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Studies & Degrees in Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is the part of health care that helps people regain or keep their ability to function. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines it as a set of interventions designed to optimise functioning and reduce disability in individuals with health conditions in interaction with their environment. Anybody may need it at some point: after an injury, surgery or illness, or because functioning has declined with age. The WHO estimates that 2.4 billion people worldwide live with a health condition that may benefit from rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation is not one profession but a group of them. According to the WHO, the workforce includes physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, audiologists, orthotists and prosthetists, clinical psychologists, physical medicine and rehabilitation doctors and rehabilitation nurses. A student therefore chooses a profession within rehabilitation. All of them share a core of anatomy, physiology, the study of movement, psychology of disability, assessment of function and supervised clinical placements.

Qualifications and levels

The level required depends on the profession and the country.

  • Bachelor's degree. In Spain, the therapy professions are taught as bachelor's degrees (grados) such as Fisioterapia, Terapia Ocupacional and Logopedia. A grado has 240 ECTS credits; the official Grado en Fisioterapia at the Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio (UAX), for example, takes 4 years. In the United States, a bachelor's degree in rehabilitation science or rehabilitation studies is mostly a preparation for graduate study or for support roles.
  • Master's and professional doctorates. In the United States the clinical professions are entered at graduate level. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), physical therapists need a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree, occupational therapists typically need a master's degree in occupational therapy, and speech-language pathologists typically need at least a master's degree. Rehabilitation counsellors typically need a master's degree in rehabilitation counselling or a related field.
  • Medical specialty. Physical medicine and rehabilitation (Medicina Física y Rehabilitación in Spain) is a specialty for qualified doctors, trained through hospital residency. The Spanish society SERMEF describes it as a fundamentally medical specialty with direct contact with patients with disabilities.
  • Vocational and short courses. Training centres offer courses for assistants and support staff in care and rehabilitation settings. These do not qualify a person to practise as a therapist; ask the school what recognition its qualification has.

Most of these professions require a licence or registration to practise. In the United States all states require physical therapists and occupational therapists to be licensed, and licensing for rehabilitation counsellors differs by state. A degree from one country does not automatically give the right to practise in another.

Where to study it

SpainExchange lists 37 active schools for rehabilitation. The United States has 22 and Spain five; Australia has three, Canada two, and Nigeria, New Zealand, Ukraine, Belgium and Russia one each.

In the United States the subject is usually taught in a college of health sciences. The University of Pittsburgh, for example, has a School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences whose disciplines include occupational therapy, physical therapy, prosthetics and orthotics, rehabilitation science, rehabilitation technology and speech-language pathology. The list also includes San Diego State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of North Texas, Wayne State University, Boston University and the University of Scranton. In Spain it includes UAX, near Madrid, and training centres such as CCC Centro de Estudios in Madrid, SEAS in Zaragoza and Churruca Formación in San Sebastián. Elsewhere it includes the University of British Columbia and the University of Calgary in Canada, the University of Wollongong in Australia, Massey University in New Zealand and Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.

Clinical degrees are taught in the language of the country, because students treat patients during placements. UAX states that it teaches its Fisioterapia degree in Spanish, English and French.

Careers

Rehabilitation professionals work in hospitals, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation centres, care homes, schools, sports organisations and patients' homes. The WHO expects the need for rehabilitation to increase as populations change: people are living longer, but with more chronic disease and disability.

For the United States, the BLS projects employment growth from 2025 to 2035 of 17 percent for speech-language pathologists, 15 percent for occupational therapists and 12 percent for physical therapists, all much faster than the average for all occupations. Rehabilitation counsellors, who help clients manage the effects of disabilities on employment or independent living, are projected to grow 2 percent, slower than average; 34% of them worked in vocational rehabilitation services in 2025.

Frequently asked questions

Is rehabilitation the same as physiotherapy?

No. Physiotherapy is one of several rehabilitation professions. The others include occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, prosthetics and orthotics, rehabilitation medicine and rehabilitation nursing.

How long does it take to become a physiotherapist in Spain?

The grado in Fisioterapia has 240 ECTS credits and takes four years.

What does a rehabilitation counsellor do?

According to the BLS, rehabilitation counsellors work with clients to overcome or manage the personal, social or psychological effects of disabilities on employment or independent living. In the United States they typically need a master's degree.

Can I practise in another country with my degree?

Not automatically. Most rehabilitation professions need a licence or registration, and each country sets its own conditions for recognising foreign qualifications. Check with the regulator of the country where you want to work before you enrol.