RESPIRATORY THERAPY APPLICATION PROCESS
The following are the UA Respiratory Therapy admission guidelines if you are looking to become a member of the exciting field of Respiratory Care:
- Complete the pre-requisite (pre-admission) college courses (see below)
- Obtain the highest cumulative grade point average (GPA) and course grades
- Visit a Respiratory Care Department and talk to Respiratory Therapists about the field
- Research the career at the American Association for Respiratory Care website
Steps Required to Apply (application deadline: November 30th)
Due to the large number of applicants received every year, the UA Respiratory Therapy program is a competitive-admission process. Applicants for admission are selected after the Fall semester grades have been completed (because our classes begin in the Spring semester, ongoing pre-requisite courses will not be considered for admission). The criteria for selection includes the applicants overall (cumulative) grade point average (a minimum of a cumulative 2.3 GPA is required for admission) and their academic achievement (a minimum of a "C" grade or 2.0 GPA) in the required pre-requisite courses. Based on these objective criteria, all applicants will then be ordered in rank with the highest ranking students being selected for admission to the program.
- UA Enrollment - You must be admitted to the University of Akron to be accepted into the UA Respiratory Therapy program (contact the UA Admissions Office for information on the appropriate application process). Please note that due to the limited number of available student position within the program, UA enrollment is NOT a guarantee of program admission. Official copies of all current and prior college transcripts must be submitted to (a) the UA Admissions Office AND (b) included with your Respiratory Therapy application.
- Pre-Requisite Courses - Before applying to the UA Respiratory Therapy program you must complete the following UA college-level courses (or their equivalency) PRIOR to the Spring semester of when you wish to be admitted. Additionally, a student will NOT be eligible for admission to the UA Respiratory Therapy program if they have repeated ANY of the following pre-requisite courses more than one (1) time!
- Technical Math II (MATH 152) and Technical Math III (MATH 153) or
- College Algebra (MATH 145)
- Medical Terminology (2740:120)
- Anatomy & Physiology I (2780:106) or
- Human Anatomy & Physiology Lecture (BIOL 200) and Human Anatomy & Physiology Lab (BIOL 201)
- Concepts in Respiratory Therapy (RESP 100)
- Principles of Microbiology (BIOL 130)
- Introduction to General, Organic, & Biochemistry Lecture (CHEM 110) and Introduction to General, Organic, & Biochemistry Lab (CHEM 111)
- Background Checks - In addition being admitted to UA and completing all of the pre-requisite (pre-admission) courses, you must submit with your application background checks from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI). A student CANNOT be accepted into the program until the results from the FBI and BCI have been cleared.
Background checks can be completed through scheduling an appointment at the School of Counseling on the main UA campus. The process usually takes about 10-15 minutes to complete, and are good for one year from the date that they are processed. You must bring with you a government-issued ID (e.g. driver's license, other photo ID, etc.).
The results can take several weeks or longer to process if you have any violations on your record, so please initiate the background checks process as soon as possible.
UA School of Counseling Fingerprinting Background Check Information:
27 South Forge Street, Akron, OH 44325
For details and to book an appointment visit https://www.uakron.edu/soc/check
Note: Please mail your background check results to yourself be included with your Respiratory Therapy application.
Should you have further questions regarding the above procedures, please do not hesitate to contact the Respiratory Therapy office (330) 972-7906