Physical Therapy

Types of Degrees Physical Therapy Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many physical therapy/therapist graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Doctor’s Degree	13,307
Graduate Certificate	72
Master’s Degree	38

What Physical Therapy Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, physical therapy 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 Physical Therapy Majors

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

• 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.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for Physical Therapy Majors

When studying physical therapy, 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:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• 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.
• 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.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Physical Therapy Majors

As you progress with your physical therapy 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.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing 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 Physical Therapy Major?

People with a physical therapy degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370
Physical Therapists	28.0%	$87,930

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy?

This major attracts more men than women. About 63% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	0
International Students	36
Other Races/Ethnicities	1

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Physical Therapy, too. About 94.7% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Physical Therapy

Some degrees associated with physical therapy 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for physical therapy careers below.

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)	1.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	9.9%
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.	2.6%
Master’s Degree	37.8%
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.	4.2%
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.	3.4%
Doctoral Degree	33.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	6.7%

Online Physical Therapy 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)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	8	0
Bachelor’s Degree	9	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	3	0
Post-Master’s	10	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	43	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	248	7
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	11	1

Majors Related to Physical Therapy

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

Major	Number of Grads
Occupational Therapy	10,262
Rehabilitation Science	1,239
Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling	947
Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy	822
Music Therapy	710
Art Therapy	698
Other Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	670
Orthotist/Prosthetist	325
Assistive/Augmentative Technology and Rehabilitation Engineering	156
Animal-Assisted Therapy	109
Kinesiotherapy/Kinesiotherapist	106
Play Therapy	52
Dance Therapy	35
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions, General	33
Horticulture Therapy	8
Drama Therapy	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 Barbara E. Carver under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.