Concordia University Ann Arbor’s innovative Athletic Training program has earned accreditation status from the Commission of Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE).
This good news comes as CUAA prepares to graduate the first Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) class of athletic trainers in May. The MSAT program at CUAA is the only three-year Athletic Training graduate program in the country. Following undergraduate coursework in Sports Medicine, students enrolled in the MSAT program balance graduate-level coursework and clinicals to meet the accelerated timeline.
“This CAATE Accreditation assures our students that they are being professionally educated to take the Board of Certification examination and are prepared to successfully enter the athletic training profession,” says Timothy Neal, MS, AT, ATC, CCISM, program director of athletic training education and assistant professor of health and human performance.
The athletic training faculty at CUAA have over fifty-years’ experience clinically treating athletes and are highly recognized by their peers. Neal is a National Athletic Training Association Hall of Fame member and is very active within the athletic training profession. Assistant Professor Amber Giacomazzi, MS, AT, ATC, CAT(C), is one of only a handful of athletic trainers in the world dual credentialed by two countries as an athletic trainer (United States and Canada), and is on the ethics committee, and the Program Accreditation Committee for the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association.
Concordia’s athletic training students are involved in six semesters of clinical rotations at one its clinical sites: Concordia University Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Med Sport Rehabilitation, and local high schools. Neal says the six semesters of clinical experience for athletic training students is the most of any program in the country.
“This enhanced quantity of clinical experience better prepares our graduates to succeed as an entry-level athletic trainer and better serve their patients and athletes at a high level of care,” said Neal.
Athletic Training Student Testimonial: Timothy Koehler (’20)
For more information about CUAA’s Master of Science in Athletic Training program visit here.
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