PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Respiratory therapists are licensed health professionals who care for patients with cardiopulmonary disorders such as asthma, emphysema, prematurity, and trauma.  Therapists work in various settings, including intensive care units, emergency departments, cardiopulmonary diagnostic and sleep disorder laboratories, community hospitals, clinics, and home care.  The program is nationally recognized for successful outcomes and includes approximately a thousand (1000) hours of supervised clinical practice in hospitals, nursing homes, and community agencies.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

GPA of 2.50 or higher

A minimum 2.50 cumulative GPA is required in all coursework taken at any accredited institution.

Prerequisite Courses

Before starting the professional program, all prerequisite courses or equivalents must be completed with a C- or higher. Ohio State course numbers are shown below.

First Year Prerequisites

Biology 1113
Chemistry (CHEM) 1210
English 1110.01
Mathematics (MATH) 1148 or higher
Medical Terminology for the Health Professions (HTHRHSC 2500)
Physics 1200
Psychology (PSYCH) 1100 

Second Year Prerequisites

Anatomy 2300, 3300, or Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology (EEOB) 2510
Human Physiology (EEOB 2520 or PHYSIO 3200)
Microbiology (MICRBIO) 4000.01
Statistics (STAT) 1450

First-year students may apply to the Respiratory Therapy program, with priority given to those with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and who have completed at least half of the prerequisite courses with a grade of C- or higher by the end of the summer term of their first year.  If accepted through this pathway, students will complete the remaining prerequisites in their second year and start the professional program in their third year.

APPLICATION

The Respiratory Therapy application is available online and must be completed and submitted with all required supplemental documents, if applicable. Competitive applicants will be offered a personal interview.  Knowledge of the profession and personal career goals will be evaluated then.  The program will give individual consideration in the admission assessment to courses taken and applicant experiences. The Graduate and Professional Admissions Application Guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to start the online application. 

Deadline

The Respiratory Therapy program admits students once per year, with students beginning the program in the Autumn semester. The application deadline for Autumn 2025 is January 31, 2025. The professional program will begin on August 26, 2025.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

The minimum credit hours to graduate from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences are 120.  The Respiratory Therapy program requires 134 credit hours, not including HTHRHSC 1100, to graduate from the program. English 1109; Education Teaching and Learning (EDUTL) 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1010, and Mathematics 1040, 1050, 1073, 1074, 1075 do not count toward the 134 credit minimum requirement for the degree. Other graduation requirements include a minimum of thirty semester hours of credit earned through regular course enrollment at Ohio State, regular course enrollment in the last semester in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HRS), a cumulative Ohio State GPA of at least 2.0 on all coursework complete at Ohio State as well as at least a 2.0 GPA in the major and an application for degree must be submitted online at least one semester before the intended graduation term. The graduation application and instructions are on the HRS Academic Support Services Site.  Students should reference their degree audit to understand the course and credit requirements and to ensure they complete all required degree components, including general education (GE), program prerequisites, and professional curriculum.

The plan demonstrates how students, as freshmen, may complete the Respiratory Therapy program in nine semesters, including one summer term.  It is assumed that students following this plan who are admitted to the program will begin professional coursework in the autumn semester of year three.  There is flexibility in when a student may take courses in years one and two.  However, in years three and four, the curriculum is more structured with limited ability to change.  Students may choose to take non-professional courses over summer terms. It is highly recommended that students take all GE courses before starting the professional program.  The professional curriculum is completed in sequence, and there is no provision for part-time or evening-only enrollment.  Students who intend to transfer credit to Ohio State may view how credit is accepted on Transferology.com.

Ohio State academic programs are designed to prepare students to sit for applicable licensure or certification in Ohio. If you plan to pursue licensure or certification in a state other than Ohio, please review state educational requirements for licensure and certification and state licensing board contact information for online programs and professional licensure & certification disclosures for on-campus programs.

Autumn, Year 1

Chemistry 1210 General Chemistry I (5 credits)
General Education (GENED) GE Launch Seminar 1201 (1 credit)
GE Foundation (3 credits)
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 1100 Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Survey (1 credit)
Mathematics 1148 College Algebra or higher (4-5 credits).  If placed into or lower than Mathematics 1148, substitute Chemistry 1210 with a GE course or another prerequisite during Autumn, Year 1
Psychology1100 Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
17-18 Credits Total 

Spring, Year 1

Biology 1113 Biological Sciences: Energy Transfer and Development (4 credits)
English 1110.01 First-Year English Composition (3 credits)
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 2500 Medical Terminology for the Health Professions (3 credits)
Physics 1200 Mechanics, Kinematics, Fluids, Waves (5 credits)
15 Credits Total    

Autumn, Year 2

Anatomy 2300, 3300 or Evol, Ecology and Organismal Bio (EEOB) 2510 (4-5 credits)
GE Foundation (3 credits)
GE Theme Citizenship for a Diverse and Just World theme course (4 credits)
Statistics 1450.01 or.02 Introduction to the Practice of Statistics (3 credits)
14-15 Credits Total  

Spring, Year 2

GE Foundation (3 credits)
GE Theme Choice theme course (4 credits)
Evol, Ecology and Organismal Bio (EEOB) 2520 or Physiology and Cell Biology 3200 (3-5 credits)
Microbiology 4000.01 Basic and Practical Microbiology (4 credits)
14-16 Credits Total

Begin Professional Coursework

Autumn, Year 3

Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4320 Components of Respiratory Health and Disease (4 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4400 Basic Respiratory Care (5 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4410 Introduction to Clinical Respiratory Care (4 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4430 Evaluation of Respiratory Function (5 credits)
18 Credits Total 

Spring, Year 3

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 5510 Pharmacological Aspects of Practice in HRS (2 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4475 Mechanical Ventilation (5 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4489 Clinical Experience Phase I (2 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4500 Respiratory Therapy for Special Populations (5 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4515 Intensive Respiratory Care (3 credits)
17 Credits Total

Summer, Year 3

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 5300 Management Principles and Human Resources for Health Care Professionals (3 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4589 Clinical Experience Phase II (8 credits)
11 Credits Total, which is below full-time status 

Autumn, Year 4

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 4200 Health Sciences Research (3 credits)
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 5500 Introduction to Pathophysiology (4 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4593 Individual Studies in Respiratory Therapy (2 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4689 Introduction to Advanced Clinical Practice Phase I (2 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4895 Seminar (1 credit)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 5525 Teaching and Learning Respiratory Therapy (2 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 5600 Fundamentals of Respiratory Care Research (2 credits)
16 Credits Total 

Spring, Year 4

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 4001 General Education Reflection Seminar in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (1 credit)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4593 Individual Studies in Respiratory Therapy (3 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 4789 Introduction to Advanced Clinical Practice Phase II (5 credits)
Respiratory Therapy (RESPTHR) 5520 Issues in Respiratory Care (2 credits)
11 Credits Total, which is below full-time status

Questions?

Contact the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at 614-292-1706 or HRSStudentServices@osumc.edu
Degree requirements and course offerings are subject to changes.
Last updated on: July 1, 2024