Degree Description

The Respiratory Therapist is a health care professional who specializes in the application of scientific knowledge in providing and supporting the cardiopulmonary requirements for a wide variety of patients that include newborn infants, children, adults and the elderly. Respiratory Therapists work under the direction of a physician to assess, manage, treat, educate and care for patients with a wide range of cardiopulmonary disorders. The Respiratory Therapist works in a collaborative fashion with other health care providers to restore the cardiopulmonary health of the patient. The main career opportunities for Respiratory Therapy are found in: acute care hospitals, post-acute care centers, home care, pulmonary function laboratories, pulmonary rehabilitation clinics, and asthma clinics. Additional opportunities may be found in: sleep medicine centers, hyperbaric medicine, respiratory education, air transport, physician’s offices, medical research, armed services and as traveling therapists.

Career Possibilities

A degree in Respiratory Therapy offers many career opportunities. Career Coach allows you to explore different career options for the degree you are pursuing. You can even take a look at each job title to see an in-depth overview, salary, job growth, and live job postings.

Explore the Career Coach for Respiratory Therapy

Program of Study Requirements

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What is a Respiratory Therapist?

Degree Pathway

Degree Pathways outline one possible sequence of courses students may complete to fulfill their degree requirements as full-time students over the course of two years.

Program Information & Forms

Admission Process

Application due date is May 31st for Fall Semester Admission

  1. Student completes eligibility requirements for the program.
  2. Complete and submit online application

    Have these documents available when completing the application:

    • Current BLS certification
    • If courses from another college were transferred, submit a transcript from the other college (not a Mott transcript)
    • If you have healthcare work experience, submit a document with company letterhead from a supervisor listing duration and role of employment.
  3. Coordinator receives supplemental application for the program.
  4. Coordinator verifies that all requirements have been met.
  5. Coordinator notifies student of acceptance into the program and date student can expect to begin classes.
  6. Student attends orientation session prior to Fall semester.

Eligibility Requirements

  1. Be admitted to MCC and declare intent to enter the RT program.
  2. Maintain an overall GPA of 2.5 in eligibility requirement courses (see #5 for specific courses).
  3. Demonstrate College level reading comprehension on the ACCUPLACER placement test within the last 5 years, or a minimum score of 20 on the reading portion of the ACT, or a score of 27 on the reading portion of the SAT, within the last 5 years. A satisfactory grade in RDNG 030 or a grade of 2.0 in ACRD-090 or ACRD-091 within the last 5 years will also meet this requirement.
  4. Demonstrate math proficiency by placing into MATH 130, or higher on the ACCUPLACER placement test within the last 5 years, or completion of MATH 115 or higher level course with a grade of 2.0 or higher. A minimum score of 590 on the math portion of the SAT or a minimum score of 25 on the math portion of the ACT within the last 5 years will also meet this requirement.
  5. Complete AHLT 102, BIOL 101 or BIOL 156, BIOL 151, and BIOL 152 with a "C" or 2.0 grade or better.
  6. Submit a current cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) card. The card must be the BLS Health Care Provider from the American Heart Association or the Professional Rescuer from the American Red Cross.
  7. Complete a minimum of 4 hours of a "job shadowing" experience at an approved clinical affiliate. The program coordinator will schedule the appointment.
  8. Complete and submit online application - available January 2024.
  9. When student is notified of their admission to the programs current fall semester, they must have an acceptable criminal background check for the purpose of identifying any student who could not continue in the program due to a felony conviction (with the last 15 years) or misdemeanor conviction (within the last 1,3,5, or 10 years) in accordance with State statutes and laws. Students may be required to have additional checks prior to the start of the clinical sequence of the program at the request of specific clinical facilities. The cost of the criminal background check is the responsibility of the student. This requirement should be completed less than 6 months prior to the start of actual respiratory therapy courses which occurs during the first fall semester. The program coordinator will notify the student which fall semester the student may begin the program. A student who has a question about their criminal background status due to a possible felony or misdemeanor may want to submit an earlier request.

The Respiratory Therapy program, CoARC program number200294, awards an Associates of Applied Science degree, at Mott Community College, 1401 E Court St. Flint MI, 48503 is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (www.coarc.com).

In addition, 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. These outcomes can be viewed at the following link: CoARC Programmatic Outcomes Data

Respiratory Therapy is a licensed profession in the State of Michigan. The Michigan Department of Community Health Bureau of Health Professions, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services is responsible for granting licensure for qualified applicants. The program provides the student with the knowledge and experience that will qualify them to take the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) examinations to become a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT).
The National Board for Respiratory Care