Respiratory Therapy (Bachelor of Science, B.S.)

Missouri Western offers a Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy. Respiratory Therapy students are trained to assess and treat people with breathing disorders, manage life support devices, maintain airways, deliver medication, draw and analyze blood, perform lung expansion and airway clearance and deliver therapeutic medical gasses. Registered Respiratory Therapists often work in hospitals, intensive care units including neonatal, pediatric, heart surgery and pulmonary ICUs. They also work in emergency departments, on rapid response and code blue teams, in labor and delivery and in operating rooms. The program is governed by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC).  Visit the CoARC website to obtain more information about Respiratory Therapy.  CoARC, 264 Precision Blvd Telford, TN 37690 USA. 

The Respiratory Therapy (RT) program has a selective entrance policy.  Application to the program is made separately from application for admission to Missouri Western. Students interested in becoming a Registered Respiratory Therapist should contact the Program Director for Respiratory Therapy at 816-271-4309 or dnorthop@missouriwestern.edu. Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

  • The applicant must have a minimum overall cumulative GPA of 2.5 (Contact Program Director if GPA is below a 2.5 and interested in becoming a respiratory therapist).
  • The TEAS test, better known as the "Test of Essential Academic Skills," is an entry-level exam which measures the current aptitude level of an individual seeking entry into the field of Health Sciences.  The Respiratory Therapy program strongly encourages you to take this test in order to determine if you would have a high likelihood of academic success as indicated by a test result of 58.7% or above.  The program may use the TEAS results when selecting students for admission; taking the TEAS could b advantageous in the selection process especially if other required criteria is absent.
  • The applicant must have completed or currently enrolled in all general studies and respiratory therapy support courses (and earn a grade of C or higher in each support class, as well as MAT 110 Contemporary Problem Solving, MAT 110E Contemporary Problem Solving, MAT 112 Finite Mathematics, or MAT 116 College Algebra).  (Contact Program Director if lacking one of the required support courses.)
  • The review of applications includes assessment of resume, letter of intent and personal statement and unofficial transcripts.  Deadlines for applications for preferred admittance is May 15th.  (Acceptance of applications after May 15th will occur until cohort is full or until one week prior to beginning of semester.)

Students who choose this bachelor degree program will have no more than 6 years from admission or subsequent declaration to meet the requirements listed below. If certification, accreditation or statutory requirements change and additional requirements become effective during this time, the new requirements take precedence. 

Note: Students pre-admitted into the bachelor degree program (pre-major) have three years to meet admission requirements before moving to the overall 6 year time-frame allowed to complete the program requirements. 
General Studies
Students must complete General Studies courses42
ALH 320Community and Public Health3
ALH 330Introduction to Epidemiology and Biostatistics3
EXS 304Physiology of Exercise3
EXS 400Advanced Cardiovascular Exercise Physiology3
EXS 451Research Methods in Allied Health Professions3
or SWK 470 Program Evaluation
PTA 251Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation2
RES 250Concepts of Respiratory Therapy3
RES 300Cardiopulmonary Assessment3
RES 310Respiratory Clinical Practice I3
RES 315Respiratory Diagnostics I3
RES 325Pharmacology for the Respiratory Therapist3
RES 360Respiratory Clinical Practice II3
RES 400Mechanical Ventilation4
RES 405ACLS/PALS3
RES 410Respiratory Clinical Practice III4
RES 415Respiratory Diagnostics II3
RES 425Neonatal Respiratory Care2
RES 430Pediatric Respiratory Care2
RES 460Respiratory Clinical Capstone4
RES 470Senior Seminar - NBRC Prep2
RSM 300Philosophy and Leadership in Recreation and Sport Management3
SWK 365Death And Dying3
Support Courses
ALH 106Medical Terminology2
BIO 101Principles of Biology4
BIO 250Anatomy and Physiology5
BIO 251Medical and Public Health Microbiology4
BIO 375Pathophysiology4
CHE 101Introductory Chemistry4-5
or CHE 111 General Chemistry I
PHL 230Ethics3
or PHL 231 Healthcare Ethics
or PHL 232 Business Ethics
PSY 101General Psychology3
PSY 240Life-Span Developmental Psychology3

Program Graduation Requirements

  1. Earn a grade of C or higher in all major coursework.
  2. Earn an overall GPA of at least 2.0 and a major GPA of at least 2.0.

University Graduation Requirements 

  1. Earn a minimum of 120 credit hours (100 level and higher, maximum of 6 CED credit hours applicable).
  2. Earn a minimum of 30 credit hours in upper-division courses.  Lower-division transfer courses accepted as meeting upper-division departmental course requirements cannot be used to fulfill this requirement.
  3. Earn 30 of the last 45 credit hours at MWSU in institutional coursework (exclusive of credit by examination).
  4. Participate in required departmental and campus wide assessments. 
  5. Fulfill the Missouri Constitution requirement.
  6. Successfully pass the Missouri Higher Education Civics Achievement exam.