Bachelor’s in
Respiratory Therapy

Admission Contacts:

Admissions Counselor - Jeff Jurkas, jjurkas@nova.edu, 954-262-1159

Department Chair - Lisa Farach, lfarach@nova.edu, 844-495-2880

Admission Requirements & Prerequisite Courses

Admission into the program will require the following:

1. Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale from all undergraduate work.
2. Minimum cumulative Science GPA of 2.5.
3. Interview with Respiratory Therapy Admissions Committee
4. Completion of all prerequisite coursework with a minimum grade of C, from a regionally accredited college or university. Are you wondering how a course you took at another institution will transfer to your undergraduate degree at NSU? Visit our NSU Transfer Credit System. Institutions are listed alphabetically.  Choose the letter of the alphabet for the institution that the classes were taken then choose the institution. You are able to search by specific course or generate a list of all courses transferred into NSU.
   
   PRE-REQUISITES (subject to change without notice)
   

   Title	Credits
   Humanities	6
   Social/Behavioral Sciences	6
   College Algebra and higher	6
   Written communication @ 1500 level or higher	6
   *Human Anatomy & Physiology I w/ Lab	4
   *Human Anatomy & Physiology II w/ Lab	4
   *Microbiology w/lab	4
   *General Chemistry w/lab	4

   TOTAL CREDITS: 40

   * These courses will meet the Natural and Physical Science General Education requirement of 6 credits

   
   

   HIGHLY RECOMMENDED COURSES
   

   Title	Credits
   Genetics	3
   Organic / Inorganic Chemistry w/ lab	4
   Physics	3

The BSRT First-Professional program offers one start date per year:

• Fall

Steps to Apply

To ensure that your application receives prompt consideration, you should apply early.  Applications are accepted year-round.

Applicants for admission must submit or be responsible for submission of

1. A completed online application along with a $50, non-refundable application fee.
2. Official college transcripts, certificates, and/or diploma-based transcripts from all universities/institutions attended. Transcripts will receive a formal transcript evaluation and NSU transfer course equivalencies. Transcripts and foreign evaluations, and additional documentation may be sent to the following address (Please see further below for information regarding foreign evaluations and electronic transcripts) :
   
   Nova Southeastern University
   Enrollment Processing Services
   3301 College Avenue
   P.O. Box 299000
   Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33329-9905
3. Upon recommendation by the Respiratory Therapy Admissions Committee and after review of applicant's admission portfolio, applicant will be contacted to schedule an interview before the Respiratory Therapy Admissions Committee.
4. Applicant will be interviewed by Respiratory Therapy Admissions Committee.
5. An offer of admission will only be made upon recommendation of the Respiratory Therapy Admissions Committee.

If applicant accepts offer,

1. Applicant must pay $200 seat deposit, within 14 days of acceptance, and will be formally categorized as “Provisionally Admitted” until
2. All transcripts must be resubmitted with final (no in-progress) grades documented
3. Applicant/Student will then be formally categorized as “Fully Admitted”

Foreign Evaluations

Evaluation of coursework taken at a foreign institution for US institutional equivalence (if applicable).Foreign coursework must be evaluated by one of the following services:

World Education Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 745
Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113-0745
(212) 966-6311
www.wes.org

Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
P.O. Box 415070
Milwaukee, WI 53203
(414) 289-3400
www.ece.org

Electronic Transcripts:  For NSU to consider an electronic transcript official, it must be received from a reputable third-party delivery agent. NSU accepts electronic transcripts from the following providers:

• SCRIP-SAFE®
• Parchment
• National Student Clearinghouse

Transcripts emailed by individuals will not be accepted as official.

Third-party delivery agents may email official electronic transcripts to: electronictranscript@nova.edu

Program Goals

To prepare graduates with demonstrated competence in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains of respiratory care practice as performed by registered respiratory therapists (RRTs).

To prepare leaders for the field of respiratory care by including curricular content with objectives related to the acquisition of skills in one or more of the following: management, education, research and advanced clinical practice (which may include an area of clinical specialization).

Professional Courses

The following professional courses will be required for completion. Course descriptions can be found in NSU's Undergraduate Student Catalog.

First-Professional Curriculum

TOTAL CREDITS: 120 (Includes Prerequisite Courses required for admission)

Tuition and Fees

Visit the Tuition and Fees page for more information.

• $50 nonrefundable application fee
• NSU Student Service fee annually.
• $200 acceptance fee (seat deposit) —This fee is required to reserve the accepted applicant’s place in the entering first year class, but is nonrefundable in the event of a withdrawal. It is payable within two weeks of an applicant’s acceptance.
• Students are responsible for purchasing any required textbooks, uniforms, white coats and/or classroom materials.

Financial Aid

The primary financial responsibility for a student’s education rests with the student and his or her family.  Economic circumstances for some families may make it necessary for the student to obtain assistance from other sources.

The Office of Student Financial Assistance at Nova Southeastern University is here to help as many qualified students as possible to complete their health professions education.  Various loans, scholarships, and grants are available to qualified students to help ease the high cost of a health professions education.  These financial assistance programs are described on our Financial Aid website here.

For information on financial assistance, contact:

Financial Aid Counselor - Palm Beach Regional Campus
Enrollment and Student Services
Nova Southeastern University
11501 N. Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
855- 769-1675 (Direct Phone)
866-396-0738 (Fax)

Enhanced Pathway for Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy and Master of Science in Anesthesia at NSU

• A unique pathway for NSU BS in Respiratory Therapy (RT) first-professional students to join the NSU Anesthesiologist Assistant (AA) program after completion of their BSRT, respiratory therapy training and successful obtention of their RRT credential.
• GRE or MCAT scores are waived under this partnership for the NSU RT applicants.
• This option will initiate with the August 2021 entering RT cohort.

Requirements:

• Graduation for NSU RT program with a minimum GPA of 3.0
• Obtention of RRT credential
• Shadowing of an AA during the RT clinical year
• Clinical experience as a RRT strongly recommended
• A letter of recommendation from the RT program
• RT students need to complete the following courses* prior to admission, with a minimum GPA of 3.0

*In the second year of training, RT students can complete some of the prerequisite courses. Students will complete the outstanding requirements between graduation from the RT program and the start of the AA program. Personalized advising will be provided by the RT and AA program leadership.

Interview Process

RT students who meet the requirements outlined in this proposal will be granted an interview. Providing that the interview does not reveal any areas of concern, the student will be offered a seat in one of the four NSU AA programs. Students’ preference for one of the locations will be noted but a seat at the preferred location cannot be guaranteed. The AA programs are located in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Tampa Bay, FL, Jacksonville, FL and (as of January 2022) Denver, CO. 

The Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) accredits respiratory therapy education programs in the United States.  To achieve this end, it utilizes an 'outcomes 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 BSRT First-Professional program #200615 has been granted continued accreditation by The Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC):

For accreditation information, please contact or visit: 

Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC)
264 Precision Boulevard
Telford, TN 37690
877-370-2872 (Office)
888-368-2257 (Fax)

CoARC main webpage can be located at https://coarc.com/

CoARC Programmatic outcomes can be located at https://coarc.com/students/programmatic-outcomes-data/