Program Overview
Learn to work with athletes from pee-wees to pros, through the Bachelor of Science in Sports Medicine Studies program at WCU. The Bachelor of Science in Sports Medicine Studies is part of an accelerated 5-year (3+2) program resulting in both the B.S. and an M.S. in Athletic Training. You’ll take three years of immersive undergraduate courses and prerequisites, including a combination of classroom and laboratory experiences followed by two years of the professional phase (upon acceptance to the M.S. degree program). As a student in our 3+2 program, you'll train in injury prevention, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and rehabilitation. Our program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE), and students who successfully complete the program will be eligible to sit for the Board of Certification, Inc. (BOC) examination to become BOC-certified athletic trainers (ATC). Even if you choose to not to pursue your master’s degree at WCU, you’ll build the knowledge, skills, and abilities to find success in your career or the graduate program of your choice.
Program Highlights
- Faculty who are also practitioners
- Cadaver lab
- High fidelity simulated manikins
- Supervised clinical experiences from adolescence to the elderly including amateur through professional athletes
- Research opportunities
- CAATE-accredited
What can I do with this degree?
Possible Careers Certified athletic trainers can be found almost anywhere people are physically active. The placement rate for our graduates is close to 100%. You can find them in places like:
- Secondary schools
- Hospitals
- The military
- Industrial and commercial
- Performing arts
- Colleges and Universities (Army, Ursinus, Villanova, Lehigh, Penn State, Dartmouth, North Carolina)
- Sports Medicine Clinics (Temple Sports Medicine; Sports PT, Inc.; Physiotherapy, Inc; Healthsouth; etc.)
- Amateur Sports (Olympic Games)
- Professional Sports (Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Flyers, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Orioles)
Many of our graduates are admitted to graduate school for advanced study in athletic training, physical therapy, physiology of exercise, kinesiology and education. Many of these students are hired as graduate assistant athletic trainers, providing an opportunity to gain valuable hands-on athletic training experience while earning a waiver toward their tuition. Here’s just a sample of where our graduates continue their education:
- Emory University
- James Madison University
- University of Alabama
- University of Connecticut
- University of Delaware
- University of Florida
- University of Kentucky
- University of North Carolina
- University of South Carolina
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of Richmond
- University of Virginia
- University of Hawaii