Athletic Training Master's Degree

The King’s College Master of Science in Athletic Training Program provides students with an individualized, intellectual learning environment based in the liberal arts tradition. With an emphasis on critical thinking, interprofessional and collaborative practice skills, and patient-centered care, our students are prepared to become confident, skilled, and principled athletic trainers who practice based on current concepts and evidence.

Goals of the MSAT program are:

1. Provide students with an individualized, intellectual learning environment based in the liberal arts tradition.
2. Provide students with didactic education experiences that emphasized critical thinking, interprofessional education, patient-centered care, and current concepts and evidence.
3. Provide students with clinical education experiences that emphasized critical thinking, interprofessional collaborative practice skills, patient-centered care, and current concepts and evidence.
4. Prepare students to become confident, skilled, and principled athletic trainers.
5. Prepare students to pass the Board of Certification Inc. (BOC) Exam

Program Outcomes

We exceed the national average for overall pass rates on the Board of Certification Exam, which is proof that we prepare our graduates for success. We accomplish this in a variety of ways including:

• Comprehensive reviews built into courses so that past material is connected to new material for reinforcement
• Competency-based learning, in which students are taught in a step-wise progression, gaining and demonstrating mastery as they move through the program
• Specific learning modules on test-taking skills to help students prepare to take standardized, computer-based tests
• Use of official Board of Certification practice exams to help students identify areas in which they are strong and those in which they need improvement
• Use of exam questions in AT Program courses that mimic the types of questions used in the Board of Certification exam

Core Principles

• Integrity

• Student-centeredness

• Evidence-based Practice

• Patient-centered Healthcare

• Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity

• Leadership and Professionalism

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement

The Master of Science in Athletic Training Program is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion because it is the right thing to do. We embrace and work toward diversity, equity, and inclusion for all of our members, including students, staff, and faculty. Our program values are built on the foundation of welcoming all, celebrating a wide range of perspectives and experiences, and helping each member to achieve their full potential.

Diversity refers to different backgrounds, races, nationalities, genders, sexual orientations, beliefs, religions, socioeconomic statuses, physical and mental abilities, and more.

Equity refers to promoting justice, impartiality, and fairness within all aspects of the program. This includes providing equal access to opportunities and acknowledging and addressing structural inequalities.

Inclusion refers to an approach where we respect, welcome, encourage, and engage all members, provide them with a sense of belonging, and afford the opportunity to participate fully in the program.

Students in the King’s College Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) program will complete 55 weeks of clinical education experience (CEE) during the two years spent in the professional program, with up to 21 of these weeks being full clinical immersion. These CEEs are spread across four rotations during the first year that are completed concurrently with didactic coursework and 3 immersive rotations during the second year in the program. The clinical education curriculum is designed to run parallel to the didactic classroom work and is tiered based on the student’s professional preparation. The clinical education plan is designed to allow students to gain experience in real-life, patient-centered care across the lifespan in both common and emerging athletic training settings. Throughout these experiences our students will become confident, skilled, and competent certified athletic trainers who practice based on current concepts and evidence to strive to be principled healthcare providers.

Professional Year One

During the first year in the program, the student will gain CEE at local colleges and high schools. These clinical education experiences with non-musculoskeletal conditions in a physician’s office setting are designed to expose students to a wide variety of real-world patient encounters early in the course of study. They will allow the students to provide patient-centered, evidence-based athletic training services in a supervised environment where they can practice and apply skills learned in first-year classes on actual patients. CEE assignments are made prior to each semester by the Clinical Education Coordinator (CEC). In addition to the Athletic Training Student’s (ATS’s) primary CEE assignment, the ATS will also spend one afternoon per week in each semester of professional year one in the Scandlon Sports Medicine Clinic. This will be referred to as their “Clinic Day.” The Clinic Day schedule is determined by the CEC. Students are not required to attend their regular CEE on their Clinic Day. ATS have a Clinic Day to ensure that they have the opportunity to practice and reinforce therapeutic interventions on patients in a sports medicine clinic setting.

Fall Semester

AT 420 Athletic Training Practicum 1: Two (2) 8/9-week clinical education experiences in the college or high school settings.

Spring Semester

AT 425 Athletic Training Practicum 2: Two (2) 8/9-week clinical education experiences in the college or high school setting.

The student will complete two (2) 9-week clinical education experiences during each of the fall and spring semesters under the guidance of a primary clinical preceptor. Although the traditional semester is 16-weeks in length, a part of the student’s CEE will begin before the academic semester begins during the two weeks of pre-season practice in August, and the two weeks prior to the start of the spring semester in January. The student’s primary clinical preceptor will direct and supervise their CEE based on the specific clinical setting that they work in.

CEE Hours Expectations

1. Students must earn a minimum of 135 hours by the last day of each 9-week rotation.
   1. Attendance at the CEE when scheduled by the primary preceptor is mandatory.
   2. A student’s 9-week CEE is not necessarily completed if a student reaches 135 hours before the end of the 9-week rotation.
2. It is recommended that students not accumulate more than 250 hours during a 9-week rotation
   1. To help students maintain life balance, preceptors should strive to maintain a maximum average of 25 hours per week at their clinical experience. Exceeding 25 hours per week is acceptable if efforts are taken to balance those weeks with weeks where students gain less than 25 hours.
   2. The CEC will monitor student hours to ensure that they are within acceptable limits.
3. Students must have a minimum of one day off in every seven-day period. This day does not need to be consistent each week and will be determined by the clinical preceptor based on student input and the educational opportunities available.

Professional Year Two

During year two, the clinical education experiences will follow an immersive format with a total of 20-21 weeks of immersive clinical education experiences extending over the course of the year. These full-time practice-intensive experiences are designed to allow the student to experience the totality of the athletic training profession and will be customized to the students plans for post-graduation employment. During these immersive clinical education experiences preceptors will provide the student with learning opportunities that span the full skill-set of a practicing athletic trainer including but not limited to evaluation, treatment, emergency care, rehabilitation, administrative duties, interprofessional communication with physicians and other health care providers, and additional experiences communicating with relevant stakeholders. These experiences can occur anywhere in the country and in a variety of settings including the traditional (professional, college, and school-age sports) and emerging (physician’s office, public safety, armed forces, and occupational and industrial health care) settings.

Fall Semester

AT 520 Athletic Training Practicum 3:

One (1) 7-week and one (1) 4-week immersive clinical education experience in the setting of the student’s choice.

Spring Semester

AT 525 Athletic Training Practicum 4: One (1) 9-week immersive clinical education experience in the setting of the student’s choice

ICEE Hours Expectations

Since students will not be enrolled in traditional in-person classes during ICCEs, the expectation is the students will complete approximately 35 hours per week during ICEEs. Students must have a minimum of one day off in every 7 day period.

Supplemental Clinical Education Experiences

Supplemental Clinical Education Experiences (SCEEs) are clinical education learning opportunities that are supervised by health care providers other than athletic trainers or physicians. You may be required to participate in short-term SCEEs throughout the professional program because the MSAT Program believes that these experiences are beneficial to your education, however, these experiences do not fulfill clinical experience requirements as defined by CAATE.

Transportation to Clinical Sites

Athletic Training Students are expected to assume responsibility for their own transportation to the various CEEs/ICEEs that are off campus. The Athletic Training Program will attempt to work with Athletic Training Students who do not have their own transportation, but keep in mind that the Athletic Training Student has the ultimate responsibility in making sure that they arrive to their CEE/ICEE on time.

Housing, Room, and Board at Clinical Sites Outside of the Local Region

Athletic Training Students are expected to assume responsibility for obtaining housing and for all housing expenses (rent/lease), food expenses, and other household expenses when at CEEs/ICEEs that are outside of the local region. “Outside of the local region” will typically be defined as a CEE/ICEE that is so far from King’s College that it requires the student to obtain additional housing. An example is if a student elects to have a CEE/ICEE in California.

Estimated MSAT Program Combined Course Fees***

• Year 1: $2432
• Year 2: $1137

Estimated MSAT Program Expenses***

• Required textbooks: $1325 (total for Year 1 and Year 2)
• General College fee: $2100 (per year)
• Graduation fee: $208 (Year 2 only)
• Clothing required for clinical practice: $200 (total for Year 1 and Year 2)
• Laptop computer: variable
• Immunizations: variable
• Transportation costs to and from clinical experience sites: variable
• Housing expenses (rent/lease), food expenses, and other household expenses at optional clinical experience sites outside of the local region: variable

Graduate students can apply for federal and state financial aid and for private loans. King’s College does not provide financial aid to graduate students. You are strongly encouraged to contact the Office of Financial Aid if you have questions about tuition and fees. Contact the Office of Financial Aid at (570) 208-5876 or finaid@kings.edu.

***While we have made every effort to accurately estimate these fees, it is important to acknowledge that they are subject to potential adjustments or changes. Various factors, such as changes in college policy, economic conditions, or unforeseen circumstances may impact the actual amounts of these fees. Therefore, the fees presented here should be considered as approximate and for informational purposes only. We recommend that applicants and students regularly check the official MSAT Program website or contact the Director of Graduate Admission and the MSAT Program Director for the most up-to-date and precise fee information.