Future Students

(This posting is the second of a series of articles highlighting different programs at Oregon State.)

Oregon State University sponsors one of the oldest, most established athletic training programs in the United States. This program has been continuously accredited by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) and/or the Commission on the Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs since 1974. The athletic training degree is based on a 4 year academic plan with 3 full years of clinical experience. Student clinical experiences include University, High School and Rehabilitation Clinic settings.

The Oregon State University Athletic Training Program is designed to prepare students for the challenges of the ever-expanding allied health profession of athletic training. Through the combination of extensive didactic, laboratory and clinical experiences in sports medicine, graduates with an athletic training degree achieve the entry-level competencies necessary to take and pass the certification examination offered by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Board of Certification, and embark on a career as a certified athletic trainer.

Athletic training program students will obtain experience in traditional athletic settings and/or rehabilitation settings, and will be given increasingly more clinical experience as they move through the program. While other athletic training programs may provide some clinical experience in the last two years, OSU provides students clinical experience for three years including some diversity of experience possibly working in a Division I sport (at OSU) as well as a Division II sport (at WOU) and at the high school level.
One reason for the popularity of the athletic training program at Oregon State is the access to amazing facilities that further an athletic training student’s experience and research.

The 2500-square foot Sports Medicine/Disabilities Research Laboratory and the Biomechanics Laboratory are examples of such facilities available to athletic training degree students. The Biomechanics Lab is located in close proximity to other department research laboratories (Bone Research, Human Performance, Muscle Physiology, and Sports Medicine/Disabilities Research)

One of the great success stories of an OSU graduate with an athletic training degree is about Ariko Iso, and she not only is an athletic trainer for the Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh Steelers, but she is also the only woman trainer in the NFL! (Her story previously posted at: http://oregonstate.edu/admissions/blog/2006/02/03/beavers-in-the-super-bowl/)

Follow this link to be mailed more information about OSU and the athletic training program.