Interested in Athletic Training, MS?
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Graduate Admissions
P: 706-778-8500 x1352
E: grad@piedmont.edu
Healthcare for Life.
As sports-related injuries take center stage in national awareness, estimated growth in athletic training may surpass 20 percent over the next decade. With growth comes opportunity.
As a growing industry, graduates of our athletic training program will be entering a field filled with domestic and international professional opportunities. The life of an athletic trainer is rewarding, especially knowing you are helping improve the health of those around you.
Piedmont University offers an innovative “3+2” program that allows students to earn an undergraduate degree in exercise and sports science or applied health sciences while simultaneously working towards a master’s degree in athletic training. All of this can be done in a mere five years. This fast-track program provides hands-on learning through supervised patient care at local schools and medical centers. In addition, students will participate in two semesters of immersive clinical experiences.
Piedmont’s Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) blends classroom instruction with clinical education opportunities. This approach gives graduate students significant and practical real-life experience while working hands-on with certified athletic trainers, physicians, physical therapists and other allied health care professionals.
Our small cohorts and individualized student-teacher attention ensure students are prepared to practice in a variety of settings and take three professional certification exams:
- Board of Certification (BOC – CAATE Outcomes Data)
- Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES)
- Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS)
Which Pathway Is Right for Me?
The 3+2 option allows students who declare a “pre-athletic training” undergraduate focus with a major in Applied Health Sciences or Exercise and Sports Science and complete all prerequisite coursework to begin the graduate athletic training program in their fourth year of studies. Accelerated 3+2 students complete 3 years as undergraduate students and 2 years in the professional graduate program—they graduate at the end of the 5th year with BS in either Exercise and Sport Science or Applied Health Science and an MS in Athletic Training degrees. This cost-effective format allows students to earn two degrees in five years. Student-athletes are welcome to participate in their sport every year.
Students holding a bachelor’s degree in exercise science, health science, or a related field from an accredited institution that meet all prerequisite coursework can apply for the 2-year professional program.
How Long Is the Program?
The 3+2 program is completed in 12 semesters over 5 academic years; this includes two summer terms.
The Graduate-Only program is completed in 6 semesters over 2 academic years (24 months).
Where Will I Do Clinical Experiences?
Students complete four traditional clinical rotations with a certified athletic trainer in different patient settings—at least one will be at a high school and one at a college. These rotations are tailored to the student’s future career goals to maximize their learning experience.
In addition to one traditional rotation this year, students also complete two immersive experiences in Year 2 of the program. One of these will be with an equipment-intensive sport (football, men’s lacrosse, or ice hockey) and the other with a sport of their choice. The final Year 2 rotation is split between an orthopedic office seeing patients both in the clinic and in surgery and a general medical outpatient clinic.
Year 1 students complete two short clinical rotations with either EMS or in a hospital emergency room. In both years, students complete 3-4 days each term at a local free clinic working with the underserved population).
How our graduates are impacting the world.
Piedmont graduate students have gone on to work for organizations like:
- Hospitals
- Performing Arts Centers
- Physician Offices
- Law Enforcement Agencies
- Military Branches
Accreditation
The Piedmont University Athletic Training Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE), 2001 K Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20006.