Click on the button below to learn more about the application process!
What is a Respiratory Therapist?
Respiratory care providers diagnose and treat breathing issues and lung disorders. The bachelor of science in respiratory care (B.S.R.C.) degree gives students a foundation in cardiopulmonary care, including supervised patient care during clinical rotations.
Classes Offered in Person
Career Prospects
The B.S.R.C. degree prepares students for careers as respiratory therapists providing patient care in hospitals, pediatric clinics, extended care facilities, sleep labs and more. Through clinical rotations and the opportunity for an internship in a chosen specialization, students gain professional experience before graduation. Texas State respiratory care graduates often move up quickly due to their specialized training. Because fewer than 10 percent of respiratory therapists in the United States have a B.S.R.C., this degree makes graduates competitive in the workforce.
Program Structure and Topics
The Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Care (B.S.R.C.) is a competitive, 120-credit-hour degree program that includes comprehensive clinical rotations across a variety of healthcare settings. The first 60 credit hours consist of university core curriculum requirements and program prerequisites. The remaining 60 credit hours are completed through a structured, sequential professional curriculum on the Round Rock Campus, with a new cohort beginning each fall semester. Because the curriculum is sequential, successful completion of each semester's coursework is required before progressing to the next.
Applicants may be considered for Priority Admission by submitting their application no later than December 15. Following the Priority Admission deadline, General Admission remains open until the cohort reaches capacity. Each fall, the program admits up to 48 highly qualified students.
Course work covers:
- Clinical care skills
- Pulmonary function testing
- Cardiopulmonary anatomy and pathology
- Hemodynamics
- Respiratory therapeutics
- Technology and instrumentation
- Research and data analysis
Marketable Skills:
- Think critically
- Analyze and solve problems
- Communicate clearly and effectively
- Synthesize and disseminate complex information and apply it to new contexts
- Find solutions to problems and justify them
- Respond appropriately to constructive feedback
- Collaborate on projects
- Identify goals/tasks and create a realistic timeline for completion
- Present before groups
- Ability to think and reason ethically
Clinical rotation settings include:
- General medical and surgical units
- Neonatal and pediatric intensive care units
- Adult medical and surgical critical care units
- Transplant intensive care units
- Pulmonary function diagnostics
- Polysomnography (sleep lab diagnostics)
Accreditation
The Texas State Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Care program (CoARC #200197) is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). 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.
Graduates are eligible for the national board exams administered by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC).