Master's Degree (M.Ed.) in Athletic Training
National Athletic Trainers' Association Accredited
Post-Professional Athletic Training Program
History
The Post-Professional Athletic Training program at the University of Virginia has been continuously NATA-accredited since 1975. It is a 14 month program of study offered through the Kinesiology Program area in the Curry School of Education.
Program Points of Distinctiveness
These themes are interwoven throughout all aspects of the masters program:
- Therapeutic interventions
- Neuromuscular aspects of injury and exercise
- Eevidence-based practice
- Clinical research
Description of the Program:
Coursework:
Students complete 36 hours of coursework during the 14-month, intensive program. All courses provide advanced instruction related to Athletic Training and are taught by athletic training faculty for athletic training students. Courses are designed to reinforce the points of distinctiveness of the program. Formal coursework is taken during the initial summer of the program as well as during the fall and spring semesters. Students use the final summer
to complete their thesis requirements.
- Summer I:
EDHS 557 Art & Science of Sports Medicine
EDHS 758 Anatomical Bases of Sports Medicine
EDHS 589 Experimental Design in Athletic Training - Fall:
EDHS 589 Evidence-Based Sports Medicine
EDHS 741 Pathology and Rehabilitation
EDHS 750 Practicum in Athletic Training
EDHS 850 Clinical Biomechanics
EDHS 899 Masters Thesis - Spring:
EDHS 554 Advanced Therapeutic Modalities
EDHS 750 Practicum in Athletic Training
EDHS 841 Orthopedic Bases of Sports Medicine
EDHS 850 Seminar in Athletic Training
EDHS 899 Masters Thesis - Summer II:
Finish requirements for masters thesis - must be completed by July 15
Clinical Experiences:
All students perform a mentored clinical experience at one of our affiliated sites. All admitted masters students receive a clinical graduate assistantship that requires them to work clinically at one of our 5 affilliated sites. These sites include:
- UVA Intercollegiate Athletics
- Virginia Military Institute
- St. Anne's-Belfield School
- Fork Union Military Academy
- ACAC Physical Therapy
Experienced clinical supervisors at each site provide clinical and professional mentorship to the masters students.
Follow this link for more information of Graduate Assistantships.
Thesis
All students are required to complete a masters thesis consisting of an original research project. The expectation is that this is of such quality that it will be presented at a national scientific meeting (NATA, ACSM...) and acceptable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Thesis topics must be performed in the area of expertise of one of the core athletic training faculty members. These are as follows:
Joe Hart, PhD, ATC - muscle inhibition, low back pain/core stability, knee injuries, clinical outcomes in orthopaedic sports medicine
Jay Hertel, PhD, ATC, FNATA - ankle sprains and instability, lower extremity injuries, functional testing, manual therapy, clinical outcomes
Sue Saliba, PhD, ATC, PT - therapeutic modalities, athlete recovery and human performance, manual therapy, therapeutic exercise
Students are assigned a faculty advisor at the end of the first summer based on mutual interest in a specific research area. Each masters student is also assigned a doctoral student mentor from the PhD program in sports medicine who shares the common research interest. The student's masters thesis committee also includes 2 other faculty or clinical supervisors with expertise in the specific research area.
The masters thesis is a mentored process that is carried out through the entire length of the program.
Athletic Training Prerequisites/Admission Requirements
Applicants must be BOC certified or eligible for certification as an athletic trainer prior to admission to the masters program in Athletic Training. For more information about board certification for athletic trainers, visit the BOC website.
You must be a graduate of a CAATE-accredited entry-level athletic training program in order to be eligible for BOC certification. For more information on accreditation of entry-level athletic training educational programs please visit the website of the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education.
Applicants must also possess minimum GRE scores of 1000 combined on the verbal and quantitative portions and 3.5 on the writing portion of the Graduate Record Examination and a minimum of a 3.0 GPA as an undergraduate student.
Mission Statement
To prepare scholars and scholarly practitioners in sports medicine and athletic training by instilling and modeling the values of scholarship, citizenship, leadership, self-learning and service; and to serve as a national center for the development of new knowledge in sports medicin andathletic training.
Apply to the M.Ed. program in Athletic Training at UVA