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Studies & Degrees in Allied Health

Allied health is the group of health professions that are not medicine or nursing. The Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) in the United States defines it as health professions distinct from medicine and nursing that use scientific principles and evidence-based practice for diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, disease prevention, wellness and health systems administration. The association groups the professions into areas such as therapy and rehabilitation, imaging and diagnostics, nutrition, dental, emergency and surgical, behavioural health, health information, pharmacy and exercise science, and it counts more than 200 distinct professions.

What students learn depends on the profession, but the pattern is similar: basic sciences such as anatomy and physiology, the techniques of the chosen profession, and supervised clinical placements with patients. The term itself is used mainly in English-speaking countries. Allied Health Professions Australia describes allied health professionals as health professionals who are not part of the medical, dental or nursing professions and who are university-qualified practitioners. In Spain there is no single category with this name; the same occupations are taught as separate university degrees or as vocational training (FP) in the professional family Sanidad.

Qualifications and levels

  • Certificates and associate degrees. Technical professions are often entered with a two-year qualification. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), radiologic technologists and MRI technologists typically need an associate's degree, and most states require radiologic technologists to be licensed or certified.
  • Bachelor's degrees. The School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The Ohio State University, for example, lists undergraduate programmes in Health Information Management and Systems, Health Sciences, Medical Laboratory Science, Radiologic Science and Therapy, and Respiratory Therapy.
  • Master's degrees and clinical doctorates. Some professions require a graduate degree. The same school lists a Master of Athletic Training, a Master of Dietetics and Nutrition, and clinical doctorates in Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. The BLS states that physical therapists entering the occupation need a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree and that all states require them to be licensed.
  • Australia. Allied Health Professions Australia defines an allied health profession as one with university health sciences courses at AQF Level 7 or higher (bachelor's degree level), accredited by the relevant national accreditation body.
  • Spain. TodoFP, the vocational training portal of the Spanish Ministry of Education, lists higher FP cycles in the family Sanidad such as Técnico Superior en Imagen para el Diagnóstico y Medicina Nuclear, Laboratorio Clínico y Biomédico, Higiene Bucodental, Dietética, Audiología Protésica and Radioterapia y Dosimetría, and intermediate cycles such as Técnico en Emergencias Sanitarias and Técnico en Farmacia y Parafarmacia.

Programme accreditation matters in this field, because licences and professional registration usually depend on it. In the United States, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) states that it accredits 2,715 programmes in 31 health science professions.

Where to study allied health

SpainExchange lists 16 active schools for allied health: ten in the United States, two in Australia and one each in Ethiopia, Russia, the Philippines and Spain. In the United States they include The Ohio State University, Ferris State University, which has a College of Health Professions with a Diagnostic, Laboratory, and Therapeutic Sciences Department, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the University of Connecticut, Texas Tech University, SUNY Cortland, Azusa Pacific University and Tacoma Community College. The Australian schools are Central Queensland University and Charles Sturt University. The University of the Philippines Manila teaches these subjects in its College of Allied Medical Professions. The list also includes Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, Rostov State Medical University in Russia and, in Spain, the National University of Medical Sciences, which describes itself as a privately owned online university based in Seville.

A qualification in a health profession does not travel automatically. Each country, and in the United States each state, sets its own rules for licences and registration, so students who plan to work in another country should check before enrolling whether the degree is recognised there and what the regulator asks for. Clinical placements also require a good level of the local language.

Careers

Graduates work in hospitals, clinics, laboratories, rehabilitation centres, schools and community services, in the profession they trained for. For the United States, the BLS projects overall employment in healthcare occupations to grow much faster than the average for all occupations from 2025 to 2035, with about 1.9 million openings a year on average; these figures include physicians and nurses. Two examples from allied health: physical therapists held 283,700 jobs in 2025, with projected growth of 12 percent from 2025 to 2035, and radiologic and MRI technologists held 278,100 jobs in 2025.

Frequently asked questions

Which professions count as allied health?

Health professions other than medicine and nursing. ASAHP groups them into areas such as therapy and rehabilitation, imaging and diagnostics, nutrition, dental, emergency and surgical, behavioural health, health information, pharmacy and exercise science.

Is allied health a single degree?

Usually not. Students choose a specific profession, such as respiratory therapy or medical laboratory science, although some universities also offer a general degree in health sciences.

How long does it take to qualify?

It depends on the profession. In the United States, radiologic technologists typically need an associate's degree, while physical therapists need a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.

Can I work in another country with my allied health degree?

Only after meeting that country's rules. In the United States, for example, all states require physical therapists to be licensed, so a foreign graduate has to go through the licensing process of the state.