Admission

Respiratory Therapy Program Pathways

Admission to the Respiratory Therapy program varies based on whether you’re applying directly from high school or transferring with prior coursework. 

If you are a high school student or have started—but not yet completed—college level prerequisite coursework for a Respiratory Therapy degree, you can enter Butler University as a Health Sciences major with a Pre-Respiratory Therapy concentration.

If you are a prospective transfer student or a Butler student with the necessary prerequisites applying into the three-year professional phase of the program, proceed to the Respiratory Therapy Professional Phase section below.

Pre-Respiratory Therapy 

Students admitted directly from high school will begin as a Health Sciences major with a Pre-Respiratory Therapy (Pre-RT) concentration, completing the prerequisites needed to apply into the Respiratory Therapy major. 

Students from high school must meet the following requirements:

• Completed Common App to the University, with Pre-RT as the selected major
• Minimum cumulative high school GPA of 3.25 weighted (or 3.0 unweighted)
• Successful completion of the following high school coursework:
  • English: 4 years
  • Mathematics: 3 years; 4 years preferred
  • Pre-calculus preferred
  • Statistics preferred
  • Laboratory Science: 3 years; 4 years preferred
  • Biology required
  • Chemistry required
  • Social Studies/History: 3 years
  • World Language: 2 years of the same language preferred

More information about Butler admission requirements, deadlines, and other important information can be found on the Admission website.

Butler Pre-RT concentrations and internal transfer students who are on track to fulfill the required prerequisites are guaranteed the opportunity to interview for the professional phase of Butler’s Respiratory Therapy program. This phase includes advanced coursework and hands-on clinical experience. While admission to the major is competitive, each applicant will be carefully considered based on their academic performance and readiness for the program.

Respiratory Therapy Professional Phase

The professional phase of the Respiratory Therapy program integrates didactic instruction, laboratory practice, and clinical experiences to develop the skills necessary for excellence in patient care. All students who wish to enter into the professional phrase will need the following prerequisites:

• Chemistry with lab or equivalent (4 credit hours) 
• Anatomy and Physiology with lab 1 or equivalent (3 credit hours) 
• Anatomy and Physiology with lab 2 or equivalent (3 credit hours) 
• Statistically Speaking or equivalent (3 credit hours) 
• Microbiology with lab or equivalent (4 credit hours) 
• Psychological Inquiry or equivalent (3 credit hours) 
• Medical Terminology or equivalent

Students may apply to the professional program if they have a minimum of 2.6 GPA and are enrolled in or have successfully completed a minimum of three of the above prerequisite courses. 

Students must have completed all seven of the above courses before matriculation in the professional phase of the program. Students must update transcripts and enrollment plans by January 15 of the year they are seeking to be admitted. Students with outstanding requirements may be conditionally admitted and will receive formal admission upon successful completion of all prerequisite coursework.

Admission to the professional phase of the Respiratory Therapy program is competitive, and each applicant will be carefully considered based on their academic performance and readiness for the program. 

The Butler University Respiratory Therapy Program is committed to inclusion. The program seeks students who excel in the areas of leadership, service, scholarship, communication, intellectual capacity, and interpersonal skills.

You can learn more about internal and external transfer admission to Butler on the Admission website.

To learn more about applying to Butler, select your student type below.

• Applying to Butler as a First-Year Student
• Applying to Butler as a Transfer Student
• Applying to Butler as an International Student

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