Master's in Athletic Training

Earn your Master of Science in athletic training (MSAT) at Sacred Heart University, the first MSAT program offered in Connecticut, and prepare to become an essential health care provider in a fast-growing field. You'll gain the hands-on clinical training, evidence-based knowledge, and professional skills needed to evaluate, protect, and care for physically active individuals across a wide range of settings.

Whether you're a recent graduate ready to launch your career or a professional looking to transition into sports medicine, SHU's MSAT program, accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE), gives you the foundation to make a real difference.

Learn more about tuition rates and payment options for the athletic training program.

Why Earn Your MS in Athletic Training at Sacred Heart?

At SHU, you’ll get the hands-on training and classroom experience needed to evaluate, protect, and care for a variety of individuals in traditional and emerging settings. You'll graduate prepared to sit for the Board of Certification national exam to become an athletic trainer and be eligible to apply for licensure in all states.

• Gain a liberal arts and science foundation to help you succeed as an athletic trainer
• Develop the skills to assess, prevent, treat, and rehabilitate emergent and non-emergent injuries and medical conditions
• Learn to contribute to the profession through the development of new ideas and insights
• Study in a progressive curriculum that puts athletic training concepts into action
• Learn in state-of-the-art facilities on modern equipment, including high-fidelity manikins, in our  Center for Healthcare Education
• Gain real-world training through exciting and diverse clinical education experiences, such as collegiate athletics, competitive public and private secondary schools, professional sports, rehabilitation clinics, physicians’ offices, and public safety
• Collaborate with physicians to provide preventative services, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and rehabilitation

Scholarships & Financial Aid

Sacred Heart University is committed to making graduate education accessible and affordable. MSAT students may qualify for a range of financial support options, including:

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Jumpstart Your Career with Diverse Opportunities

When you graduate and become a certified athletic trainer, you will be prepared for a career working in various settings, businesses, and organizations, such as:

• Secondary schools, colleges, and universities
• Municipal and independently owned youth sports facilities
• Physician practices, hospitals, emergency rooms, and urgent and ambulatory care centers
• Clinics specializing in sports medicine, cardiac rehabilitation, medical fitness, wellness, and physical therapy
• Industrial and occupational settings, such as manufacturing, distribution, and offices
• Armed services and military academies
• Police, fire, and municipal public safety departments
• Performing arts, including professional and collegiate dance, music, theater, and circus art
• Professional and Olympic sports
• Youth leagues

Lifetime Career Support

Athletic training students benefit from a dedicated career team with industry experience and employer partnerships that connect top talent to major companies. Students and alumni enjoy lifetime access to the Center for Career & Professional Development, where expert coaches provide personalized support with résumés, interviews, and job placement. 

Dual Degree Program Options

Bachelor's-MSAT Incoming First-Year Students Dual Degree Program

Students apply to the dual degree program as an incoming first-year student and are admitted directly into the graduate program at the same time as their admission as undergraduate students. Students may pursue one of two pathways to the Master of Science in athletic training program:

• Accelerated 3+2 Bachelor’s-MSAT
• 4+2 Bachelor’s-MSAT

BS-MSAT Accelerated & Combined Degree Program

Current SHU undergraduate students of almost any major can earn two degrees in six years for purpose-driven career acceleration in Sacred Heart’s 4+2 Master of Science in athletic training program.

Frequently Asked Questions

Take the Next Step

You'll graduate, ready to lead, care for patients, and build a career across the full spectrum of sports medicine and health care. Sacred Heart's MSAT program gives you the clinical experience, expert mentorship, and professional network to get there.