The Athletic Therapy Certificate Program is accredited by the Canadian Athletic Therapists' Association and prepares you to achieve the professional designation of a Certified Athletic Therapist (CAT(C)) in Canada, enabling you to work with professional athletes as well as the active population, both on the field and in the clinic.
If you have any questions about the Athletic Therapy Certificate Program, please email ugkhs@yorku.ca.
Note: The final cohort accepted to this certificate starts in Fall 2026.
Program Update
The Final Cohort
The Athletic Therapy Certificate Program accepted its final undergraduate cohort for September 2026.
Following this intake, the certificate will be phased out as York University transitions to a new Master of Athletic Therapy program. The first Master of Athletic Therapy cohort will begin in May 2027.
Students currently enrolled, including those in the final cohort beginning in Fall 2026, will complete the program under the existing certificate requirements.
About the Certificate
The Athletic Therapy Certificate program is a three-year program completed concurrently with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Kinesiology and Health Science.
The program combines classroom learning with experiential education including clinical education and field experience, to prepare graduates for national certification through the Canadian Athletic Therapist Association.
What Does an Athletic Therapist Do?
Certified Athletic Therapists are best known for their quick-thinking on-field emergency care of professional and elite athletes. The first to respond when someone gets hurt, they are experts at injury assessment and rehabilitation. It’s that same mix of on-site care and active rehabilitation skills that makes Athletic Therapists so effective in treating the musculoskeletal (muscles, bones, and joints) injuries of all Canadians, whether on the field or in the clinic.
Athletic therapists adhere to the Sports Medicine Model of care. They treat a wide range of patients, from kids with concussions to seniors recovering from hip replacement surgery, using various manual therapies, modalities, exercise prescription, and even bracing and taping. The treatment varies but the objective doesn’t: an Athletic Therapist's goal is to help patients return to their usual activities, whether that means playing competitive sports or walking to the mailbox and back.
Highly trained and versatile, Certified Athletic Therapists can be found working in environments such as:
- Private sports medicine and other therapy clinics
- Professional sports, such as the NHL, CFL, NBA, MLB, MLS
- Major games, such as the Olympic Games, Pan American, Canada Games, World University Games
- Teaching or research at universities, colleges, and private schools
- High school, amateur, and varsity athletics
- Professional dance and film industries
- Sales and marketing for health-related companies
- Municipal government and industrial workplaces
- Military, Police and Firefighter industries
- Insurance industry
Course Details
Canadian Athletic Therapists Association: CATA
