College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2023 Respiratory Care Therapy Degree Guide

#121 Most Popular Major
6.8k Degrees Awarded
-2.6% Increase in Graduates

In 2020-2021, respiratory care therapy/therapist was the 121st most popular major nationwide with 6,845 degrees awarded. This represents a 2.6% reduction in respiratory care therapy/therapist degrees awarded over the prior year's total of 7,025.

This year's Best Respiratory Care Therapy Schools ranking compares 317 of them to identify the best overall programs in the country. Continue reading to check out one of our many unbiased rankings of respiratory care therapy/therapist programs later in this article.

2023 Best Colleges for Respiratory Care Therapy
2023 Overall Best Respiratory Care Therapy Colleges >

Best Respiratory Care Therapy Schools by Degree

Associate Degrees in Respiratory Care Therapy
Bachelor's Degrees in Respiratory Care Therapy
Master's Degrees in Respiratory Care Therapy

 

Respiratory Care Therapy Degree Requirements

When studying Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist, you’ll learn that 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 will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs. Required skills include using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems and talking to others to convey information effectively.

Getting Accepted Into a Respiratory Care Therapy Program

respiratory care therapy/therapist degree applicants generally need have finished high school or their GED. Many schools may also have GPA and SAT/ACT score minimums that must be met. Specific respiratory care therapy/therapist careers may require a certain level of degree attainment or additional certifications beyond that.

Types of Respiratory Care Therapy Degrees

There are various different levels of respiratory care therapy/therapist degrees. You can spend many years getting as high as a in respiratory care therapy/therapist to something that takes less time like a . How long it takes to complete some common respiratory care therapy/therapist degree levels is shown below.

Degree Credit Requirements Typical Program Length
Associate Degree 60-70 credits 2 years
Bachelor’s Degree 120 credits 4 years
Master’s Degree 50-70 credits 1-3 years
Doctorate Program required coursework including thesis or dissertation At least 4 years

An associate degree is the most common level of education achieved by those in careers related to respiratory care therapy/therapist, with approximately 50.3% of workers getting one. People currently working in careers related to respiratory care therapy/therapist tend obtained the following education levels.

Level of Education Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 60.8%
Bachelor’s Degree 17.8%
Master’s Degree 7.9%
Doctoral Degree 5.5%
Post-Doctoral Training 4.2%

97.1% of respiratory care therapy/therapist workers have at least a associate. The chart below shows what degree level those who work in respiratory care therapy/therapist have obtained.

undefined

This of course varies depending on which respiratory care therapy/therapist career you choose.

Career Opportunities for A Degree In Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Graduate

Average Number of Jobs
78.7k Avg. Related Jobs Salary
23% Growth Job Outlook 2016-26

High Growth Projected for Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Careers

Want a job when you graduate with your respiratory care therapy/therapist degree? Respiratory Care Therapy careers are expected to grow 22.6% between 2016 and 2026.

The following options are some of the most in-demand careers related to respiratory care therapy/therapist.

Occupation Name Projected Jobs Expected Growth
Health Specialties Professors 294,000 25.9%
Respiratory Therapists 160,600 23.3%
Respiratory Therapy Technicians 4,700 -56.5%

How Much Money Do Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Grads Make?

As you might expect, salaries for respiratory care therapy/therapist graduates vary depending on the level of education that was acquired.

High Paying Careers for Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Majors

Salaries for respiratory care therapy/therapist graduates can vary widely by the occupation you choose as well. The following table shows the top highest paying careers respiratory care therapy/therapist grads often go into.

Occupation Name Median Average Salary
Health Specialties Professors $122,320
Respiratory Therapists $62,500
Respiratory Therapy Technicians $51,380

Getting Your Respiratory Care Therapy Degree

With over 473 different respiratory care therapy/therapist degree programs to choose from, finding the best fit for you can be a challenge. Fortunately you have come to the right place. We have analyzed all of these schools to come up with hundreds of unbiased respiratory care therapy/therapist school rankings to help you with this.

Respiratory Care Therapy is one of 21 different types of Allied Health Professions programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist

Related Major Annual Graduates
Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic) 26,641
Physician Assistant 11,351
Radiologic Technology 9,790
Surgical Technology 7,583
Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician 5,396

View All Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Related Majors >

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options