Start Your Career – Finding the Best Massage Therapy Program

Individuals who choose massage therapy as their career often exclaim that they are happy to have found work that they love. Massage therapists feel this way for several reasons including their ability to help patients heal on all levels: physical, emotional and mental. Individuals who would like to pursue this career must have a genuine commitment to the energy and time necessary for the training. Due to the rapidly increasing demand for licensed massage therapists, standards have been raised for massage training programs. Although each state has their own educational requirements, it is suggested that all massage therapists graduate from an accredited Massage Therapy program such as the one offered at New York College of Health Professions. In fact, New York College was the first in the United States to award an independent massage therapy degree in therapeutic bodywork.


Prior to 1980, when massage therapy was not a growing field like it is today, there were few organized educational facilities that offered comprehensive massage therapy education. As a result, individuals who wished to pursue massage therapy as a career learned various modalities of massage therapy in workshops. Now it is important for massage therapists to complete an accredited massage therapy program that offers them proper education about the numerous modalities of the complementary therapy.  This education is also needed so they can become licensed or certified to practice massage therapy.

Due to the various career paths one can take upon completing a training program in massage therapy, it is important for the individual to find the school that fits their career goals. When researching schools in your area, it is first important to consider where you would like to be employed after graduating. For instance, if you would like to own a wellness spa and practice massage therapy, it is suggested that you attend a program that also offers business management courses. Visiting open houses and speaking to students and graduates is also an important part of the process when searching for the best school to fit your needs.

While regulations and licensing requirements vary from state to state, it is important for a massage therapist to prepare for the National Certification Exam for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. Currently, New York State requires that a massage therapist completes a 1000-hour accredited program and passes the New York State licensing exam. While not all states require that you attend an accredited program, the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) stresses the importance of attending an accredited program.

New York College offers an institutionally accredited massage therapy program, the curriculum of which includes Asian Bodywork, Swedish massage and Medical massage, Oriental anatomy and physiology as well as Western health sciences. Additionally, students are required to gain hands-on practice during clinical internships and complete classes in T’ai Chi Chuan, Yoga and Qi Gong to help them better understand their own body’s movements and abilities.  Upon successful completion of this program, graduates receive an Associate in Occupational Studies degree. With its main campus in Syosset, New York and 3 locations in New York City, New York College is conveniently accessible to most students residing in New York’s tri-state area.