In 1989, the University of West Alabama (then Livingston University) became the first public institution in Alabama approved to offer a bachelor of science in athletic training. Now, UWA has also become the first approved by its state and national accrediting bodies to offer a master’s degree in athletic training. Students who want to enter the field can even earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in a single program in only five years.
The new degree is part of UWA’s effort to improve healthcare services for the region, coming as part of a re-design of the school’s health sciences curriculum that prepares them for competitive admission to professional schools in the health sciences or toward other non-clinical careers. Approved by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the master of athletic training is one that faculty members say is necessary for student success.
“The addition of the master of athletic training is necessary due to the future change in education requirements to become an athletic trainer,” said Dr. R.T. Floyd, who chairs UWA’s School of Health Sciences and Human Performance and is also assistant dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, where the newly-established school is housed.
“Specifically, baccalaureate programs may not admit, enroll, or matriculate students into the athletic training program after the start of the fall term of 2022,” Floyd explained. “This means that anyone desiring to become an athletic trainer after fall 2022 will have to pursue the profession through an accredited master’s level program.”
Those students already accepted into an accredited program by the fall of 2022 will be able to continue in those programs through graduation and still become athletic trainers provided successful completion of the program and passing the Board of Certification examination.
UWA offers two options for pursing the master of athletic training. These options are designed to accommodate students who have already begun or completed their undergraduate studies, as well as those who are just beginning and want to pursue both graduate and undergraduate studies in athletic training.
Students who have already earned a bachelor’s degree (not in athletic training) and wish to enter the profession and earn the credential of a certified athletic trainer can earn the degree in a two-year master’s program. UWA also continues to accept students in its longstanding bachelor of science in athletic training program.
UWA’s 3+2 MAT allows students to complete a bachelor’s degree in health science with the athletic training concentration, in combination with the master of athletic training, in only five years (three pre-professional and two professional). The program leads to two separate degrees. The 3+2 MAT at UWA is designed for the traditional residential college student interested in an undergraduate experience combined with professional education in athletic training.
“Both degrees are granted upon final completion of the program,” Floyd explained. “Students complete all general education and health science major requirements by the end of the third year, then the additional credits for the master’s degree are earned through graduate level courses. The second phase is a year-round, 23-month curriculum that focuses entirely on athletic training professional content and hands-on patient care experiences.”
UWA’s 3+2 MAT requires continuous enrollment and is uniquely designed to teach students how to function in an inter-professional healthcare team that mimics real, dynamic health systems in which they will work.
UWA provides unique opportunities for its athletic training students. The education they receive is recognized as one of the best nationwide, led by and in cooperation with world class physicians and educators.
“Our program is enhanced through an outpatient community clinic combined directly with our University athletic training program and a private physical therapy clinic,” said Floyd, who directs UWA’s Athletic Training and Sports Medicine Center on campus. “Our team of clinicians and educators cooperatively work in the same facility to provide a team approach to patient-centered care. It’s accomplished through continuous collaboration between clinical athletic trainers who also serve as athletic training faculty, a first-class team of orthopaedic and family practice sports medicine fellowship trained physicians, physical therapists, biomechanists, and exercise physiologists. The collaborations that our students experience create significant advantages for them as they pursue their careers.”
To apply for UWA’s Master of Athletic Training program, students can submit a formal application through the Athletic Training Common Application System (AT-CAS).
For more information on UWA’s School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, or any of the programs offered through it, including the 3+2 Master of Athletic Training, contact Dr. R.T. Floyd at 205-652-3714 or rtf@uwa.edu.