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Rehabilitation Professions

Types of Degrees Rehabilitation Professions Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Rehabilitation Professions can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	170
Associate’s Degree	257
Bachelor’s Degree	3,385
Master’s Degree	8,879
Doctor’s Degree	16,912

What Rehabilitation Professions Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Rehabilitation Professions emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Psychology — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Rehabilitation Professions program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

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

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Rehabilitation Professions graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Thinking Creatively	4.5 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.3 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 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
Training and Teaching Others	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Rehabilitation Professions professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Electronic health record EHR software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Musical instrument digital interface MIDI software	Music or sound editing software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Avid Technology Pro Tools	Music or sound editing software	—
Virtual instrument software	Music or sound editing software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Rehabilitation Professions graduates include:

• Therapist
• Kinesiotherapist
• Music Rehabilitation Therapist
• Activity Therapist
• Ecotherapist
• Industrial Therapist
• Exercise Scientist
• LCAT (Licensed Creative Arts Therapist)
• Public School System Music Therapist
• Creative Arts Music Therapist
• Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC)
• Music Dance Therapist
• Certified Music Therapist
• Community Music Therapist
• Music Art Therapist

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	38.3%
Bachelor’s degree	37.3%
Doctoral degree	9.5%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	5.8%
Post-doctoral training	5.0%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	1.9%
Postsecondary certificate	0.9%
Post-master’s certificate	0.7%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.2%
Some college courses	0.2%
Less than a high school diploma	0.1%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Rehabilitation Professions?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 76.4% of Rehabilitation Professions degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	22,623	76.4%
Men	6,980	23.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Rehabilitation Professions graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	18,652	63.0%
Asian	2,458	8.3%
Hispanic or Latino	3,312	11.2%
Black or African American	1,848	6.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	86	0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	37	0.1%
Two or More Races	913	3.1%
Race Unknown	1,666	5.6%
International Students	631	2.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Rehabilitation Professions Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Rehabilitation Professions 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 Rehabilitation Professions Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for Rehabilitation Professions. 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
Associate’s	1	1
Bachelor’s	8	11
Master’s	36	34
Doctoral (Research)	6	10

^{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 Rehabilitation Professions Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Rehabilitation Professions 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	CIP Code
Health Care Professions	51
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences	51.05
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	51.08
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	51.09
Alternative and Complementary Medical Support Services	51.34
Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems	51.33
Chiropractic	51.01
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	51.10
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	51.02
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	51.06
Dentistry	51.04
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	51.31

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.