Becoming a respiratory therapist takes two to four years, depending on which degree you pursue. Most people complete an associate degree program in about two years, pass two national board exams, and obtain a state license, putting the total timeline at roughly two and a half years from your first day of classes to your first day on the job. A bachelor’s degree adds another year or two but opens more career options.
Associate Degree: The Fastest Traditional Path
An associate degree in respiratory care is the minimum requirement to enter the profession. These programs typically run about two years for full-time students, though some stretch across seven semesters (roughly three and a half years including summers) when prerequisites are built into the program. Expect to complete around 74 credit hours of coursework covering anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, cardiopulmonary science, and mechanical ventilation, alongside extensive hands-on clinical rotations in hospitals and other care settings.
The clinical portion of your education doesn’t have a fixed hour count set by the accrediting body, the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). Instead, programs design rotations that are long and varied enough for you to demonstrate competency across all required skills. In practice, students spend several hundred hours working directly with patients in ICUs, emergency departments, pulmonary rehab centers, and neonatal units.
Bachelor’s Degree: Four Years Total
A bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy is a four-year commitment. At a program like Stony Brook University, for example, the first two years are spent completing about 57 credits of prerequisites: two semesters of anatomy and physiology with labs, two semesters of chemistry with labs, a semester of physics with a lab, and liberal arts electives. The final two years are the upper-division professional program where you learn respiratory care itself.
A bachelor’s degree isn’t currently required to sit for the national board exams or get licensed. However, CoARC briefly stopped accrediting new associate-level programs in 2017 before reversing course due to staffing shortages and low enrollment. The profession has been trending toward a bachelor’s as the expected credential, and many employers, especially large hospital systems, prefer or require it. New accreditation standards take effect in January 2027, so the landscape continues to shift.
Accelerated and Bridge Programs
If you already hold a degree in another field, you can fast-track the process. UNC Charlotte, for instance, offers an accelerated bachelor’s in respiratory therapy that can be completed in as little as one year. These programs assume you’ve already taken foundational science courses and focus on the respiratory care curriculum itself. They’re ideal for career changers, especially those with backgrounds in biology, nursing, or other health sciences.
Degree advancement programs also exist for working respiratory therapists who earned an associate degree and want to upgrade to a bachelor’s. These are typically part-time and online, designed to fit around a full-time work schedule.
Passing the Board Exams
Graduating from an accredited program is only part of the process. To practice, you need credentials from the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC), which involves two exams.
The first is the Therapist Multiple-Choice (TMC) Examination. This test has two scoring thresholds. Hitting the lower cut score earns you the Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) credential. Hitting the higher cut score earns you the CRT and makes you eligible for the second exam, the Clinical Simulation Examination (CSE). Passing both gives you the Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credential, which is the standard most employers expect.
You can schedule your TMC exam shortly after graduation, and if you apply and pay online, your application processes immediately. Most graduates take the TMC within a few weeks of finishing their program and, if they score high enough, take the CSE shortly after. If you don’t pass on your first try, you can attempt each exam up to three times before a mandatory 120-day waiting period kicks in between subsequent attempts. Keep in mind that your eligibility records expire one year after you apply. If you let them lapse, any passing scores are nullified and you’d need to start the application process over.
Getting Your State License
Every state requires respiratory therapists to hold a license, and the application process adds a few more weeks to your timeline. In Michigan, for example, processing takes four to six weeks from the date your application is received, plus another seven to ten business days for the physical license to arrive by mail (though a digital copy is emailed as soon as the license is issued). Processing times vary by state, but most fall in a similar range.
So from the day you graduate, plan on roughly two to three months before you’re fully credentialed and licensed, assuming you pass both board exams on your first attempt and your state processes your application without delays.
Graduate Degrees for Advanced Roles
A master’s degree in respiratory care prepares you for leadership, education, or clinical specialist positions. Rush University’s program, one of the more established options, takes 24 months of full-time study and requires a minimum of 92 credits. A part-time track is available for working RRTs. Adding a master’s degree brings the total educational timeline to six or more years from the start of an undergraduate program, but it’s not something most respiratory therapists pursue right away. Many work for several years before returning to school.
Total Timeline at a Glance
- Associate degree path: 2 to 3 years of school, plus 2 to 3 months for exams and licensing
- Bachelor’s degree path: 4 years of school, plus 2 to 3 months for exams and licensing
- Accelerated path (with prior degree): As little as 1 year, plus 2 to 3 months for exams and licensing
- Master’s degree: An additional 2 years beyond an undergraduate degree
The fastest realistic timeline from zero to working respiratory therapist is about two and a half years through an associate degree program. If you already have a science-heavy bachelor’s degree, an accelerated program could get you there in just over a year.