Considering a career in sports medicine or a related field? Do you enjoy working with a wide range of people who have a passion and enjoyment for seeing others succeed and lead healthy lifestyles? Do you seek challenges? If one of these areas interest you, then maybe a career in athletic training is right for you. While some might think athletic trainers work only with athletes at the high school, collegiate, or professional levels, many different careers exist in the field of athletic training. At Hesston College you will receive the personal attention and strong academic preparation needed to take you where you want to go.
How will Hesston College prepare me for future studies?
Hesston College offers an associate of arts degree that is especially designed to help fulfill the primary sequence of courses required for subsequent upper level athletic training coursework. In addition, you will complete a range of liberal arts courses that provide a broadly based educational foundation. The liberal arts courses are designed to meet most introductory general education courses at four-year institutions with easy transferability. After two years, you will have completed a minimum of 60 college credit hours to earn the Associate of Arts degree.
This program of study is designed to prepare you for a number of career paths in athletic training, including but not limited to working with high schools, colleges and universities, sports medicine clinics, fitness centers, sports medicine research, rehabilitation centers and professional sports teams.
Strengths of Hesston College
At Hesston, students start gaining valuable hands-on experience the minute they step into the athletic training room as a freshman. At other four-year accredited athletic training programs, students must wait to gain experience until they are accepted into the programs as sophomores. Hesston College also has a great athletic trainer-to-student ratio, which in recent years has been a 1:3 to 1:4 ratio. At most accredited programs, the ratios are closer to a 1:8 or a 1:10. Hesston Colleges students have a great opportunity to ask questions and work with the athletic teams during their first two years of college. Recent Hesston College athletic training graduates have experienced a 100% acceptance into accredited athletic training programs after graduation.
Transferring to four-year colleges or universities
Once accepted, most accredited athletic training programs take a full three years to complete. This would mean starting at Hesston College for two years, and then spending three years at the next institution of your choice. However the athletic training program at Hesston College is designed to graduate the student in four years when working closely with Bethel College, which is conveniently located 10 miles away. Hesston students can begin taking Bethel College advanced athletic training courses during their sophomore year at Hesston, provided they are granted provisional admittance into the Bethel program. A student attending Hesston College and then Bethel College could graduate in four years, spending two years at each institution.
What courses I should take?
As an athletic training major, you will take the following courses: Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition, Prevention and Care of Athletic Injuries, General Psychology and transfer specific electives.
Athletic Training Program of Study
Meets the A.A. Degree Requirements
Total of all courses = 60 credit hours
The following program of study is designed to meet the transfer requirements of most athletic training fields of study. For a specific field, check the catalog of the college or university to which you plan to transfer.
First Year
College Orientation/Success (1)
writing course (3)
Speech Communication (3)
computer exam or course (0-3)
math course (3)
Biblical Literature (3)
history course (3)
General Psychology (3)
Prevention and Care of Athletic Injuries (3)
chemistry or physical science course (4)
Fitness Concepts (1)
transfer-specific electives (3)
Second Year
Anatomy and Physiology (4)
second HC distinctive (3)
Nutrition (3)
social science course (3)
humanities course (3)
transfer-specific electives (14)
For more information about the Athletic Training program, contact Clay Stauffer at 800-995-2757 or 620-327-8273 or by email at clays@hesston.edu.
