Temple University Online Athletic Training, Doctor of Athletic Training (DAT)

Temple's online Doctor of Athletic Training is for athletic trainers who are already certified and hold a master's degree. It isn't an exercise science degree, and it can't make you a certified athletic trainer. If you're already working in the field, it offers two years of live Monday-night classes, a 6-credit capstone, and about $44,100 in tuition.

Temple University is a public research university in Philadelphia, and this doctorate sits in its College of Public Health, in the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Temple says its DAT was the first athletic training doctorate offered fully online. The coursework centers on clinical decision-making, reading and applying research, and a special emphasis on concussion and mild traumatic brain injury.

You have to be a currently certified athletic trainer with a master's degree to apply. Temple says plainly that the program doesn't let you sit for the Board of Certification (BOC) exam. If you aren't certified yet, the DAT page sends you to Temple's separate MS in Athletic Training instead.

Temple describes the program as offered entirely online, with no campus visit stated. Live web-conference discussions, chat rooms, and video meetings happen on Monday nights. Discussion boards and assignments fill in the rest on your own time. Classes run in both 6-week and 15-week sessions, and the program starts once a year, in the fall.

The plan of study is fixed. If you withdraw or fail a course, you and your advisor build a revised plan, and the delay can push your graduation back. Part-time is possible only with the program director's approval, and the Bulletin says it isn't recommended. You have 5 years to finish. Selected applicants also interview by video.

Who It Fits

• You're a certified athletic trainer with a master's who wants a doctorate without leaving your job. Core classes meet online Monday nights from 7 to 9 p.m. Eastern, and the rest is asynchronous work you fit around a clinic or team schedule.
• You want to teach. Students can earn a Teaching in Higher Education Certificate while completing the DAT, which Temple says prepares you for instructional roles in colleges and universities.
• You want sharper clinical judgment on concussions and joint injuries. Temple's faculty are described as recognized experts in concussion, evidence-based practice, and shoulder injury, and two Clinical Grand Rounds courses work through the lower and upper extremity.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you aren't a certified athletic trainer yet. Admission requires BOC certification and a copy of your card, and the degree doesn't lead to that exam.
• Skip it if you want an exercise science degree. The required courses are all athletic training and research, so you won't find exercise physiology or strength and conditioning coursework here.
• Skip it if you can't commit to a weekly live session. Every core class meets Monday night from 7 to 9 p.m. Eastern, which is 4 to 6 p.m. Pacific, and that can collide with practices or games.

The 36 credits run over six terms across two years, six credits per term. Year one is ATHT 8601 Research Appraisal and Clinical Application, ATHT 8602 Clinical Grand Rounds I on the lower extremity, ATHT 8603 Clinical Grand Rounds II on the upper extremity, ATHT 8604 Evidence Based Decision Making, ATHT 5808 Advanced Sport Concussion, and ATHT 8611 Leadership and Cultural Considerations.

Year two adds ATHT 8344 Rehabilitation Methods and Techniques for Sports-Related Injuries, ATHT 8343 Advanced Topics, two 3-credit electives, and ATHT 9601 Capstone in Athletic Training for 6 credits. New College of Public Health students also complete HRPR 5001, a zero-credit, self-paced course on current issues in public health.

Your capstone gets a faculty advisor and must be grounded in evidence-based practice, with clinically relevant outcomes. Temple says faculty will help you present or publish the work after graduation. Every required course needs at least a B-, and repeating a course can delay graduation.

Courses the School Names

• ATHT 8601 Research Appraisal and Clinical Application
• ATHT 8602 Clinical Grand Rounds I: Lower Extremity
• ATHT 8603 Clinical Grand Rounds II: Upper Extremity
• ATHT 8604 Evidence Based Decision Making in Athletic Training
• ATHT 5808 Advanced Sport Concussion
• ATHT 8611 Leadership and Cultural Considerations in Athletic Training
• ATHT 8344 Rehabilitation Methods and Techniques for Sports-Related Injuries
• ATHT 8343 Advanced Topics in Athletic Training
• ATHT 9601 Capstone in Athletic Training

Standout Features

• First 100% online DAT, per the school
• Emphasis on concussion and mild traumatic brain injury education
• Optional Teaching in Higher Education Certificate earned during the DAT
• Faculty recognized experts in concussion, evidence-based practice and shoulder injury
• Clinical Grand Rounds courses on lower and upper extremity

Temple's program page still shows $1,180 per credit and labels it 2025-2026. The bursar's 2026-2027 schedule lists Public Health online programs at $1,225 per credit. The DAT isn't named on that line, but it lives in the college, so $1,225 is the sensible planning number.

At $1,225, 36 credits come to $44,100 in tuition. At $1,180 the same degree would be $42,480, a $1,620 difference. Fees aren't listed on the program page. You'll also need a laptop that meets the College of Public Health's specifications. The scholarships page describes graduate fellowships and assistantships, so ask which ones reach online students.

36 credits at $1,225 a credit comes to $44,100 in tuition, before fees.

Temple's DAT accreditation tab names the College of Public Health's accreditation by CEPH, the Council on Education for Public Health. It lists no separate athletic training accreditation for this doctorate. Since the DAT is post-professional and doesn't lead to the BOC exam, entry-level athletic training accreditation isn't what you're buying here.

The two credential deadlines this site tracks don't apply. ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP, the American College of Sports Medicine's exercise physiologist credentials, will require a CAAHEP-accredited program from August 15, 2027. NSCA's CSCS will require a CASCE-accredited bachelor's for U.S. candidates from January 1, 2030. Those are exercise science routes, and this degree isn't one.

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.

• It's outside exercise science. If you're comparing it with the exercise science master's programs on this site, you're comparing a clinical doctorate for working athletic trainers with degrees built for a different reader. Our guide to exercise science vs athletic training explains the split.
• Temple's pages disagree. The admissions tab gives an Aug. 1 fall deadline, and the Bulletin gives July 1. The program page also cites tuition for 2025-2026 while the Bulletin is the 2026-2027 edition. Plan around July 1 and confirm.
• The tuition figure is an inference. The bursar schedule doesn't name the DAT, and no fees are stated, so your real bill could differ from $44,100.
• The pace is set for you. Six credits a term for two years, with no start other than fall, leaves little room if a job change or a busy season hits.

• Which 2026-2027 per-credit rate applies to the DAT, $1,180 or $1,225, and which fees come on top?
• Is the fall deadline July 1 or Aug. 1, and does the video interview happen before or after that date?
• Which electives are offered, and can I choose ones outside athletic training, such as public health courses?
• How are capstone advisors assigned, and what have recent capstones led to in presentations or publications?
• If I need part-time status, how does the director approve it, and does the 5-year limit stay the same?
• Which scholarships or assistantships are open to online DAT students?

Large public research university in Philadelphia. Its College of Public Health houses athletic training, exercise and sport science and kinesiology programs; the athletic training faculty are known for concussion and shoulder-injury research and the school has taught athletic training for 30+ years.

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• Best Part-Time Programs Rank 2 of 3, doctorate
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• Best Online Programs in Pennsylvania Rank 1 of 2, doctorate

Also at Temple University, but not counted here because they are not fully online: Athletic Training, MSAT (master's, on campus); Exercise and Sport Science, B.S. (bachelor's, on campus).

• A T Still University of Health Sciences

  Doctor of Athletic Training (post-professional)

  Missouri $690 per credit Score 47.3

• Old Dominion University

  Doctor of Applied Science in Kinesiology (DAS)

  Virginia $662 per credit Score 45.8

• Concordia University-Saint Paul

  Doctor of Education in Kinesiology (emphases: Exercise Science, Exercise Physiology, Exercise and Sport Nutrition, Strength and Conditioning)

  Minnesota $690 per credit Score 44.5

• Concordia University-Saint Paul

  Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (emphases: Exercise Science, Exercise Physiology, Exercise and Sport Nutrition, Strength and Conditioning)

  Minnesota $690 per credit Score 44.5