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play therapy

A program that prepares individuals to be a Registered Play Therapist (RPT) or a School Based-Registered Play Therapist (SB-RPT). Includes instruction in child development, theories of personality, psychotherapy, child and adolescent psychopathology, and ethics.

Types of Degrees play therapy Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing play therapy have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	65

What play therapy Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in play therapy emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Psychology — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 6.0 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.8 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Fine Arts — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a play therapy program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to play therapy careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, play therapy graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Thinking Creatively	4.8 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.6 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.4 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Developing Objectives and Strategies	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by play therapy professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Electronic health record EHR software	Medical software	—
Avid Technology Pro Tools	Music or sound editing software	—
Virtual instrument software	Music or sound editing software	—
Musical instrument digital interface MIDI software	Music or sound editing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
IBM SPSS Statistics	Analytical or scientific software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for play therapy graduates include:

• Therapist
• LCAT (Licensed Creative Arts Therapist)
• Activity Therapist
• Home Care Music Therapist
• Music Therapist
• Music Art Therapist
• Music Rehabilitation Therapist
• Hospice Music Therapist
• Neurologic Music Therapist
• Music Dance Therapist
• Creative Music Therapist
• Community Music Therapist
• Creative Arts Music Therapist
• Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC)
• Public School System Music Therapist

What Can You Do With a play therapy Degree?

Graduates with a degree in play therapy commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Music Therapists	4.9%	$71,670	$59,577–$83,764
Therapists, All Other	-2.9%	$121,750	$95,414–$148,085
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	10.7%	$46,663	$40,304–$53,022
Art Therapists	1.6%	$40,748	$32,327–$49,169

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

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	47.4%
Master’s degree	31.4%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	7.0%
Doctoral degree	6.2%
Post-doctoral training	5.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	1.2%
Post-master’s certificate	0.9%
Postsecondary certificate	0.7%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in play therapy?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 93.8% of play therapy degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	61	93.8%
Men	4	6.2%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of play therapy graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	42	64.6%
Asian	1	1.5%
Hispanic or Latino	7	10.8%
Black or African American	13	20.0%
Race Unknown	2	3.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do play therapy Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of play therapy graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb 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 play therapy Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for play 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
Master’s	1	0

^{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 play therapy Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, play 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
Physical Therapy/Therapist	13,424
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

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.