GREENEVILLE – Tusculum University students who pursue a bachelor’s degree in sport science pre-athletic training now have a designated pathway for enrollment in Bridgewater College’s Master of Science in athletic training program.
Dr. Suzanne Byrd
The two higher education institutions have signed an articulation agreement that will enable as many as two Tusculum students a year to be accepted into the master’s degree program. Tusculum students will be able apply for entry into the master’s program as early as their junior year.
“We are extremely excited to work with Bridgewater College to provide preferred opportunities for our sport science pre-athletic training majors,” said Dr. Suzanne Byrd, professor of sport science at Tusculum, who helped establish the pre-athletic training program. “My experiences working with the Bridgewater program and the institution’s leaders over the years has solidified my belief that the college has a great athletic training master’s program. Our program has outstanding students who will be assets to the profession and Bridgewater’s master’s degree class.”
Likewise, Bridgewater is pleased to establish a pipeline of qualified students from Tusculum to enter the master’s program.
“Tusculum’s Bachelor of Science in sport science pre-athletic training program provides an outstanding academic curriculum to prepare students who want to pursue a master’s degree in athletic training,” said Dr. Chase Hale, program director for the master’s program and associate professor of health and human sciences. “We are very excited about this new partnership with the university and look forward to working with their students as future athletic training health care professionals.”
Dr. Charles Hale
To become an athletic trainer, a person must obtain a master’s degree in the field, pass a certification examination and become licensed, Dr. Byrd said. The agreement between Tusculum and Bridgewater outlines two options by which Tusculum students can apply for admission to the master’s program at the Bridgewater, Virginia, institution.
One route is for an academic advisor at Tusculum to notify Bridgewater of students who are in their junior year at Tusculum and are meeting the admission requirements for the master’s program. Each student who is interested in applying then has to submit a letter of recommendation from his or her advisor along with a plan for completing the remaining prerequisites to be admitted into the master’s program. Students who complete these steps will have an interview in the spring of their junior year and potentially receive provisional acceptance late that spring or in early summer
Pathway No. 2 is for students who are meeting the admission requirements for the master’s program to apply by Nov. 1 of their senior year. Students who submit the letter of recommendation and have a favorable interview with the master’s program admission team will be guaranteed early acceptance. Those students must complete any remaining coursework at Tusculum to be fully admitted to Bridgewater.
Tusculum launched its sport science pre-athletic training program in 2024 to meet the growing needs of that profession. Now in its second year, the program already has 21 students who have declared sport science pre-athletic training as their major. The university anticipates growth in the numbers.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook of the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the number of jobs for athletic trainers was 33,900 in 2024. By 2034, that number is expected to grow by 11%, a figure the handbook said is much faster than the average for all occupations. The handbook said about 2,400 openings for athletic trainers are projected each year, on average, during the decade. The median pay for an athletic trainer in 2023 was $60,250 in 2024.
Dr. Nick Davidson
“Our students will be well prepared through their rigorous coursework and one-on-one work with professors at Tusculum to enroll at Bridgewater and complete their master’s with the skill set necessary to be successful athletic trainers,” said Dr. Nick Davidson, assistant dean of Tusculum’s Sport Studies Division. “We have been responsive to industry needs and have created a program filled with active and experiential learning that ensures a seamless transition for our students to the next step in their professional development.”
To obtain a degree in sport science pre-athletic training at Tusculum, students have to complete 68 credit hours of professional preparation and theory, which includes courses such as anatomy and physiology, chemistry, athletic training evaluation and rehabilitation. Students also have to complete an internship and a clinical class.
The master’s program prepares students to lead an ethical and purposeful career and life, develop clinical decision-making skills based on today’s research and in-depth clinical placements and understand the role of the athletic trainer as a member of an interprofessional health care team.
To learn more about Tusculum’s pre-athletic training program, please visit https://site.tusculum.edu/pre-athletic-training/. Additional information about Bridgewater’s master’s in athletic training is available at https://www.bridgewater.edu/academics/divisions/health-human-sciences/master-of-science-in-athletic-training/. Further details about Tusculum are available at www.tusculum.edu.