B.S. in Respiratory Therapy

Admission to Georgia Southern University does not guarantee admission to the respiratory therapy program. The Department of Clinical Sciences has a separate formal admissions process managed by the Allied Health Centralized Application Service (AHCAS). 

Applicants must apply to both Georgia Southern and the respiratory therapy (RT) program. 

Admission to the RT program is made on a space-available basis and is limited to the best-qualified students. Meeting admission criteria does not constitute acceptance into the program. Minimum admission criteria include:

1. Completion of all Core requirements for the major before the program start date.
2. An overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 or greater.
3. A grade of “C” or higher is required for all courses in Core Areas A, D and F.
4. A calculated GPA of 2.5 or greater in math and science courses found in Areas A, D and F. This calculated GPA includes all passed and failed attempts of a course except for courses for which academic renewal has been approved.
5. Students with outstanding admission requirements must provide proof of meeting with the program director before the beginning of the admitted semester. Failure to do so will result in removal from the admitted list.
6. Students who are dismissed from the program due to more than one (1) course failure may be considered for readmission to the program after a period of five years.
7. Prospective qualified students are required to shadow a respiratory therapist for a minimum of four hours before the start of the program. Note — not having shadowing hours completed will not prevent prospective qualified students from being interviewed.
   1. Prospective qualified students must meet minimum admissions criteria to obtain assistance from the RT program for shadowing hours. 
   2. Students should contact respiratory@georgiasouthern.edu for assistance in shadowing.

Follow these steps to complete the Georgia Southern application: 

• Create an application account.
• Complete our online application using the PIN you received after creating your application account.
• Once complete, pay the $30 application fee or upload a valid fee waiver. Previous Georgia Southern applicants and dual enrollment students do not need to pay the fee.

You can check your application status at My.GeorgiaSouthern.edu/admissions three days after completing your application. This page contains live information about your admission status, including a checklist of missing documents we need to make a decision.

Additional Considerations

Selecting and Changing Your Major

Students who declare a respiratory therapy major will start as health science: pre-professional respiratory therapy majors. Students will be advised by professional advisors on their home campus. Once accepted into the respiratory therapy program, the student will be changed to a respiratory therapy major prior to the start of their first semester in the program.

Prerequisites and Academic Requirements

Students interviewed for the program are usually late sophomores approaching 60-70+ hours of semester credit and have completed the initial Area D sequence of science (Biol, Chem, Physics and Labs) and statistics. The core curriculum guide can be found through the Waters College of Health Professions (WCHP) Advisement Center. Students can work with their advisors and select courses with an emphasis on completing the sciences by the end of their sophomore year. We recommend that students take the sequence of BIOL 1107 and 1108 and labs, Human Anatomy and Physiology I, Human Anatomy and Physiology II and labs, Microbiology and lab, and Physical Environment (no lab) prior to the spring interview. 

Additionally, your overall and math/science GPAs should be at least 2.5 to be considered as a respiratory therapy major student (especially in Area D and F sciences), and you should be near completion of all electives in Area A-E courses to make you a more competitive candidate. Typically, admitted students have overall and math/science GPAs of at least 3.0 to be competitive.

The Interview Process

The application process, College Application Services or CAS, starts in November, and the deadline is March 1st. We interview in the spring and/or summer of the year. You can interview as a provisional candidate if your classes are not complete. You will meet with students and faculty members at the 60-120 minute interview in the spring and/or summer preceding the program’s start date in the fall.

Admission to Georgia Southern University

All transfer credits must be evaluated by the Undergraduate Office of Admissions and posted on the Georgia Southern transcript upon official acceptance to the University. Degree Completion/Bridge BSRT applicants will have official transcripts or transfer credit, course substitutions or achieve a “C” or better in all classes required in Areas A-E. 

The Degree Completion/Bridge BSRT program is for NBRC-credentialed RRTs with an AS or AAS in Respiratory Therapy who wish to complete their bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy while working in the field. Military respiratory therapists will receive special consideration. The respiratory therapy program requires students to fill out an additional application, which can be found here: Degree Completion/Bridge BSRT Program Application. 

Additional required forms to submit to the program:

1. Copy of AS or AAS in Respiratory Therapy/Care degree transcript,
2. Overall GPA of at least 2.5, 
3. Copy of NBRC RRT credential,
4. Résumé of respiratory therapy work history,
5. Verification of current state license, 
6. Documentation of additional NBRC specialty credentials, if applicable, and
7. Documentation of BLS, ACLS, PALS and/or NRP.

Transferring Credits

If you have transfer credit, check the transfer credit link and choose your state and college for transferring credit. Ideally, classes should transfer as equivalent to a Georgia Southern course (i.e., BIOL, CHEM), NOT as an elective (ELEC). Discuss transfer credit concerns with your advisor.

View the Mary Howden Gibson and Lois Gaddis Hamilton Memorial Scholarship Fund Application (PDF).

If you’re an NBRC-credentialed RRT who already has an associate degree in respiratory therapy, you can elevate your career prospects with an online B.S. from Georgia Southern. 

Our respiratory therapy Bridge program allows you to complete your bachelor’s degree while continuing to work. You’ll take classes online on your own schedule. RRTs can gain equivalency credits based on experience.

For All Online Programs

Federal law requires colleges and universities to make certain disclosures to prospective students of these programs. These disclosures include information on the University’s authority to operate outside of Georgia, complaint processes, adverse actions and refunds.

For required disclosures in general with regard to online programs offered by the University, visit the Office of Legal Affairs website.

Georgia Southern University’s respiratory therapy program awards the Bachelor of Science degree and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC), program #200277.

CoARC accredits respiratory therapy education programs in the United States. To achieve this end, it utilizes an “outcome-based” process. Programmatic outcomes are performance indicators that reflect the extent to which the educational goals of the program are achieved and by which program effectiveness is documented.

The Department of Clinical Sciences anticipates that graduates of this program will seek the following professional certifications: Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) and Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT), which will allow graduates to obtain state licensure.

The Department of Clinical Sciences has determined that the required classes and educational activities of this academic program will qualify a graduate of this program to take the credentialing exam for a Respiratory Therapist, which then qualifies students to obtain a State License in Georgia. The credentialing process is a two-part, nationally administered examination. Part one, a comprehensive written exam, is taken after graduation. Graduates who pass this exam will earn the entry-level credential “Certified Respiratory Therapist” (CRT) and will be eligible to take the Clinical Simulation Examination. The entry-level CRT credential is required for licensure by most states and the Georgia Composite State Board of Medical Examiners. Candidates who pass both the Therapist Multi-Choice Examination and Clinical Simulation Examinations will earn the credential “Registered Respiratory Therapist” (RRT). The Department has not determined whether this program satisfies the requirements of all states and territories for the Respiratory Therapist State Licensure. Visit the American Association for Respiratory Care to determine the requirements of your state or territory. 

Many of the clinical programs offered by the Waters College of Health Professions require a clinical internship or practicum experience to fulfill degree requirements. Pursuant to the University’s legal agreements, participants in clinical experiences are required to abide by the workplace rules of the clinical site. The University is aware of recent federal requirements that would mandate vaccination against COVID-19 for those working in certain settings, including health care. At this time, we expect that these new requirements may significantly impact our ability to locate a placement for students who remain unvaccinated. As always, WCHP will continue to make every effort to place students at clinical sites. However, please be aware that we may be unable to locate a site to accept unvaccinated students, which may cause a delay or inability to progress and complete the program of study.