Location

Dublin, Ireland

Program Description

This study abroad experience is for graduate students enrolled in the JMU Athletic Training program. It will expose students to the unique sport culture of Ireland, while also learning about injuries associated with those sports and the medical care system.

A combination of formal learning via lectures and interactive labs provided by sport physiotherapists, team physicians and athletic therapists, informal learning (hop on/off bus tour and Experience Gaelic Games), and structured tourism (day trip to Cliffs of Moher) will keep students busy while directing them to some amazing opportunities to engage in Irish culture.

This one-week Spring Break program is embedded within either APEP 632 of ATEP 664. Students will enroll in either course and meet weekly on campus throughout the spring semester, both before and after the required one-week experience abroad.

Location Description

Dublin, the capital city of Ireland, will be our home base during this program. 

Ireland offers a fantastic opportunity for students to visit and study the Model of Sport, Sport Medicine, History & Culture. Ireland has a truly fascinating history and culturally rich people. Sport in Ireland has had a significant impact on country’s history and in some cases struggle for both independence and identity. Irish Sport provides great contrast to many other countries in that they play traditional Gaelic Games such as Gaelic football & Hurling as well as non-traditional games exported from Britain such as soccer, rugby & cricket. This program will educate students on the history & culture of Ireland Sport while simultaneously taking them inside the European model of club sports. Students will receive firsthand exposure to facilities and healthcare providers at various venues, clubs, universities and sporting organizations.  

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is Ireland's largest sporting organization and is celebrated as one of the great amateur sporting associations in the world today. The GAA is a volunteer led, community based organization that promotes Gaelic games such as Hurling, Football, Handball and Rounders and works with sister organizations to promote Ladies Football and Camogie. It is part of the Irish consciousness and plays an influential role in Irish society that extends far beyond the basic aim of promoting Gaelic games. 

Director

Connie Peterson | peterscl@jmu.edu | Health Sciences

Accommodations

Accomodations will either be in shared twin hotel rooms with full breakfast buffet or in a hostel with continental breakfast. Both options are centrally located with public transportation easily accessible.

Breakfast will be provided daily, 3 dinners are included as part of the program. Students should plan to spend their own money each day for the cost of lunch and remaining dinners.

Additional Items to Consider

Packed itinerary filled with formal learning experiences, informal learning experiences, tourism opportunities and still have some down time. Short flight, no background checks, no immunizations needed. Most cell phone plans include free international text and the program will use Whatspp to communicate while in Ireland. Preliminary itinerary available upon request.

Athletic Training, as a profession, is unique to the United States.  However, the National Athletic Trainers Association, in conjunction with its’ strategic partners (Board of Certification and Commission for the Accreditation of Athletic Training Education) have a reciprocity agreement with Canada and Ireland which allows healthcare providers with similar educational training, to sit for the Certified Athletic Trainer credentialing exam in each others’ countries. Dublin City University (DCU), one academic partner for this program, offers one of the three Athletic Rehabilitation Therapists (ART)(equivalent program) in Ireland and is in the process of working toward CAATE accreditation (US accrediting body). Students will learn directly from the DCU program director and team physician and well as numerous other healthcare professionals. Students will learn on-site at numerous athletic facilities (sport clubs), in classrooms at various universities and in laboratory facilities and have the opportunity to interact socially with physiotherapy and ART students.

*Students enrolled at JMU full-time Spring 2024 will pay no additional tuition to participate in a spring break program. The program fee will be the total required cost.

This Spring Break program is embedded within a semester-long, on-campus course taken during the spring semester term. The program travel dates correspond with a required one-week experience abroad.

Applicant Criteria

Applicants must have a GPA minimum of 2.5

Graduate Students

Prerequisite: Students must be in the JMU MSAT program

Application Process