Is Body Wisdom Massage Therapy School Accredited and What Do Graduates Achieve?

Updated

Yes. Body Wisdom is a COMTA-accredited massage therapy school, and its graduates complete a 900-hour certification program. The school reports more than 10,000 graduates and has been delivering hands-on training since 1999 — over 26 years of instruction. If you are comparing massage therapy programs and want to know whether this school's credentials and outcomes are worth your time, the accreditation status and graduate track record are the two facts that matter most.

Accreditation: What COMTA Status Means

Body Wisdom describes itself as "nationally accredited" and specifically COMTA-accredited. COMTA (the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation) is an accrediting body focused on massage therapy and bodywork education, so its review is specific to this field rather than general vocational training.

Why this matters for a prospective student:

  • Program legitimacy — Accreditation signals the curriculum has been reviewed against standards for massage therapy education, not just self-declared.
  • Portability of credentials — Many states and employers look for graduation from an accredited program when evaluating licensure or hiring.
  • Eligibility for financial assistance — The school lists "Financial Assistance" as a site section. Accredited institutions are often the ones able to participate in certain aid programs, though you should confirm your specific options directly with the school.

The school's own framing is "Nationally Accredited · 10,000+ Graduates · 26+ Years" — three claims it repeats together as its core credibility markers.

The 900-Hour Certification Program

The certification program is 900 hours, and the school notes it offers 1,000+ hours of electives that let students tailor their learning path toward personal goals. That combination — a fixed core plus a large elective catalog — is the mechanism behind the school's "customizable curriculum tracks" claim.

In practice, this means two students can graduate from the same 900-hour program with meaningfully different training emphases, depending on which electives they choose. If you have a specific career direction in mind (for example, sports massage, clinical or spa settings), the elective catalog is where you would check whether that direction is actually supported.

What Graduates Achieve

The school reports 10,000+ graduates who it says built careers through the training program. Its graduate testimonials section ("What Our Graduates Say") is the place to look for individual outcomes rather than aggregate claims.

What the school states directly:

Claim Detail
Graduates 10,000+
Accreditation COMTA / nationally accredited
Training history Since 1999 (26+ years)
Program length 900-hour certification
Electives 1,000+ hours offered
Career outcome Graduates pursue massage therapy careers

The school positions the program as launching "a rewarding career in holistic health" and describes graduates as "fully certified." Note that "certified" here refers to completing the school's program — actual licensure requirements vary by state and are set by state boards, not by the school.

How to Verify Before You Enroll

Because accreditation and licensure rules affect whether you can legally practice and where, do these checks yourself rather than relying on marketing language:

  1. Confirm COMTA status — Check the COMTA directory for Body Wisdom's current accreditation listing.
  2. Check your state's licensure requirements — Confirm the 900-hour program meets the hour and curriculum requirements for the state where you intend to practice.
  3. Ask about financial assistance specifics — The site lists a Financial Assistance section, but the page evidence does not state which programs or terms apply. Request details directly.
  4. Review the elective catalog — Since electives are the customization mechanism, ask for the current list before committing.
  5. Talk to graduates — The school's testimonial section is a starting point; ask to speak with recent graduates in your intended specialty.

Who This Fits

Body Wisdom is a reasonable fit if you want an accredited, hands-on massage therapy program with a long operating history and the ability to shape your training through electives. It is worth extra scrutiny if you need a program that maps precisely to a specific state's licensure hours, or if financial assistance is essential to your decision — those details are not fully specified in the available site information and should be confirmed with the school directly.

Contact information listed on the site: school phone 515-727-4890, spa phone 515-727-5100. The next class start date shown is January 25.