Rehabilitation

Types of Degrees Rehabilitation Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many rehabilitation & therapeutic professions graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Doctor’s Degree	16,935
Master’s Degree	8,128
Graduate Certificate	484

What Rehabilitation Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, rehabilitation 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 Rehabilitation Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Rehabilitation Majors

rehabilitation majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• 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.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Rehabilitation Majors

Rehabilitation majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• 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.
• 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Rehabilitation Major?

People with a rehabilitation degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Art Therapists	6.8%	$47,860
Biochemical Engineers	6.4%	$96,980
Exercise Physiologists	13.2%	$49,270
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370
Life Scientists	9.0%	$78,190
Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists	23.8%	$84,270
Music Therapists	6.8%	$47,860
Occupational Therapists	23.8%	$84,270
Orthotists and Prosthetists	21.8%	$69,120
Physical Therapists	28.0%	$87,930
Recreational Therapists	6.8%	$47,860
Rehabilitation Counselors	12.7%	$35,630
Therapists	19.9%	$50,980

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation?

Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #26 out of all the graduate majors we track. In 2021, about 9,152 graduates completed their master’s degree in this field. This major is dominated by women with about 88% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	550
Black or African American	543
Hispanic or Latino	947
White	5,117
International Students	222
Other Races/Ethnicities	749

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Rehabilitation, too. About 2.7% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Rehabilitation

Some degrees associated with rehabilitation may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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 rehabilitation have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	1.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	3.5%
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)	1.3%
Some College Courses	1.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	36.4%
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.	7.7%
Master’s Degree	34.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.9%
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.	1.4%
Doctoral Degree	7.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.2%

Online Rehabilitation Programs

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)	22	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	0
Associate’s Degree	56	1
Bachelor’s Degree	82	16
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	380	32
Post-Master’s	52	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	113	5
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	359	21
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	17	2

Majors Related to Rehabilitation

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

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	308,114
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	88,809
Allied Health Professions	85,413
Health & Medical Administrative Services	85,302
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	79,189
Public Health	42,551
Health Sciences & Services	35,887
Mental & Social Health Services	31,550
Medicine	29,206
Dental Support Services	25,040
Communication Sciences	23,288
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	19,017
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	18,729
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services	10,516
Health/Medical Prep Programs	9,413
Other Health Professions	7,387
Dentistry	6,961
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	5,644
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	5,056
Alternative Medicine & Systems	3,431
Chiropractic	2,698
Medical Illustration & Informatics	2,689
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	2,244
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	1,845
Optometry	1,789
Medical Science	1,090
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	760
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	468
Alternative Medical Support Services	136
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	116

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 Barbara E. Carver under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.