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play therapy

Types of Degrees play therapy Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing play therapy can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	65

What play therapy Majors Need to Know

Coursework for play therapy build 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

Skills built 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

The cognitive and physical 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	—
Electronic health record EHR software	Medical software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Avid Technology Pro Tools	Music or sound editing software	—
Musical instrument digital interface MIDI software	Music or sound editing software	—
Virtual instrument software	Music or sound editing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
IBM SPSS Statistics	Analytical or scientific software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for play therapy graduates include:

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

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?

Federal data tracks median earnings of play therapy graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow 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 are documented 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?

Strictly by 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	CIP Code
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	51.23
Animal-Assisted Therapy	51.2313
Art Therapy/Therapist	51.2301
Assistive/Augmentative Technology and Rehabilitation Engineering	51.2312
Dance Therapy/Therapist	51.2302
Drama Therapy/Therapist	51.2315
Horticulture Therapy/Therapist	51.2316
Kinesiotherapy/Kinesiotherapist	51.2311
Music Therapy/Therapist	51.2305
Occupational Therapy/Therapist	51.2306
Orthotist/Prosthetist	51.2307
Physical Therapy/Therapist	51.2308

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.