Master of Science in Respiratory Therapy (Degree Advancement Track)

• You will be matched with a faculty mentor during orientation.
• The program director and faculty offer weekly office hours.
• Faculty are typically available by email or phone during business hours and respond to student emails within one business day.

• The School of Health Professions Office of Student Affairs provides academic coaching, assistance with educational accommodations and support for personal concerns.
• UTMB Student Health and Counseling Services offers counseling and wellbeing resources for enrolled students.
• Financial aid counseling and scholarship guidance are also available.

• Faculty address stress, wellbeing, and professional resilience as part of the learning experience.
• The program connects students with respiratory therapy professionals who understand the demands of balancing graduate education, work, and personal responsibilities.

• Students learn alongside experienced respiratory therapists with a range of clinical and professional perspectives.
• Online discussions and collaborative learning activities help students build meaningful professional connections throughout the program.

This program is designed for working respiratory therapists. Students do not step away from their careers to learn; they bring their professional experience into the classroom.

• Real-world integration: Assignments, discussions and projects encourage students to connect their daily clinical experiences with course concepts. A respiratory therapist managing ventilators in the ICU, leading a shift, or educating patients, can apply those experiences to leadership, evidence-based practice and advanced clinical decision-making.
• Professional relevance: Coursework helps students evaluate their current practice, identify opportunities for improvement, and apply new knowledge to support safer, more effective patient care.
• Career-aligned learning: Whether students are preparing for roles in leadership, education, or research, or strengthening their current clinical practice, the program emphasizes practical learning that can be applied in the workplace.

This approach recognizes the experience practicing respiratory therapists bring to the program and builds on it through structured academic development.

Our program uses a range of digital tools to help students access coursework, communicate with faculty and classmates, manage academic tasks and complete collaborative projects.

• Blackboard: Serves as the central location for course materials, assignments, grades, announcements, discussions and faculty communication.
• Panopto: Provides recorded lectures, demonstrations and instructional walkthroughs that students can view on their own schedule. Students may also use Panopto to record presentations, reflections, and project work.
• mySTAR: Allows students to manage registration, class schedules, tuition and fees, and academic records through UTMB’s secure student portal.
• Microsoft 365 and Citrix Workspace: Support writing, data analysis, presentations, group projects and communication through tools such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams.

Together, these platforms support a flexible and organized online learning experience for working respiratory therapists.

Although the program is fully online, students have opportunities to engage with faculty and learn alongside other practicing respiratory therapists.

• Faculty engagement: Experienced clinicians, researchers and leaders provide personalized feedback, offer virtual office hours, and guide students through advanced concepts. Their mentorship helps students connect academic learning with professional practice.
• Peer learning: Students collaborate through discussions, group projects, shared documents, and video presentations. Because classmates bring experience from a variety of respiratory care settings, these activities create opportunities to exchange ideas, professional perspectives and effective practices.
• Professional community: Students can build relationships that extend beyond the classroom and support continued learning, leadership development, and career growth.