Massage Therapy Schools in New Hampshire: Expect Quality Programs
Students who are considering attending massage therapy school in New Hampshire can expect a quality program. The number of required program hours may not the highest in the nation, but it is well above the average. Like many states, New Hampshire has specified the number of hours that will be spent developing different types of practitioner knowledge and competency, but allows many curricular decisions to be made at the school level.
Students who plan to work in New Hampshire but have completed school elsewhere may need to re-enroll in therapeutic massage school to complete any “missing” coursework or hours required under state regulation. Even experienced massage therapists may need to go back to school – but those who meet a general set of standards can be authorized to work under a temporary license while taking massage courses on the side.
The foundation is a high school diploma.
Select a New Hampshire Massage Therapy School Topic:
- New Hampshire Massage Therapy School Curriculum
- Schools Offering Massage Therapy Programs in New Hampshire
- Similarity to National Standards
- New Hampshire Massage Therapy Program Options
- Massage Therapy License Requirements in New Hampshire
- Beyond Massage School: Salary and Career Development
New Hampshire Massage Therapy School Curriculum
New Hampshire requires fully 750 massage therapy program hours. The required program hours are to be distributed as follows:
- 150 hours are to be spent studying anatomy and physiology.
- 375 hours are to be spent studying the practice of massage and its related modalities. (History and theory, indications and contraindications are included in this content area.)
- 50 hours are to be spent pursuing training in ethics, business management, and health service management.
- 50 hours are to be spent pursuing training in in hygiene and sanitation. (The study is to include blood-borne pathogens. CPR training also falls into this category.)
- The student will also need 125 practical hours.
River Valley Community College describes the 125 hour requirement as practicum and notes that this is independent of classroom hours. The licensing agency requires that a good deal of documentation be maintained.
The licensing agency allows some classes that are not “palpitation dependent” to be taken via distant means, provided that standards described in state code are met.
Out-of-state experience may be accepted in lieu of practical hours, but his is not guaranteed.
Schools Offering Massage Therapy Programs in New Hampshire
New England therapeutic massage programs are offered by a diverse group of organizations from community colleges to non-credit career schools. The New Hampshire Division of Higher Education is a resource about the legitimacy of private career schools as well as traditional institutions of higher learning. One will find a number of massage therapy programs listed on their website (https://www.education.nh.gov/highered).
Similarity to National Standards
The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, a third party organization, also requires 750 hours for its respected adjunct board certification. However, requirements are not the same. Some programs that have been assigned test codes by the NCBTMB have as few as 500 hours. The NCBTMB does not specify how the additional hours required for certification will be distributed; approved continuing education can be credited.
New Hampshire has four assigned schools. In-state programs can be expected to meet all New Hampshire licensing requirements.
The licensing agency has provided a form to be filled out by the massage therapy school(s) that the practitioner has attended; it includes specific guidelines as to what is creditable. Certain coursework that may be included within a holistic healthcare program is excluded. New Hampshire does not, for example, credit nutrition coursework. Nor is chiropractic coursework creditable. Mandatory curriculum requirements are not to be met through continuing education.
New Hampshire Massage Therapy Program Options
Although fully half of the program is spent studying massage and closely related therapies, options can be quite varied. State administrative code specifically references Swedish massage and hydrotherapy, but massage therapy programs may include any number of practices. Reflexology, acupressure, and sports massage are some of the topics one will find in New Hampshire massage therapy programs. Decisions about what is included may be guided not so much by state requirements but by the popularity of the modality and, in some cases, the school’s guiding philosophy.
Some New Hampshire massage schools include a standardized program through which all students progress. Some offer electives. Schools may offer 800 or even 900 total program hours.
New Hampshire schools offer flexible scheduling options: days, weekends, sometimes even Saturdays.
Career Outlook and Average Salary
The average salary for a New Hampshire massage therapist is, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an even 20 an hour (https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/home); this is $41,600 when figured as 2,080 hours (a year of very full-time work). 80% of New Hampshire massage therapists make between $12.83 and $30.21an hour — a wide range, it would, seem, but not as wide as in the average state. The 10th percentile wage in New Hampshire (what some might term the entry-level) is $12.83. This is higher than the national average. The 90th percentile wage, on the other hand, is not quite as high as what is reported for the country as a whole.
In some areas of New Hampshire, wages at the 10th percentile mark far exceed the national average. In the Nashua metropolitan area that also includes portions of Massachusetts, 10th percentile wages are $15.37 an hour. In the Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, the 10th percentile wage is $19.87, but the 90th percentile wage is only $24.35. This suggests there are not a lot of low paid massage therapists in this area, but not a lot of really high earners either. In the nation as a whole, pay is greatly influenced by industry and work setting (e.g. franchise, spa, health facility). Many practitioners are self-employed. New Hampshire has been predicted to see 14.7% growth in massage therapy employment levels during the 2014 to 2024 decade (http://www.projectionscentral.com/Projections/LongTerm).