Department of Rehabilitation Sciences

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Mission and Vision Statements

Mission:

The Athletic Training Program delivers professional instruction and clinical experiences in athletic training to all MAT students. Professional instruction in athletic training will be taught into the following content areas:, Prevention and Health Promotion, Clinical Examination and Diagnosis, Evidence-Based Practice, Acute Care of Injury and Illness, Therapeutic Interventions, Psychosocial Strategies and Referral, Healthcare Administration, and Professional Development and Responsibility. Clinical practicums in athletic training provide integrated traditional and nontraditional settings that may include the following: university, community college, high school, professional sports, hospitals, and rehabilitation clinics.

Vision:

The Athletic Training Program at Bethune-Cookman University shall provide professional instruction and clinical experiences in athletic training. The College of Health Sciences is committed to becoming the leader in the area of Rehabilitation Sciences and Athletic Training amongst all Historically Black Colleges and Universities and small liberal arts colleges.

Program Overview

University and community leaders decided that the addition of the Master of Athletic Training (MAT) program was consistent with the University’s mission in 2013. Therefore a program was founded with the intent to develop local and national leaders in athletic training who are academically prepared to impact the field of healthcare while serving in diverse communities.  

Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU) proposed an expansion on the current degree level to include the Master of Athletic Training (MAT) and was approved by SACSCOC in 2017. The program officially launched in the fall semester of 2017. The MAT program meets the market needs for students who are seeking a degree and working in the various fields of athletic training. The MAT is offered in the College of Health Sciences on the Daytona Beach campus and meets the market need for graduates.  All cohorts are comprised of incoming master’s level students that have earned a bachelor’s degree and have successfully passed all of the required pre-requisites. The MAT is a 60 credit hour program that prepares graduates to sit for the Board of Certification (BOC) examination, seek licensure as an athletic trainer, and a career in athletic training.  A significant and important aspect of the educational process is clinical experience under the direction of various Florida licensed, nationally certified athletic trainers (LAT, ATC) in the Volusia and Flagler county areas. Local affiliation sites include high schools, B-CU athletics, local hospitals, and sports medicine clinics. Graduates must pass the Board of Certification (BOC) examination in order to gain national certification. Each cohort is designed to be completed in 6 consecutive semesters, with each cohort beginning in the Summer semester. The instructional delivery method is face-to-face instruction with a combination of hands-on laboratory, lecture and assessment, and clinical education. The program integrates academic and clinical competencies with a culminating field experience and a capstone project.

Admissions Requirements

Admission to the program is expected to be competitive and predicated on a strong academic background, a demonstrated interest, and a successful interview. This is a selective admission process. All qualified applicants may not be accepted. Newly admitted students begin the program in the summer semester each year. To be considered for the proposed MAT program, applicants should meet the following minimum requirements:

• Completion of a bachelor’s degree with a minimum overall 2.75 grade point average
• A minimum of 50 documented hours working, volunteering, or shadowing with a certified athletic trainer (ATC) prior to admission to the program. At least 30 of these hours must be in a traditional athletic training setting (college, high school or professional).
• Taken and submitted GRE scores
• Interview with MAT panel
• Three letters of recommendation (at least one from faculty member)
• A written personal statement of educational goals,
• Pass a level II background check
• Completion of BCU Graduate Application

The following courses must be completed with at least a “C” before entering into the program.

• Principles of Biology I with lab
• Human Anatomy 
• Human Physiology 
• Statistics (Algebra or Calculus-based)
• Nutrition or Sports Nutrition
• Chemistry with lab
• Physics with lab
• Psychology

Note:

The Bethune-Cookman University’s Master in Athletic Training Program is not accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). We will seek initial accreditation in the Summer of 2019.

Program Description

Athletic training is an academic major or graduate equivalent major program that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). The current minimum entry point into the profession of athletic training is the baccalaureate level, however, it was recently decided by the AT Strategic Alliance that the minimum professional degree level will be a master’s, a change to be implemented within the next several years. More than 70 percent of athletic trainers hold at least a master’s degree. Upon completion of a CAATE-accredited athletic training education program, students become eligible for national certification by successfully completing the Board of Certification, Inc. (BOC) examination.

The Master of Athletic training program at Bethune-Cookman University is a 60 credit hour program focused on providing a graduate-level athletic training education. The program is a sequential 6 semester residential, cohort program. Students matriculate in the summer semester and graduate in the spring semester. 

Educational Outcomes

Program Outcomes:

1. Be proficient in all athletic training competencies
2. Be proficient in entry level athletic training research
3. Sit for the BOC examination

​Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Students who desire to earn a Master’s degree in Athletic Training and who seek to receive NATA-BOC certification offered at Bethune-Cookman University will demonstrate proficiency of the CAATE Competencies as measured by a passing score on the NATA-BOC Examination.
2. Students who desire to earn a earn a Master’s degree in Athletic Training and who seek to receive the BOC certification offered at Bethune-Cookman University will demonstrate proficiency of evidence-based medicine principles with respect to best available research coupled with the athletic trainer’s clinical expertise, professional ethics and professional dispositions as measured by a passing score on the BOC Examination and the mastery of the MAT program’s Disposition and Research Ratings.
3. Students who desire to earn a earn a Master’s degree in Athletic Training and who seek to receive BOC certification offered at Bethune-Cookman University will demonstrate proficiency of the clinical rotations as measured by a comprehensive score of proficient from the overall clinical experience triangulated by the Clinical Education Coordinator Assessment, the Preceptor Evaluation, and the Student Self-evaluation.

Graduation Requirements

• Maintenance of 3.0 GPA 
• Completion of Clinical education hours 
• Completion of 60 credits 
• Successful completion of Comprehensive Exam
• Satisfactory completion of Proficiencies 
• Preceptor Evaluations of Satisfactory or better

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