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Direct support professional education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Usually, direct support professionals don't need a college education. The most common degree for direct support professionals is high school diploma with 30% graduates, with only 29% direct support professional graduates earning bachelor's degree. Direct support professionals who decided to graduate from college often finish University of Phoenix or Minnesota State University - Mankato. Some good skills to have in this position include direct support, developmental disabilities and autism.

Popular direct support professional certifications include Medical Assistant, Direct Support Professional- Certified (DSP-C), or Medication Aide Certification (MACE). To improve direct support professional qualification and skills, we prepared some online courses to help in direct support professional education paths.

What education do you need to become a direct support professional?

What degree do you need to be a direct support professional?

The most common degree for direct support professionals is high school diploma, with 30% of direct support professionals earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are bachelor's degree degree at 29% and bachelor's degree degree at 20%.
  • High School Diploma, 30%
  • Bachelor's, 29%
  • Associate, 20%
  • Diploma, 10%
  • Other Degrees, 11%

What should I major in to become a direct support professional?

You should major in psychology to become a direct support professional. 13% of direct support professionals major in psychology. Other common majors for a direct support professional include business and nursing.

Best majors for direct support professionals

RankMajorPercentages
1Psychology13.5%
2Business10.4%
3Nursing9.8%
4Criminal Justice9.1%
5Medical Assisting Services8.6%

20 best online courses for direct support professionals

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1. Community Awareness Course: Sexuality and Disability

coursera

This community awareness course from the University of Minnesota Program on Human Sexuality will provide you with a solid introduction to human sexuality for those living with disabilities. Often there are assumptions that the disabled or differently abled people are not sexual, do not have sexual needs, or cannot be involved sexually. In this professionally produced one-hour course, you'll learn about the basics of disabilities and human sexuality. We'll then learn about three different...

2. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative

coursera

Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...

3. Supporting Employees with Disabilities

udemy
4.7
(484)

How to Make Your Workplace More Accessible and Inclusive for People with Disabilities...

4. Mental Health and Wellness Professional (MHW) Diploma Course

udemy
4.7
(982)

Discover a flexible and comprehensive way of understanding mental health as a Certified Mental Health Professional (MHP)...

5. Introduction to Technical Support

coursera

Technical Support professionals are in great demand! This is the first course in the IBM IT Support Professional Certificate program, designed to prepare you for a rewarding career in technical support. You will begin this self-paced course by learning what Informational Technology (IT) support is all about. You'll find out the roles and responsibilities of Technical Support professionals and become familiar with all the different career paths you can take in Technical Support. You will also...

6. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care

coursera

This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...

7. Managing mental health issues in the workplace

udemy
4.1
(891)

Learn how to support your own mental health and wellbeing and that of your staff...

8. Mental Health Ambassador Certificate

udemy
4.6
(1,115)

Be a leader in improving society's mental health and learn to provide mental health first aid...

9. Healthcare IT Support

coursera

Are you looking to get your foot in the door as a Healthcare IT Support specialist? Do you want to solve technical problems for healthcare professionals and health system employees? Have you always wanted to enter an in-demand field in Health Information Technology? The courses in this specialization are designed to pique your interest regarding the ever-evolving field of IT support in healthcare. In order to help physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and a wide range of other allied health...

10. Mental Health First Aid Skills -

udemy
4.4
(1,774)

This course is designed to provide the tools and knowledge for learners to help and support those experiencing MH issues...

11. IT Support Technical Skills Bootcamp

udemy
4.5
(1,653)

Hands-on Technical skills for IT Support Professionals...

12. Mindfulness for Mental Health, Personal Growth & Inner Peace

udemy
4.4
(1,293)

The essential guide to cultivating positive mental health, practicing mindfulness, and advancing your personal growth...

13. Addiction & Mental Health (Dual Diagnosis) Integrative 12hrs

udemy
4.7
(1,529)

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions: Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health - Integrative Holistic Approach...

14. Addiction & Mental Health - Chemically Speaking Two (2hrs)

udemy
4.7
(311)

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions - Understand Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health. How to help people...

15. Mental Health and Neuroplasticity: Change your Brain

udemy
4.8
(1,653)

10 Alternatives to Medication to Improve Mental Health - Research backed treatments for Depression and Anxiety...

16. Workplace Mental Health: A Manager's Ultimate Guide

udemy
4.6
(1,641)

How to manage mental health in the workplace to boost productivity and be the best boss!...

17. Straddles and Strangles - Volatility moves in any direction

udemy
4.2
(307)

Straddles and Strangles are non-directional strategies that can profit from big moves in any direction...

18. IT Support Technical Skills Helpdesk

udemy
4.7
(1,561)

Hands-on Technical skills for IT Support Learners...

19. AngularJS Custom Directives with Dan Wahlin

udemy
4.5
(615)

Take your Angular JS skills to the next level and learn the inner workings of Angular JS and custom directives!...

20. Crisis Intervention Seminar

udemy
4.4
(634)

The emphasis is on the development of fundamental clinical skills in the area of crisis intervention...

Average direct support professional salary by education level

According to our data, direct support professionals with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $35,667 annually. Direct support professionals with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $34,827.
Direct support professional education levelDirect support professional salary
Master's Degree$35,667
High School Diploma or Less$32,881
Bachelor's Degree$34,827
Some College/ Associate Degree$34,286

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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