In 1995 Alfred University students interested in Athletic Training as a major pursued a program entitled Sports Medicine/Pre-Physical Therapy as an individually structured major program.

On November 29, 1995 the programs' name was changed from Sports Medicine/ Physical Therapy to Athletic Training. This name was approved by the New York State Education Department and was registered by the state as a Bachelor of Science Degree granting program.

Alfred University recruited its first official class of athletic training students under these new standards in the fall of 1996. At that time the athletic training major was moved out of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) and into the College of Engineering and Professional Studies (CEPS). The Athletic Training Education Program remained in CEPS until the summer of 2002 when the program was relocated within CLAS where it remains today.

On March 9, 2005, the Athletic Training Education Program received word that the Joint Review Committee on Education Programs in Athletic Training (JRC-AT) had recommended the program for Accreditation to the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). In June 2006 the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) became the recognized accrediting agency designed to ensure that all ATEPs meet the prescriptive competencies and proficiencies required for the skillful entry-level practice of athletic training.

The ATEP at Alfred University is currently engaged the self-study process as it will be up for continuing accreditation by CAATE in the Spring of 2010.

The Alfred University Athletic Training Education Program (ATEP) provides students with the entry-level knowledge necessary to pursue a career as Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC). Ideally, prospective students should be interested in a sports based medicine program emphasizing the six performance domains of the athletic training profession.

These domains include injury prevention, recognition of injury and illness, performing immediate care, rehabilitating and reconditioning athletes after an injury, provide healthcare administration, and the pursuit of professional development and responsibility opportunities. Students in the ATEP will become competent and proficient in each of these domains through the mentorship of approved clinical instructors, through clinical experiences and through didactic classroom participation.

Through a student’s active participation in these experiences, he or she will have gained the knowledge necessary to pass the Board of Certification (BOC) exam in route to becoming a credentialed certified athletic trainer (ATC).

The Alfred University Athletic Training Education Program (ATEP) educates students who are interested in working in an allied health care setting specializing in active populations. Students are provided educational opportunity through both clinical applications as well as traditional didactic classroom learning.

Each student will have the opportunity to work alongside certified athletic training approved clinical instructors to learn to use therapeutic modalities and therapeutic exercise as tools to encourage healing. The education program at Alfred University sets itself apart from others by allowing interested students to engage in varsity athletics as they learn the competencies and proficiencies associated with professional practice of athletic training.

Upon the student’s successful completion of the graduation requirements of the Education Program, the student is qualified to sit for the Board of Certification (BOC) credentialing exam. Once the student passes the BOC exam, the student is officially recognized as a credentialed Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC).