Earning a Master’s to Enhance Massage Therapy

For master’s student Monica Weichand, earning her degree is a pathway to better helping clients in her current practice. 

Weichand, who is currently enrolled in the Applied Exercise Science Master’s program, currently owns her own wellness center, where she offers massage therapy and aromatherapy services. She’s been running the center for seven years.

“People come with a specific goal; they’re in some kind of discomfort and want to feel better,” she said. 

Weichand said she loves learning, having kept up on her continuing education courses, and got to the point where she wanted something more extensive. One of her massage mentors had earned a master’s degree and a PhD, which inspired Weichand to start looking into online programs where she could earn her master’s.

“I knew I had to do an online format, because I run my business, and between my family life and that, I knew it had to be flexible,” she said. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to drive somewhere without having to change my office hours.”

While seeking out programs, she received a call one night from an enrollment specialist for the Concordia Chicago Exercise Science programs.

“I think that’s what really got me to Concordia, because it made it very easy and walked me through the program, and she stayed on the phone with me while we looked online at the exercise science page,” she said. “She explained how it would work and what the format was like, and just made it really comfortable.”

While Weichand is early into the program, she said she hopes with her master’s degree, she’ll be able to help more people in a meaningful way.

“I love what I do. I love being a massage therapist, I love working one on one with people. I have a lot of loyal clients that come to me on a regular basis, and I just want to be able to help them more,” she said. “I feel like learning exercise science is really going to help me see the human body from a different perspective while still being in the realm of what I do.”

She said that while the program is hard work, there’s gratification in the learning process.

“I like that I can do things on my own time, and I like that the program is really well organized,” she said. “You can tell it’s not like a product of COVID, you can tell that it’s a program that’s been around for a while and it’s established.”

Interested in learning more about our master’s program? Check out our webinar hosted by program director Dr. Theresa Miyashita, that goes over everything you need to know about our Master’s in Applied Exercise Science.

Ready to take the next step in your career? Fill out our free application today.