Graduate Programs

Become a certified athletic trainer. This professional, clinical preparatory degree is designed to lead to national certification and state licensure as an athletic trainer. Athletic training focuses on collaborating with health care providers to optimize the activity and participation of physically active people.

• Credit hours: 55 graduate credit hours
• Length: Six semesters, full-time and year-round
• Start date: One cohort is admitted each year, and classes begin in June
• Clinical experience: Four clinical rotations, including a 16-week immersive clinical experience in your final semester

Courses in clinical practice, patient care, therapeutic modalities, and orthopedic injuries combine theory with practice, with an emphasis on evidence-based medicine and interdisciplinary collaboration. You'll gain experience in evaluations, emergency clinical skills, suturing, therapeutic modalities, joint reductions, and therapeutic exercise.

Your clinical rotations take place in settings such as the university, secondary schools, physical therapy clinics, physician offices, and health clinics, alongside athletic trainers, physical therapists, chiropractors, sports nutritionists, counselors, nurses, physicians, and emergency medical technicians. In your final semester, a 16-week immersive clinical experience puts you beside a certified athletic trainer in the full-time, day-to-day work of a health care provider.

Along the way, you'll complete:

• Louisiana Emergency Medical Responder certification, with the option to take the national exam
• BLS CPR and AED certification
• Stop the Bleed training
• QPR Gatekeeper training
• Preparation for Board of Certification (BOC) certification and state licensure

The Master of Science in Athletic Training is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE), 6850 Austin Center Blvd., Suite 100, Austin, Texas 78731-3184, 512-733-9700. 

Program information and outcomes for CAATE-accredited programs are available in the CAATE Public Directory. This program prepares you for licensure or certification in Louisiana. If you plan to practice in another state, review licensure information by state.

The mission of the athletic training master's degree program at UL Lafayette is to prepare students for professional assimilation through a rigorous education process that blends a challenging academic curriculum with aggressive, hands-on clinical experiences. Through this process, our students will become lifelong learners who seek answers to the changing medical environment by exploring and conducting research. Ultimately, graduates of the athletic training program at UL Lafayette will be prepared to pass the Board of Certification (BOC) exam and become competent allied health care professionals for physically active individuals.

The program aims to:

• Develop decision-making and critical-thinking skills by immersing students in hands-on clinical experiences
• Teach effective communication and active listening through work with a variety of patient populations
• Achieve a 70% overall pass rate on the BOC exam within a three-year period
• Encourage professional socialization, with at least two health care mentors before graduation
• Place 80% of each cohort in a professional setting within six months of passing the BOC exam

In addition to the Graduate School's requirements, athletic training applicants need:

• A bachelor's degree in kinesiology or an allied health-related field
• A cumulative GPA of 2.75, or a 3.00 GPA in your last 60 credit hours, including all transfer credit
• Prerequisite coursework, with a C or better in each course, in biology, chemistry, physics, anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, nutrition, exercise physiology, statistics, psychology or sports psychology, and biomechanics or structural kinesiology. Substitutions may be considered case by case after you apply.
• Documentation of 75 hours of observation under a certified athletic trainer (ATC). 
• Letters of recommendation that include at least one from a certified athletic trainer who supervised your observation hours and at least one from an academic reference who can speak to your readiness for graduate coursework

Admission is once a year for a June start. Applications are reviewed monthly on a rolling basis until the final deadline of April 1, and selected applicants are invited to interview, virtually or in person. Because seats are limited, we encourage you to apply early.

Direct admission for UL Lafayette students: Students earning a B.S. in Kinesiology with the Exercise Science Pre-Professional Studies or Pre-Athletic Training concentration may be considered for direct admission if they meet all Graduate School and program requirements, have an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or higher, and earned a B or higher at UL Lafayette in KNES 330, KNES 460, HIM 361, BIOL 220, and BIOL 221.

See Athletic Training on the Graduate School website

• National Athletic Trainers' Association Foundation
• Southeast Athletic Trainers' Association
• Louisiana Athletic Trainers' Association
• Athletic Trainer Professional Development Program (State of Louisiana)

The athletic training program's policy handbook outlines its academic and professional expectations, guidelines, and procedures. View the Policies & Procedures handbook.

Gain the professional preparation to develop, administer, and implement broad-based programs in your chosen area. The 36-credit-hour program prepares both researchers and practitioners and is typically completed in four semesters. Courses are offered primarily in the evening, with some courses during the day.

Learn advanced information about the physiological effects of exercise and sport performance, and put it to work directly with clients or in research.

Careers: corporate health and wellness counseling, clinical and hospital-based wellness, the commercial fitness industry, strength and conditioning or sport coaching, and biomedical or sport science research.

Prepare for a career helping others manage their health through interaction and education, in management roles or on the front lines of improving the health of the population.

Careers: nonprofit organization management and corporate health management.

Gain managerial-level career opportunities in community recreation, venue management, and athletic departments. Learn to market and promote sport activities, advocate for community recreation, and lead in the sports community.

Careers: public recreation management, sport and event management, and athletic department management.

• Thesis option: For careers in kinesiology research or academia. You'll complete and defend a thesis.
• Non-thesis option: For careers in kinesiology practice. You'll complete an internship and a capstone project.

You'll choose electives with your advisor from courses in kinesiology and health. If you have a specialized interest in a support field such as dietetics, biology, psychology, health information management, or business, your advisor can approve electives in that area.

In addition to the Graduate School's requirements, you'll need to complete any prerequisite courses for the program, and you may be invited to interview with a selection committee.

See Kinesiology on the Graduate School website