College of Physical Activity
and Sport Sciences

Athletic Training (ATTR)

Important notice: Updated degree path available.

The WVU Athletic Training program is currently transitioning from a bachelor’s to a master’s degree. This is due to an updated requirement of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) in which a master’s degree is now required for ATC® certification. For more information, visit the Master of Science in Athletic Training.

For incoming undergraduate students who are interested in athletic training, we are suggesting our Health and Well-Being program, which was specifically designed to prepare healthcare professionals, including athletic trainers. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions.

Where there is sport, there will be injuries and the need for athletic trainers. These people are highly qualified and specialized health professionals who are trained in preventing, recognizing, managing, and rehabilitating injuries that result from physical activity. The undergraduate athletic training program at West Virginia University is a three year program where clinical experience is combined with challenging academic coursework.

The program requires students to complete various clinical experiences in the WVU athletic training rooms, local sports medicine clinics, high schools, and general medical rotation. Upon successful completion of the undergraduate program, the students are eligible to take the Board of Certification examination. Once a student passes this examination, he or she can practice as a nationally Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC), and seek job opportunities at the professional, collegiate, secondary, clinical, or corporate setting. Students may also pursue a graduate degree or enroll in other health-related professions such as physical therapy, physician’s assistant, or medical school.

What our alumni have to say:

"I graduated from the athletic training program at WVU with an excellent education and a better individual. The staff makes it a priority to provide success for their students. I owe all my future success to WVU."

Zach M.

B.S. ATTR, 2014
"WVU and the athletic training program there has helped me to become the person that I am today. Everyone at WVU taught me not only what I needed to know to be successful professionally, but they have helped me in life as well. I am very proud to be a graduate of such an amazing institution that is so well recognized and acknowledged nation wide."

Jennifer C.

B.S. ATTR, 1999
"The WVU Athletic Training program made me feel like I was a part of a family within a big institution. It prepared me not only in the field but for life. It teaches you decision making, time management, people skills, tolerance and creativity. When people ask where I went to school I am proud that I came from an amazing and reputable athletic training program and had mentors that are well regarded in the field."

Stephanie K.

B.S. ATTR, 2002

Coursework

What you'll study

The undergraduate athletic training curriculum provides a solid background in anatomy and physiology as well as orthopedic assessment, rehabilitation, and biomechanics. These are a few of the classes that help prepare our students to successfully complete the Board of Certification exam. The major consists of 120 credit hours, including General Education Foundation (GEF) courses and specific athletic training courses. Students may combine athletic training with another major; however, an additional one to two semesters may be required to complete both areas of study.

Foundational Courses

The Prospective Athletic Training Student (PATS) program prepares students for the rigors of the undergraduate program. Students who enroll in ATTR 101 are directly placed in the PATS program. This is required as part of the application process for the undergraduate program.

Professional Courses

To prepare as a professional athletic trainer, student complete clinical experiences. Clinical athletic training experiences are available with the 16 Division I intercollegiate athletic teams at WVU, WVU club sports and intramurals, Division II Fairmont State University, local high schools and sports medicine clinics, and WVU physicians.

Final Year

Athletic training students take courses in injury care and prevention and the science of movement. Together, these areas help students understand athletes and the health issues that come with playing a sport. Students also gather once per week in a practicum to review and learn practical application of clinical skills.

Program faculty

Who you'll learn from

Allison Hetrick
Professional Highlights
- Certified Athletic Trainer, Board of Certification Athletic Trainers
- Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, National Strength and Conditional Association
- Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist, National Academy of Sports Medicine
Damien Clement
Professional Highlights
- Fellow, Association for Applied Sport Psychology
- Certified Mental Performance Consultant, Association for Applied Sport Psychology
- 2014 Association for Applied Sport Psychology Dorothy V. Harris Memorial Award
- 2015 WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teachers
- Acting Dean, West Virginia University’s Honors College (2019 – 2020)

Beyond The Classroom

Field Experiences and Research

Clinical athletic training experiences are available with the 16 Division I intercollegiate athletic teams at WVU, WVU club sports and intramurals, Division II Fairmont State University, local high schools and sports medicine clinics, and WVU physicians. The clinical experiences consist of five athletic training facilities with staff, graduate assistants, and athletic training students. There are also clinical experiences at Fairmont State University, local sports medicine clinics, and area high schools. All clinical experiences are supervised by a clinical preceptor.

Clinical Education Experiences

Clinical education represents the athletic training student’s formal acquisition, practice, and preceptor evaluation of the Entry-Level Athletic Training Clinical Proficiencies through classroom, laboratory, and clinical education experiences under the direct supervision of a clinical preceptor. Formal evaluation of the application and integration of clinical proficiencies are completed by a preceptor and may be in conjunction with additional clinical instructors. Related to clinical education is field experience, in which students have the opportunity to practice clinical proficiencies under the supervision of a clinical preceptor. Clinical education shall occur in a minimum period of two academic years and be associated with course credit. Courses shall include academic syllabi that have measurable educational objectives and specific clinical proficiency outcomes that can be documented over time.

Clinical education experiences provide an opportunity for the integration of psychomotor, cognitive, and affective skills, and clinical proficiencies within the context of direct patient care. A clinical preceptor must directly supervise formal clinical education experiences.

In effect, clinical education is the process of presenting the clinical competencies, which are the building blocks of the education, to the athletic training student in such a manner that they are able to combine and implement them into use as clinical proficiencies in their clinical setting.

Clinical education is intended to be a learning experience. The athletic training student will acquire, practice, and implement skill and proficiency in the Athletic Training setting while they are concurrently learning the same components in the classroom or laboratory. They will build upon structured education by the addition of application, communication, and critical thinking in the clinical setting.

Where Can Clinical Education Occur?

Clinical education begins in the classroom and laboratory environments. This is where the athletic training student will be exposed to the basic cognitive and psychomotor components of Athletic Training knowledge and skill. These components are individually acquired and practiced in the classroom, laboratory, and clinical setting to achieve mastery of each skill.

Athletic Training; however, requires that the student can take each individual skill and perform a complete task upon demand. This is where the field experience, clinical setting, and clinical education aspect is imperative. The ability of the athletic training student to perform combined skills into a major task (clinical proficiencies) must be practiced and evaluated in the clinical setting.

View a listing clinical settings

Facilities

Additional Program Costs

Those students who make formal application to the athletic training program during the spring semester will be required to become certified through the American Red Cross for Basic Life Support. The cost for this is $19.00 per student and includes online materials and the cost for the certificate. The student must also have a pocket mask and those can be purchased for $14.00. Students accepted into the athletic training program will need to recertify their Basic Life Support training every other year. The recertification cost is $19.00 per student.

More information on additional costs

Career Preparation

After Graduation

Commonly sought research focuses among alumni

Athletic training
Physician’s assistant
Medical doctorate
Public health
Physical therapy

Educational Outcomes

Three year aggregate pass rate on the BOC exam
	2017-18’	2018-19’	2019-20'	3 year aggregate
Number of students graduating from the program:	10	14	15	39
Student graduation rate (%):	100%	100%	100%	100%
Number of students graduating from the program who took the examination:	10	14	13	37
Number of students who passed the exam on the first attempt:	9	10	12	31
Percentage of students who passed the exam on the first attempt:	90%	71%	92%	84%
Overall number of students who passed the examination regardless of the number of attempts:	10	14	12	36
Overall percentage of students who passed the examination regardless of the number of attempts:	100%	100%	92%	97%

Three year aggregate employment/placement and retention rates
	2017-18’	2018-19’	2019-20'	3 year aggregate
Number of graduates employed as AT:	7	12	9	28
Number of graduates employed as other:	0	1	4	5
Number of graduates not employed:	2	1	2	4
Graduate employment rate at AT (%):	70%	86%	60%	74%
Overall graduate employment rate(%):	70%	93%	87%	89%
Overall number of graduates employed/placed:	10	13	14	37
Overall graduate placement rate(%):	100%	93%	93%	97%
Number of students who dropped out non-academic:	1	0	0	1
Number of student who dropped out academic:	2	0	0	2
Retention rate (%)	77%	100%	100%	91%

Example employers and job titles of graduates

John B. - part time high school, Syracuse, NY area.
Braeden C. - Athletic Trainer, WVU Club Sport Intramurals.
Courtney C. - Assistant Athletic Trainer, Anslem College, MA.
Kieran D. - Graduate Assistant, Fairmont State University.
Kailey G. - Intern Athletic Trainer, University of Pikeville.
Trey K. - Cleveland, OH area.
Bailey L. - Athletic Trainer, Marion County schools.
Gabriella M. - Graduate Assistant, Georgia Southern University.
Paige M. - Assistant Athletic Trainer, Fairmont State University.
Haley O. - Athletic Trainer, North Garrett High School, MD.
Jose P. - Graduate Assistant, Auburn University.
Margaret S. - Graduate Assistant, South Carolina University.
Caroline T. - interested in medical sales.
Gavin V. - Intern Athletic Trainer, WVU Club Sport Intramurals.

How To Apply

The Admission Process

How to apply

Apply to the program
Interview with the Athletic Training faculty, staff, and graduate assistant
Academic requirements
Outside experiences
Reference evaluation forms
WVU prospective athletic training student evaluation
Written case study

Prerequisites and requirements

Enrolling in ATTR 101 places you directly into the PATS program. Students are required to become involved with the PATS program as part of the application process. The PATS program is designed to provide the aspiring athletic training student with the opportunity to complete observational experiences within intercollegiate athletic training facilities. Along with clinical experiences, ATTR 101 is also designed to provide instruction on the introductory principles of athletic training.
Candidates must possess a cumulative GPA of 2.75 to apply to the Athletic Training program.
Candidates must complete 75 hours of observation within the WVU athletic training rooms.
The application process will occur in March and April. Decisions will not be made until grades are in from the spring semester as to who is accepted/rejected into the program.
All transfer students must complete the PATS program (ATTR 101) and ATTR 121 and 122 before making formal application to the program. Students transferring from a WVU campus (i.e. Potomac State, etc.) must also complete ATTR 101, 121, and 122 at the WVU Morgantown campus.

Listed below are the pre-requisite classes to the athletic training program:

ENGL 101 Composition and Rhetoric I (grade of “C” or better)
BIOL 101 & 103 General Biology I and lab (grade of “C” or better)
BIOL 102 & 104 General Biology II and lab (grade of “C” or better)
ATTR 121 Sport Injury Control & Management (grade of “B” or better)
ATTR 122 Sport Injury Control & Management lab (grade of “B” or better)
ATTR 101 Prospective Athletic Training (grade of "B" or better)

View example schedule of freshman year pre-requisites

Additional program admission information

Admission application form deadline: March

Prospective athletic training students have only two opportunities to apply to the program. If not accepted after two application processes, students must switch to an alternative major.

Additional Program Costs | Athletic Training Program Goals

Financial Aid

Two “Whitey” Gwynne Scholarships, one John Spiker Professional Development Award, one Erika Cadran Memorial Scholarship and one Bowers Scholarship are awarded annually to curriculum athletic training students. Each scholarship has various selection criteria and this information is available from the athletic training program director.

The application deadline for the scholarships is during February of each Spring Semester. The recipient of each respective scholarship will receive a monetary award to be used toward his/her education for the following academic year at WVU.

In addition, other scholarships are available. Anually, the Senior athletic training class selects the recipient of the Jimmy Leard Memorial Scholarship. To be eligible, one must be a member of the Junior athletic training class. Other selection criteria are determined annually by the Senior class.

Also, the NATAREF has scholarships available for eligible members. Visit the NATAREF website for further information on these scholarships.

NATAREF Scholarship Program

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