Alternative Medicine & Systems

Types of Degrees Alternative Medicine & Systems Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,286
Doctor’s Degree	1,176
Graduate Certificate	120

What Alternative Medicine & Systems Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to alternative medicine were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Alternative Medicine Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these 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 Alternative Medicine Majors

When studying alternative medicine, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• 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.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Alternative Medicine Majors

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

• 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.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Alternative Medicine & Systems Major?

People with a alternative medicine degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Acupuncturists	13.3%	$73,960
Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners	13.3%	$73,960
Midwives	12.5%	$54,620
Naturopathic Physicians	13.3%	$73,960
Orthoptists	13.3%	$73,960

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Alternative Medicine & Systems?

The major attracts more women than men. About 76% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	366
Black or African American	29
Hispanic or Latino	117
White	577
International Students	77
Other Races/Ethnicities	120

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Alternative Medicine. About 6.0% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• South Korea
• China
• Taiwan
• Canada
• Japan

How Much Do Alternative Medicine & Systems Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in alternative medicine and systems made a median starting salary of $25,845 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $19,442 (25th percentile) and $27,418 (75th percentile).

We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to alternative medicine so take that into consideration.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $63,340 to $85,600 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to alternative medicine. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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 Alternative Medicine & Systems

Some careers associated with alternative 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 alternative medicine have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
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)	3.3%
Some College Courses	4.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	7.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	7.1%
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.	26.4%
Master’s Degree	20.8%
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.	5.0%
Doctoral Degree	25.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.6%

Online Alternative Medicine & Systems Programs

In 2020-2021, 94 schools offered a alternative medicine 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)	12	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	9	1
Bachelor’s Degree	16	5
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	68	7
Post-Master’s	9	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	4	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	27	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	7	1

Is a Degree in Alternative Medicine & Systems Worth It?

The median salary for a alternative medicine grad is $63,340 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 59% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $468,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Alternative Medicine & Systems

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to alternative medicine.

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	66,964
Medicine	28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	24,774
Public Health	19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services	17,335
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	16,952
Mental & Social Health Services	16,815
Allied Health Professions	12,950
Communication Sciences	10,547
Dentistry	6,770
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	4,684
Chiropractic	2,658
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	2,481
Optometry	1,822
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	1,762
Medical Illustration & Informatics	1,747
Health Sciences & Services	1,746
Other Health Professions	1,261
Health/Medical Prep Programs	1,122
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	954
Medical Science	909
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	462
Dental Support Services	122
Alternative Medical Support Services	80
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	55
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	37
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	11
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	4
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	0

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.