Northern Arizona University

Athletic Training Education Program

Plans for Transition to Master’s Degree Program

September 2012

  1. The profession of Athletic Training is slowly migrating to entry-level being at the master’s degree level. This has not yet been mandated at the national level, but the “writing is on the wall”!
  1. At NAU, we try to be proactive rather than reactive. Thus, we are designing and proposing the new Master’s Degree in Athletic Training, to begin our first class in Fall of 2014. That class will apply to the program the prior February of 2014.
  1. The undergraduate program will be phased out, honoring our last classes of undergraduates through their graduation with a BS-AT.
  1. We will be accepting our last class of undergraduates this spring of 2013! All applications will be due February 15th, 2013, as usual. The 15 students selected will be our last undergraduate class and will graduate on time in May of 2016. You must have at least 1.5 semesters of college work completed to apply.
  1. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT AT THIS MOMENT, THIS PROPOSED MASTER’S DEGREE IS NOT OFFICIAL. The proposal needs to be approved by the Arizona Board of Regents this spring of 2013, before we can take the proposed curriculum through the internal NAU process during the 2013-2014 year.
  1. What this means to current high school students (2012-2013 seniors and younger) is that by the time you get to NAU as a freshman, we will only be offering the master’s degree.
  1. The three best fits for undergraduate degrees for those intending on applying to our master’s degree, would be:
  1. BS in Exercise Science
  2. BS in Fitness and Wellness
  3. BS in Secondary School Teaching – Science
  1. We will work with each undergraduate student attending NAU to make sure they are ready to apply when it comes time for the master’s degree!