In the Ivy Tech Respiratory Therapy program, students learn by working with the same type of equipment they will use in professional settings after graduation. They gain knowledge and skills in:
Assessing, evaluating and treating patients of all ages who have breathing disorders
Communicating with patients and other healthcare providers
Working on a team with physicians, nurses and other medical professionals
Career Options
After completing the Ivy Tech Respiratory Therapy program, students can pursue a career as a respiratory therapist. These healthcare specialists work in settings such as:
Hospitals
Sleep laboratories
Skilled nursing facilities
Physician offices
Asthma education programs
Smoking cessation programs
Medical air transport and ambulance programs
Respiratory therapy case management programs
In-home care
HOW TO APPLY
Future Students
Students interested in the Respiratory Therapy program must apply to Ivy Tech first using the Ivy Tech general application. In this application, apply for the Healthcare Specialist program with an interest in Respiratory Therapy. Apply to Ivy Tech Now
The Respiratory Therapy program at Ivy Tech has a selective admissions process, which means not all students who apply to the program will be accepted. Learn More about Selective Admissions
Prepare for National Exams
Ivy Tech's Associate of Science in Respiratory Therapy degree program prepares students to take the national board exams they'll need to take to begin practicing in the field. Graduates must pass the exams to earn a credential from the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC).
Associate Degree – Career-Ready Degree
The Ivy Tech Associate of Science (AS) in Respiratory Therapy degree program offers laboratory training on the same type of equipment that students will use as professional respiratory therapists. The program focuses on the knowledge and skills required to manage and treat lung disorders.
If you would like to pursue a degree from a four-year college or university, you can save upward of $10,000 by completing your first two years at Ivy Tech and then transferring! Our Respiratory Therapy program currently has partnerships with two schools so you can seamlessly transfer without losing your credits or time:
Indiana University Indianapolis (IUI)
Indiana Wesleyan University
Talk to our transfer advocates for information about continuing your education after completing your associate degree at Ivy Tech. You are also encouraged to contact the university to which you plan to transfer. Note that admission is not guaranteed just by enrolling in the Respiratory Therapy program. You will need to be admitted to the institution you intend to transfer to.
Ivy Tech's Associate of Science in Respiratory Therapy degree program can prepare you to take the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) exams. The credential earned through passing these exams is a requirement for professional practice as a respiratory therapist.
Career to Pursue
After completing the Ivy Tech AS in Respiratory Therapy degree program, students can pursue a career as a respiratory therapist. These healthcare specialists work in settings such as:
Hospitals
Sleep laboratories
Skilled nursing facilities
Physician offices
Asthma education programs
Smoking cessation programs
Medical air transport and ambulance programs
Respiratory therapy case management programs
In-home care
Student Outcomes
Student Outcomes (SOs) are the competencies that Ivy Tech students should
be well versed in upon graduating from the program.
Respiratory therapists work with patients who range in age from premature infants to older adults. They also treat people who have chronic lung conditions, such as asthma or emphysema.
Successful students and professionals in this field typically have skills and competencies in:
Science
Analytics
Communication
The Ivy Tech Respiratory Therapy program is challenging, but it aims to prepare students for national board exams and real-world professional experiences. It's a full-time, daytime-only program. Students must provide their own transportation to and from clinical sites.
Respiratory therapy students must undergo background screening and drug screening upon acceptance into the program. They also must have the required vaccinations, including COVID.
Sound Like You?
If you identify with the traits and program details above, respiratory therapy may the path for you! Take the next step to get started or speak with your localadvisor to learn more.
The Ivy Tech Respiratory Therapy associate degree can be an academically challenging but rewarding program for the right student. Prior to applying, please review the following requirements and expectations for students in the program.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend all course meetings. Attendance is necessary to maximize student-learning opportunities. Students who are absent are responsible for missed material. Clinical courses require that the student be present to effectively evaluate successful achievement of clinical course objectives and concepts, as clinical course objectives cannot be accomplished or evaluated outside the clinical setting. There are no make-up sessions for missed clinical hours; therefore, regular clinical attendance is mandatory for successful clinical course and program completion.
Students will be required to provide their own transportation to and from clinical sites. Schedules vary based on campus. Please reach out to your campus of interest to learn more about meeting times and dates.
Mandatory Drug and Criminal Background Screenings
Students will be required to complete a background screening, drug screening, and required vaccinations (including COVID) upon acceptance into the program.
Time Commitment
The Respiratory Therapy associate degree program is a large time commitment. Due to the completion of required general education courses, students who enroll in the Respiratory Therapy Program are considered part-time and will need to follow the part-time course outline. Please refer to the table below.
Although students are considered part-time, many find it difficult to work full-time while completing their degrees as studying and homework outside of class time can take between 12-16 hours per week. Respiratory Therapy course schedules and assignment due dates will not be adjusted to accommodate individual work schedules.
Course Number
Course Title
Credit Hours
Contact Hours Per Week
Required General Education
PSYC 101 or SOCI 111
General Psychology or Sociology
3
3
APHY 101
Anatomy & Physiology I
3
4
MATH 123
Quantitative Reasoning (will accept MATH 118)
3
3
APHY 102
Anatomy & Physiology II
3
4
ENGL 111
English Composition I
3
3
CHEM 1XX
Chemistry
3
4
BIOL 2XX
Microbiology
3
4
COMM 101 or 102
Intro Communications or
Fundamentals of Speech
3
3
IVYT 1XX
Ivy Tech Student Success:
(Recommend 112)
1
1
Required Respiratory Therapy Courses
RESP 101
Assessment and Caring for a Respiratory Patient
6
8 (4 lec / 4 lab)
RESP 102
Advanced Assessment and Care of a Cardiopulmonary Patient
3
4 (2 lec / 2 lab)
RESP 103
Cardiopulmonary Anatomy and Physiology
3
3 lecture
RESP 104
Concepts in Adult Critical Care
3
4 (2 lec / 2 lab)
RESP 105
Cardiopulmonary Pathophysiology
3
3 lecture
RESP 106
Cardiopulmonary Pharmacology
3
3 lecture
RESP 107
Clinical Applications of Assessment and Caring for a Respiratory Patient
2
10 hours in clinic
RESP 108
Clinical Applications in Advanced Assessment and Care of a Cardiopulmonary Patient
2
10 hours in clinic
RESP 201
Advanced Concepts in Cardiopulmonary Diagnostic Procedures
4
4 lecture
RESP 202
Pediatric and Neonatal Advanced Critical Care
3
4 (2 lec / 2 lab)
RESP 203
Advanced Emergency Management
1
1 lecture
RESP 204
Extended Care for the Cardiopulmonary Patient
2
2 lecture
RESP 205
Advanced Respiratory Care and Comprehensive Review
3
3 lecture
RESP 208 *
Clinical Applications and Concepts in Critical Care (Equivalent to the combination of RESP 206 and RESP 207 )
5
25 hours in clinic
RESP 209
Advanced Clinical Applications in Critical Care and Specialty Rotations
Completion of the following prerequisite courses with a grade of "C" or higher is required for admission to the Associate of Science (AS) in Respiratory Therapy degree program:
APHY 101 Anatomy and Physiology I
APHY 102 Anatomy and Physiology II
ENGL 111 English Composition
MATH 123 Quantitative Reasoning
Chemistry elective
For admission to the program, students also must display the following essential functions and skills:
Motor skills
Physical strength and endurance
Mobility
Hearing
Visual
Touching
Smell
Reading
Critical thinking
Interpersonal and behavioral skills
No Expiration of Credits
There is no expiration date for course credits that were earned in previous years from Ivy Tech Community College.
Transfer Credit for Prerequisite Courses
Prerequisite courses completed at colleges other than Ivy Tech will only be considered for general education selection points if transfer credit has been awarded and courses appear on the Ivy Tech transcript prior to the application deadline.
TR grades are not recognized by the online application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that transfer credit has been awarded and that TR grades are updated to transfer letter grades (TA, TB, TC) on their Ivy Tech transcript.
It is recommended that college transcripts be submitted to the Registrar’s office for evaluation and transfer credit at least 4 weeks prior to the program application deadline to ensure adequate time for processing.
Respiratory Therapy Courses
Descriptions of respiratory therapy courses can be found in our online course catalog:
See when specific classes will be offered by searching our class list in Schedule Builder. First, select the semester you’re looking for and then enter the name of the class in the search bar.
If you’re a current student, upcoming classes are easy to find in Schedule Builder in MyIvy.
Class Formats
In the Ivy Tech Respiratory Therapy program, general education courses and RESP 204 Extended Care for the Cardiopulmonary Patient are available through online instruction. Other courses are taught in a traditional, in-person format.
Step 1
Apply to Ivy Tech
Students interested in the Respiratory Therapy program must first submit the Ivy Tech general application and complete requirements for admission to the college. During this application, you should apply for the Healthcare Specialist program with an interest in Respiratory Therapy. Admission to the college does not ensure acceptance to a health science program, but students can be working on prerequisite courses for the Respiratory Therapy program after admission to the college and before applying to the program itself.
In order to ensure all applicants are aware of the program's requirements and application guidelines, we require all students to view this information session prior to apply to the program. Click below to view the information session.
After watching the information session, you may also be interested in attending a Q&A session at your local campus. Find times for local sessions at the Local Program Highlights section.
Step 3
Apply to the Respiratory Therapy Program
Following completion of the information session and prerequisite courses, you may apply for the Respiratory Therapy program through the online application for health science programs.
Please note that the Respiratory Therapy program is a selective admission program, which means there are a limited number of spots each year.
The Respiratory Therapy program begins each fall. The application window is between March 15 and May 15. The advisor at your campus of interest has more information and you can find additional details in the program's application handbook.
If you are not a current Ivy Tech Community College student, please Apply Now. You will need a C# (Ivy Tech student ID number) and Ivy Tech single sign-on login credentials in order to apply.
Gather all required or optional documentation that you will need to upload into the system. View more about requirements here. You will have the ability to save your application in progress until you are able to secure documentation.
If you are transferring from another institution, please make sure that your transcripts are evaluated at least 4 weeks prior to the application deadline.
Check to make sure your personal information is accurate.
Select the programs and campuses you would like to be considered as an applicant. You can select up to three different programs and three different campuses. (Some students choose to apply to multiple programs within the School of Health Sciences.)
You must meet all of the prerequisites for a program in order to submit your application. If you receive a message indicating that you do not meet the prerequisites, then please remove that program selection in order to proceed with the application.
Upload any necessary documents.
Make sure grades in the system are accurate. If not, please contact your home campus registrar or advisor.
You will be able to submit your application if you are currently enrolled in a course identified as a prerequisite for the program.
Once complete, submit your application.
You will receive an email confirmation in your Ivy Tech email account that your application has been submitted and is pending review.
Once you have submitted your application, you have the option to reopen it to make changes.
Note: DO NOT USE THE “BACK” function on your computer. Use the navigation pane at the side of the page to navigate.
To learn more about the Health Sciences and Nursing application process, watch the below video, read the FAQ, or contact your campus of interest.
Offers of Admission
Students can select up to three programs and three campuses each on the application. Offers of acceptance are for a specific program and campus. The offers are determined through eight rounds of auto-selection and six rounds of manual selection.
If a student is accepted, they will receive an email from the online application system to their Ivy Tech email account offering a seat in the program. Offers are emailed beginning within one week of the application close date and continue until program capacity is met or one week before the start of semester classes. Each round of offers begins at 6:00 am and applicants have until 11:59 pm the following day to either accept or reject an offer.
Depending on their rank and offers, a student could potentially receive multiple offers. Once one offer is accepted, the student is immediately withdrawn from all other offers and will be contacted by the chair or dean of the program with information about the program orientation date, time, and location.
If a student fails to respond, then the offer expires. If a student rejects an offer three (3) times, the application is removed from the auto-selection application pool but will then be available for manual selection rounds that occur later in the process.
Students do have the ability to withdraw an application at any point during the admission cycle. However, once an application is withdrawn, another one cannot be submitted until the next application cycle.
After You're Accepted
If you are accepted into the program—first off, congratulations!—you will be required to attend an orientation session at your local campus during the summer semester prior to beginning classes. An email will be sent following your acceptance with details about the session.
What If I Don’t Get Admitted?
The Respiratory Therapy program does not maintain a waitlist. Non-admitted applicants can reapply in the next application cycle, but we recommend that they meet with an advisor to begin planning and preparing for the reapplication process. Advisors can also assist students in exploring other programs of interest in Ivy Tech’s School of Health Sciences if they have applied several times and have not been accepted into the program.
What is Selective Admission?
The Respiratory Therapy program is a selective admissions program. Due to the nature of this program and the high number of applications received, we can only accept a small number of students each year.
Weighted Point System
A weighted point system is used to evaluate applicants for admission. Student applications are assigned points based on their grades in prerequisite courses. Point totals for applicants receiving admission offers will vary between campuses. Point totals are not shared.
If there is a tie, the tiebreaker will be determined by the student's Ivy Tech GPA from the spring semester.
Applicants can also receive an additional five points by uploading proof of the following licenses or certifications to their application: LPN, RN, military medic, EMT, Paramedic, or CNA.
Please note:
Optional documents must be approved in order to receive optional points.
If an optional document is rejected, the application will process without optional points.
Only one license or certification document can be uploaded, and only one will receive optional points, if approved, for each relevant program.
License or certification must be current and active.
General Education Weighted Point System
When multiple course attempts are reported on applicant transcripts (including transcripts from other colleges and universities), the highest earned grade of the first three attempts will be used for the selection decision score through the application period. Points for courses transferred from other institutions will be awarded from the grade recorded on the transcript from the other institution provided transfer credit appears on the Ivy Tech transcript.
Course
A
B
C
D/F
APHY 101
30
20
10
0
APHY 102
30
20
10
0
ENGL 111
15
10
5
0
MATH 123
30
20
10
0
CHEM 1XX
30
20
10
0
Total General Education Points Possible = 135
The CoARC requires institutions and programs to be accurate in reporting a program’s accreditation status to the public. Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC): https://coarc.com/
For individual accreditation information please see campus locations.
CoARC accredits respiratory therapy education programs in the United States. To achieve this end, it utilizes an ‘outcomes based’ process. Programmatic outcomes are performance indicators that reflect the extent to which the educational goals of the program are achieved and by which program effectiveness is documented
The Ivy Tech Community College Respiratory Therapy Program, CoARC program number 200464, Associate of Science degree, at Lake County Crown Point is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (www.coarc.com)
The Respiratory Therapy Program, Program Number 200314, Associate Degree of Science at the Fort Wayne Campus is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). www.coarc.com
Elizabeth Hayden, RRT Program Chair, Respiratory Therapy 765-269-5720 ehayden3@ivytech.edu
Courtney Stephenson, MBA, RRT-ACCS Respiratory Therapy Director of Clinical Education & Healthcare Specialist Department Chair 765-269-5418 cstephenson15@ivytech.edu
Accreditation
The Respiratory Therapy Program, Program Number 200418, Associate Degree of Science at the Lafayette Campus is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). www.coarc.com
The Ivy Tech Community College Respiratory Therapy Program, CoARC program number 200464, Associate of Science degree, at Lake County Crown Point is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (www.coarc.com)
The Respiratory Therapy Program, Program Number 200501, Associate Degree of Science at the Sellersburg Campus is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). www.coarc.com
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1 Source: US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2022 State Occupational Employment and Wage estimates: Indiana.(2023). Lightcast™, lightcast.io. Occupational Overview for Indiana, 2023-2024
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