East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania Online Master of Science in Athletic Training, Advanced Clinical Practice Concentration (Post-Professional)

East Stroudsburg's Advanced Clinical Practice track is a 13-month master's in athletic training for people who are already certified athletic trainers, or eligible to be. It isn't an exercise science degree, and it isn't fully online.

You'll do labs, clinical evaluations and two practicums in person. If you're a working athletic trainer who wants orthopedic depth and a shot at a funded graduate assistantship, look closely. Everyone else should look elsewhere.

East Stroudsburg University is a public school in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. This master's lives in its Department of Athletic Training. ESU calls it post-professional, which means it assumes you've already finished an entry-level athletic training degree and hold, or are eligible for, the Board of Certification (BOC) credential.

The school says you'll build advanced knowledge in clinical anatomy, therapeutic agents, manual therapies, orthopedic practice and physician extender competencies. Classes are web-based or in a hybrid classroom, and the lab work and clinical evaluations happen on campus.

Think of this as a hybrid cohort, not an online program. The sequence runs summer, fall, spring, summer over 13 months. ESU's catalog says you need to be capable of learning in a web-based and hybrid classroom environment and to have a computer that meets the technical demands of web-based learning.

Examinations, on-campus laboratories and clinical evaluations are how ESU checks your skills. The two practicums put you with a qualified clinical preceptor. Qualified assistantship candidates get invited to the Graduate ATEP Open House, which is your best chance to meet faculty and see the labs before you commit.

Who It Fits

• You're a certified athletic trainer, or you're a graduate of a CAATE-accredited entry-level program (that's the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education) and have taken the BOC exam once. ESU requires both, so this is the only kind of applicant it's built for.
• You want the degree without paying full price. ESU says assistantships come in college and university, high school, professional sports and clinical outreach settings, and an award includes a tuition waiver plus a stipend.
• You live within driving distance of a clinical site. Students in the regional cohort need reliable transportation for the advanced clinical practicums, so the online label doesn't mean you can stay home the whole year.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you aren't certified or BOC-eligible. There's no way in from exercise science or kinesiology, because admission starts with an accredited entry-level athletic training degree.
• Skip it if you want a general master's in exercise science you can finish from your couch. ESU's exercise science and clinical exercise physiology master's programs are on campus. Our online master's rankings cover schools that deliver that degree remotely.
• Skip it if the GRE is a dealbreaker. ESU requires scores, along with three recommendation letters, a statement of goals and a resume.

The catalog lays out a cohort that starts in summer. Summer 1 is ATEP 510 Clinically Oriented Anatomy and ATEP 544 Current Athletic Injury Prevention and Management. Fall adds ATEP 515 Pathomechanics of Musculoskeletal Disorders, ATEP 570 Introduction to Research and ATEP 587 Advanced Clinical Practicum I.

Spring covers ATEP 513 Applied Statistics and Analysis in Athletic Training and ATEP 574 Research Practicum. The second summer is ATEP 588 Advanced Clinical Practicum II. Each is 3 credits, and the practicums happen at affiliated clinical sites with a preceptor.

You finish with a thesis and oral comprehensive exam, or a written comprehensive exam. Either way it's 36 credits. One oddity: the semester totals add up to 36, but the courses the catalog names add up to 24, so about 12 credits aren't listed.

Courses the School Names

• ATEP 510 Clinically Oriented Anatomy
• ATEP 544 Current Athletic Injury Prevention and Management
• ATEP 515 Pathomechanics of Musculoskeletal Disorders
• ATEP 570 Introduction to Research
• ATEP 513 Applied Statistics and Analysis in Athletic Training
• ATEP 574 Research Practicum
• ATEP 587 Advanced Clinical Practicum I
• ATEP 588 Advanced Clinical Practicum II

Standout Features

• Post-professional track for certified athletic trainers focused on clinical anatomy, therapeutic agents, manual therapies, orthopedic practice and physician extender competencies
• Graduate assistantships with tuition waiver and stipend in high school, college and clinic settings
• Prepares graduates as potential candidates for specialty certifications through the National Athletic Trainers' Association and other allied health and fitness related associations

ESU's 2026-27 graduate rates are $602 per credit for Pennsylvania residents and $886 for non-residents. Over 36 credits that's $21,672 or $31,896 in tuition before fees. The gap between the two is $10,224.

The school also lists a $568 non-resident rate for distance education programs, but its approved list names the Athletic Training Professional Practice master's, not this track.

Separately, ESU says Athletic Training Clinical Practice distance students pay a reduced general fee, and the fee table shows $358 a semester for distance students against $528 for full-time graduate students. A technology fee of $34 per credit for residents or $49 for non-residents also applies.

An assistantship changes the math. It carries a tuition waiver and a stipend, though the page doesn't say how many are awarded.

36 credits at $886 a credit comes to $31,896 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $602, the same 36 credits come to $21,672.

ESU's Middle States accreditation covers the university. The program page doesn't list a programmatic accreditor for this track. What you earn is a master's degree, not the athletic trainer credential itself. That credential comes through the BOC after a CAATE-accredited entry-level program, which you must already have.

ESU says the degree makes you a potential candidate for specialty certifications through the National Athletic Trainers' Association and other associations. It doesn't name a single one, so ask which.

The 2027 and 2030 rules aren't part of this route. ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program starting August 15, 2027, and U.S. CSCS candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program starting January 1, 2030. ESU's on-campus M.S. programs in exercise science and clinical exercise physiology are CAAHEP accredited. This one isn't listed.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page. A factor marked Peer Median had no published input, so it counts at half weight.

• The credit count depends on where you look. The program page says 35 credits, the catalog says 36, and the catalog names only about 24 credits of courses.
• It's a narrow door. You need BOC certification or eligibility, a 2.50 undergraduate GPA, a 3.00 major GPA, GRE scores, liability insurance, and Pennsylvania Act 34 and Act 151 clearances.
• The price is hard to pin down. Which distance rate and fee schedule apply to this track isn't clear from ESU's tuition pages, and the non-resident rate is $284 more per credit than the resident one.
• It's not remote. Regional cohort students travel to clinical sites, and the labs and evaluations are on campus.

• Is the degree 35 or 36 credits, and which courses make up the credits the catalog totals show but doesn't name?
• Do the $568 distance rate and the reduced general fee apply to me, and what would my full bill be for each semester?
• Which clinical sites does my regional cohort use, and can I complete the practicums at my current employer?
• Are graduate assistantships open to students in the regional cohort, and when is the next Graduate ATEP Open House?
• How many students choose the thesis and how many take the written comprehensive exam?
• Which specialty certifications does ESU mean, and have recent graduates earned them?
• What proof do you need that I've challenged the BOC exam once before enrolling?

East Stroudsburg University is a public university in the Poconos region of Pennsylvania, part of the PA State System, with a large on-campus Department of Exercise Science that has five specialized labs and a CAAHEP-accredited M.S. in Exercise Science. Its exercise science graduate work is campus-based, with online options concentrated in athletic training, sport coaching and education programs.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 99 of 99, master's
• Best Online Master's Programs Rank 99 of 99, master's
• Best for Healthcare Workers Rank 20 of 20, master's
• Best Online Programs in Pennsylvania Rank 5 of 5, master's

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