Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Today a California respiratory therapist needs a CoARC-accredited programme and at least an associate degree, under Business and Professions Code section 3740(a). The Respiratory Care Board voted in June 2025 to seek a bachelor's minimum for new licensees, but that is a plan, not law, and current licensees are not affected. General education toward a bachelor's is a sensible early step.
Under Business and Professions Code section 3740(a), a California respiratory care practitioner must graduate from a CoARC-accredited programme and hold at least an associate degree; on 6 June 2025 the Respiratory Care Board voted to seek a bachelor's minimum for new licensees, and its plan would enforce it from January 2033 only if it becomes law.
The rule asks for Associate degree minimum today (about 60 semester units); a bachelor's is usually about 120. The legal source is Business and Professions Code section 3740.
| Point | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Current minimum | CoARC-accredited programme plus an associate degree, B&P Code 3740(a) | [3] |
| Board vote | 6 June 2025: seek a bachelor's minimum for new licensees | [2] |
| Current licensees | Not affected by the planned change | [2] |
| Sunset bill SB 1304 | April 2026 summary lists no degree change | [4] |
| Planned enforcement | January 2033, if it becomes law | [2] |
| Application fee | $300 | [1] |
Respiratory Care Board of California (licensure); the college or university that grants your bachelor's decides which outside credit it will consider decides how this rule applies to you. We read its published rule and the pages below; each was checked on 15 Nov 2026.
Each course below is ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended for college credit. Whether it counts here is the decision of the college and of Respiratory Care Board of California (licensure); the college or university that grants your bachelor's decides which outside credit it will consider.
Statistics is a common bachelor's requirement and supports research courses.
Self-paced online Principles of Statistics course (Statistics 101). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
A second writing course is often missing from an associate degree.
Self-paced online English Composition 2 course (ENG 102). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Social science general education.
Self-paced online Introduction to Sociology course (Sociology 110). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Humanities general education; ethics-related topics suit health careers.
Self-paced online Principles of Philosophy course (Philosophy 200). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
A common social science course in bachelor's plans.
Self-paced online Introduction to Psychology course (Psychology 110). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
California State University degrees include a US history requirement.
Self-paced online US History 1 course (HIST 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit; once a partner places the credit on its transcript, that college transcript is what your bachelor's programme reviews.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
| Option | Price | For this rule | Price checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPI Study PRO | $99 a month, every course | $99 for each month you are subscribed; take as many courses as you finish in that time | 15 Nov 2026 |
| California community college | $46 per unit (semester system), often waived by the California College Promise Grant | 4 courses (12 units): about $552 before fees | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning | $99 a month, $299 for 4 months or $799 a year | Check the university would consider each course first | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Study.com | $95 a month | Check the university would consider each course first | 24 Oct 2026 |
If you qualify for the California College Promise Grant, community college general education may cost little. PRO suits working therapists who need several courses at their own pace around shifts.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
Ask the university that would grant your bachelor's, in writing, whether it would consider each course before you enrol.
Business and Professions Code section 3740(a), quoted on the Respiratory Care Board's site, requires graduation from a programme accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) and at least an associate degree from a regionally accredited institution. A programme approved by any other body does not qualify.
Applicants send official transcripts showing both, and pay a $300 application fee. Nothing in that rule requires a bachelor's today.
On 6 June 2025 the board voted unanimously to raise the education requirement for entry into practice to a bachelor's degree minimum. In October 2025 its Professional Qualifications Committee published a plan of action with a timeline.
A vote and a plan are not law. The plan expected the change to travel through the board's 2026 sunset bill. In the board's April 2026 summary, that bill, SB 1304, extends the board to 2031, aligns the exam with the RRT credential and changes LVN exemptions and fees, but lists no change to the degree requirement. We could not read the final chaptered text, so check the board's site for news.
The plan also states plainly that currently licensed California respiratory care practitioners will not be affected.
Whatever the timing, the plan calls for a streamlined bridge so associate-degree therapists can finish a bachelor's. General education is the part of a bachelor's you can do at your own pace, before you choose a programme, and it is where outside credit is most often considered.
If you are already licensed, a bachelor's is a choice for leadership, education or specialist roles, not a licence condition. If you are a student or planning to start, the general education you finish now is likely to be needed either way.
A UPI Study certificate is not a college transcript. ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses reach a university via a college transcript: TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit, and once a partner places the credit on its transcript, the university reviews that transcript.
The university decides. Ask in writing, course by course, before you enrol. UPI Study has no Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, Pharmacology or Nutrition, and no respiratory care or clinical courses.
No. Business and Professions Code section 3740(a) requires a CoARC-accredited programme and at least an associate degree. The Respiratory Care Board voted in June 2025 to seek a bachelor's minimum for new licensees, but that needs a change in law, and the board's April 2026 summary of its sunset bill listed no degree change.
The board's plan of action says currently licensed California respiratory care practitioners will not be affected. It describes a bridge pathway so associate-degree therapists can finish a bachelor's if they choose. Watch the board's site for any change, since the plan is not yet law.
Only if it becomes law. The board's October 2025 plan sets out a first bachelor's-entry cohort in January 2029, the last associate-degree cohort graduating in October 2031, and the new requirement enforced from January 2033. Those dates depended on legislation in 2026, so treat them as a plan, not a deadline.
Statistics, a second composition course, psychology, sociology, philosophy and US history are common bachelor's requirements. Ask the university you would finish with which ones remain on your plan and whether it would consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit for them, then start with the courses it names.
UPI Study has no respiratory care, clinical, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, Pharmacology or Nutrition courses. It does have general education and some sciences such as Chemistry and Anatomy and Physiology, which are NCCRS-recommended only. Your respiratory care training must come from a CoARC-accredited programme.
The Respiratory Care Board lists a $300 application fee, paid through BreEZe when you submit. Applicants outside California who use fingerprint cards instead of Live Scan pay an extra $49 for processing. The bachelor's question does not change this fee.
Ask your university first; then study only the courses it said it would consider.