
SpectraSoft AppointmentsCS	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Clinicient Insight	Medical software	—
MediGraph	Accounting software	—
Patient charting software	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Physical Therapy graduates include:

• Outpatient Travel Physical Therapist (Outpatient Travel PT)
• Geriatric Physical Therapist (Geriatric PT)
• Inpatient Physical Therapist (Inpatient PT)
• Acute Care PT (Acute Care Physical Therapist)
• Registered Physical Therapist (RPT)
• LPT (Licensed Physical Therapist)
• Orthopedic Physical Therapist (Orthopedic PT)
• Home Health Physical Therapist (Home Health PT)
• School Physical Therapist
• Outpatient Physical Therapist (Outpatient PT)
• Pulmonary Physical Therapist (Pulmonary PT)
• Outpatient Orthopedics Physical Therapist (Outpatient Ortho PT)
• Acute Physical Therapist (Acute PT)
• Kinesiotherapist
• Sports Physical Therapist (Sports PT)

What Can You Do With a Physical Therapy Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Physical Therapy commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Physical Therapists	8.0%	$144,047	$124,136–$163,959
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	10.7%	$46,663	$40,304–$53,022

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Physical Therapy graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	39.3%
Master’s degree	37.5%
Bachelor’s degree	9.8%
Post-doctoral training	6.8%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	5.7%
Postsecondary certificate	1.0%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Physical Therapy?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 63.1% of Physical Therapy degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	8,474	63.1%
Men	4,950	36.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Physical Therapy graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	8,451	63.0%
Asian	1,427	10.6%
Hispanic or Latino	1,326	9.9%
Black or African American	611	4.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native	30	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	18	0.1%
Two or More Races	443	3.3%
Race Unknown	874	6.5%
International Students	244	1.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Physical Therapy Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Physical Therapy graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$67,332
4 years	$70,102
5 years	$75,167

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $75,167 — roughly 12% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Physical Therapy Programs

Distance learning is tracked by IPEDS for Physical Therapy. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Doctoral (Research)	1	4

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Physical Therapy Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Physical Therapy graduates earn a median of $70,102 four years after completion — roughly 84% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	29,603
Occupational Therapy/Therapist	10,460
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, Other	2,445
Rehabilitation Science	1,107
Art Therapy/Therapist	768
Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy	722
Music Therapy/Therapist	651
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions, Other	621
Orthotist/Prosthetist	408
Advanced General Dentistry	238
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Other	150
Kinesiotherapy/Kinesiotherapist	121

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.