Athletic Training
Mercer University’s Accelerated Special Consideration Programs (ASCP) for Athletic Training offer high-achieving, first-time students enrolled on the Macon campus in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS) or the College of Health Professions (CHP) the opportunity to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Athletic Training (MAT) degree within about five years, and gives students the security of a guaranteed interview with the AT program offered by the College of Health Professions on the Macon campus.
Program Eligibility
Students interested in earning special consideration status upon application to the CHP’s MAT program must be deemed “calculus-ready” upon admission (have a Math Index of 980 or higher, or have college credit for pre-calculus through dual enrollment of CLEP, or achieve a score of 15 or higher on the math placement exam). Students must be enrolled in the undergraduate college partner (CLAS or CHP) on the Macon campus as first-time college students who have not attended other colleges or universities after high school graduation. Transfer students are not eligible for the ASCP.
Coursework Required In Residence
ASCP-AT participants enrolled in the CLAS must complete a minimum of 90 credit hours of specific coursework in the CLAS (“in residence”) by May of year 3. ASCP-AT participants enrolled in the CHP must complete a minimum of 106 credit hours of specific coursework in residence from the CLAS and CHP by December of year 3. With the approval of the CHP Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Admissions, dual enrollment, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate credit may be used to fulfill the program requirements, but cannot count toward the minimum number of hours required in residence. Physical education and military science courses also cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.
Required Coursework
Students interested in earning Special Consideration status upon application to the MAT program must complete the coursework required for their undergraduate degree (CLAS students will earn the BS in Health Sciences, while College of Health Professions students will earn the BS in Public Health) and the pre-requisites for admission to the MAT program before matriculation in the MAT. Required coursework can be found in the document, ASCP-AT.
Experiential Requirement
ASCP students complete 50 hours of clinical observation under the supervision of an athletic trainer before application to the MAT program.
Grade Point Averages
ASCP-AT participants must maintain overall grade point averages (GPA’s) of 3.2 or higher, as well as 3.2 in all MAT prerequisite courses through the first 106 hours. Grades of “C” or above must be earned in all pre-AT courses; if a course must be repeated, both grades earned will be averaged when calculating the student’s GPA’s. If accepted, students will adhere to the academic standards of the MAT program beginning in year 4.
Interview
ASCP students who comply with all program guidelines will be guaranteed an interview with representatives of the CHP’s MAT program. Paticipation in the ASCP does not guarantee acceptance into the professional program.