Kinig’s College Athletic Training program staff, from left: Gregory K. Janik, clinical professor of sports medicine; Jeremy Simington, athletic training program director and clinical professor of sports medicine; Aaron Hand, clinical professor of sports medicine and director of athletic training services; Ryanne Ziobro, clinical professor of sports medicine; Amy Brzoska, clinical professor of sports medicine and coordinator of Scandlon Sports Medicine clinic; Melissa Ciocco, department of sports medicine chair and clinical professor of sports medicine; David Marchetti, clinical professor of sports medicine; Timothy A. Kulpa, clinical education coordinator and clinical professor of Sports Medicine; Christopher O’Brien, dean of health sciences.
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WILKES-BARRE — The King’s College Athletic Training Program will switch from a bachelor of science to a master’s degree program, thanks to approval by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education, the school announced Monday.
Accredited at the bachelor level since 2001, the new master’s in Sports Athletic Training (MSAT) program will be accessible for students with a bachelor of science in exercise science, kinesiology or a health science field from King’s or another accredited institution. Alternatively, first year students in the Exercise Science-Pre-Athletic Training Track can work their way into a “3+2” program at the end of their third year
In the latter method, students who qualify would be accepted into the MSAT program at the end of their third year. year four would also become year 1 in the MSAT program, allowing students to graduate with their bachelor degree that year and complete the master’s degree the following year, earning two degrees in five years.
A media release noted “beginning in 2022 the athletic training profession will require students to enter a master’s degree accredited program before a candidate is eligible to sit for the Board of Certification Examination and practice.”
In the release, Athletic Training Program Director Jeremy Simington said “The program has been very successful and popular with students. Many of our graduates work in northeast PA and so we help meet local healthcare needs.
“The MSAT Program allows us flexibility to do things we couldn’t do in the undergraduate program. We have coursework that goes beyond entry level, which was very hard to do with the undergraduate program because students needed room to complete their non-major requirements. The clinical experiences are also more advanced in the MSAT Program and give students the option to have ‘immersive experiences’, which are longer and more in-depth than the kind of experiences we could do in the undergraduate program. Also, students don’t have classes during immersive experiences, so they could have those experiences anywhere in the U.S. or even abroad in some circumstances.”
For more information contact Christine Stevens, director of graduate admissions, at [email protected] or 570-208-5991.
Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish
