Most professional master’s programs in athletic training interview their applicants, usually by Zoom or in person with faculty. One program publishes the exact criteria it scores your interview on. Here is what named programs say about Summer and Fall 2027 admission.
From MSAT programs’ own admissions pagesSummer and Fall 2027 admissionChecked October 28, 2026
Practice with a mock interviewOne-on-one on Zoom with Julie Cunningham, MA, CCC-SLP.
Jump to:FormatsPublished criteriaPractice questionsHow to prepareFAQ
Interview formats at named programs
| Program | Format | What their page says |
|---|---|---|
| University of Kentucky | Zoom | For Summer 2027: “recommended applicants will be invited for a zoom interview session.” Fall 2026 interviews run from the week of September 7 to December 4; spring interviews from the week of January 11 to the week of March 8, 2027. Source |
| Purdue University | In person or virtual | For an August 2027 start: “Interview with the athletic training faculty (both in-person and virtual interviews are offered).” A decision can typically be made within a week. Source |
| Cal State Long Beach | Video or in person, 25% | For the 2027 cohort, interviews with the admission committee “will occur via video conference or face to face.” The interview is 25% of the evaluation. Source |
| Central Michigan University | Interview | Interview invitations begin mid-November 2026, and “Interviews are expected to begin in early December.” Source |
| TCU | Required, scored on a form | The Summer 2027 application opened July 1, 2026. Its published review form scores the interview on four criteria (below). Source |
The interview criteria TCU publishes
TCU posts the form its reviewers use. The interview row has four criteria (TCU review form):
- “Applicant demonstrates strong verbal communication skills.”
- “Applicant conveys passion and understanding for athletic training.”
- “Maturity of candidate.”
- “Can give example of past experience that shows ability to handle stressful situations.”
That last line tells you to bring a specific stressful moment, ideally from your observation hours: an injury on the field, an emergency, or a hard conversation with a coach. TCU’s form also requires 100 observation hours under a certified athletic trainer, and Purdue requires at least 75 (Purdue).
Practice questions
Apart from TCU’s criteria, programs don’t publish their questions. These are my practice prompts, not questions any program has published:
- Why athletic training, and not physical therapy or strength and conditioning?
- Tell us about a stressful moment during your observation hours. What did you do?
- How would you handle a coach who wants an injured athlete back in the game?
- What settings besides sports can athletic trainers work in?
- Tell us about a time you received criticism. How did you respond?
- How do you manage your time with clinical hours and coursework?
- Why our program?
How to prepare
- Prepare for TCU’s four criteria: clear speech, passion and understanding for the field, maturity, and a story about handling stress.
- Know your interview window. Kentucky splits interviews into fall and spring windows; apply early for a fall slot.
- Bring observation stories with a specific injury, decision, or conversation.
- Know the profession beyond sports: clinics, industry, the military, and the performing arts.
- Do a mock interview on Zoom if your interview is virtual.
Your interviewers may have your application in front of them, so reread your own athletic training personal statement before the interview. If you haven’t submitted yet, see our athletic training personal statement examples, or work with Lauren Hammond, PhD, our personal statement editor.
Also applying to physical therapy? See our PT school interview guide. For other professions, see our allied health interview guide.
For sounding clear and confident in a virtual interview, see Zoom interview tips from Julie Cunningham, a licensed speech-language pathologist.
Practice with a real interviewer before the real one. My wife, Julie Cunningham, MA, CCC-SLP, is a licensed speech-language pathologist who runs mock interviews on Zoom for athletic training applicants. She coaches every format: one-on-one, panel, MMI, and recorded video interviews such as Kira Talent. She works on how your answers come across: clear key words, pace, voice, filler words, organizing an answer so it has a point, staying steady when you’re nervous, and how you look and sound on camera. It’s $250 an hour.
Frequently asked questions
Do MSAT programs require an interview?
Most on this page do. Kentucky invites recommended applicants to a Zoom interview, Purdue invites qualified applicants to interview with its faculty, and TCU scores an interview on its published review form.
What does TCU look for in an athletic training interview?
Its review form lists strong verbal communication skills, passion and understanding for athletic training, maturity, and an example of a past experience that shows you can handle stressful situations.
How much does the MSAT interview count?
At Cal State Long Beach, the interview is 25% of the evaluation.
When are athletic training interviews?
It varies. Kentucky interviews from September to early December 2026 and from January to March 2027, and Central Michigan expects to begin in early December.
Related guides: PT school (DPT), OT school, SLP grad school, Audiology (AuD), and Orthotics and prosthetics. See all interview guides by program.
Every date and quotation on this page comes from the program’s own admissions page or review form, linked where it appears. TCU’s review form gives no year; we used it only for its standing criteria. Last checked October 28, 2026.