Athletic training is practiced by athletic trainers, health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to optimize activity and participation of patients and clients. Athletic training encompasses the prevention, diagnosis, and intervention of emergency, acute, and chronic medical conditions involving impairment, functional limitations, and disabilities. The athletic trainer’s professional preparation is based on the development of specified educational competencies and clinical proficiencies through a combination of formal classroom and clinical instruction and clinical experience. Athletic trainers’ work settings can include high schools, colleges, universities, professional sports teams, hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, physicians’ offices, corporate and industrial settings, military and law enforcement, and the performing arts (NATA, 2008).
Accreditation
The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) has voted to grant 10 years of Continuing Accreditation to the Professional Athletic Training Program at Westfield State University.
The next required comprehensive accreditation review for this program will be conducted during the 2031-2032 academic year.
The Future of Athletic Training at Westfield State University
The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education has determined that the undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Science) in Athletic Training is no longer viable for those who desire to work in Athletic Training. The increased value, skill level and demand for Athletic Training to work in healthcare are several of the motivators behind the transition to the advanced degree (Master of Athletic Training, MAT; Master of Science in Athletic Training MSAT).
Westfield State University is in a unique position, one that offers incoming students several avenues to pursue the graduate degree in Athletic Training. In the next few years, as the teach out of the current undergraduate Athletic Training students continues (through May of 2026), the incoming students can take the required courses for their pursuit of the Master’s degree in Athletic Training. Incoming students will major in Movement Science* while earning a concentration in Sports Medicine, Exercise Science or Preventive Care. Movement Science Core Classes Scientific Foundations (21 credits). See Movement Science Core Classes.
*These course prerequisites are consistent with the recommendations from the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education.
