Best Online Respiratory Therapy Degree Completion Programs for 2027

UNC Charlotte built this degree around working respiratory therapists, and the calendar shows it. Full-time students can finish in as little as 12 months, part-time students in about two years, and cohorts begin in spring, summer, and fall, so a missed deadline costs you a semester instead of a year. The 120-credit degree centers on 30 credits of major coursework in evidence-based research, advanced critical care, management, leadership, and administration, a good match for someone aiming at a charge therapist or educator role. Strong students can also apply to the Master of Science in Respiratory Care Early Entry Program and start graduate work before the bachelor’s is complete.

Before you apply: Applicants must already hold both the RRT credential and an associate degree from a CoARC-accredited program, so a therapist with only the CRT cannot apply yet.

Texas State pairs a high transfer ceiling with a price posted up front. Up to 90 credits can transfer toward the 120-credit degree, tuition is $407 per credit hour, and graduates of a regionally accredited community college who hold the RRT are awarded 46 semester credit hours toward the completion. What remains is a 32-hour respiratory care sequence spread over fall, spring, and summer in an accelerated online format, with critical care, research, education, leadership, and management as the emphases.

Before you apply: Enrollment is limited and competitive, and applicants need an overall GPA of at least 2.25. The RRT must be in hand before the final semester starts, so therapists still waiting on the registry exam should book it early.

Utah Tech charges $271 per credit hour with no residency surcharge and general fees waived, the lowest posted rate of any program in this group. The degree is compact: 31 credits in the RRT-to-BSRT curriculum, taken across three consecutive semesters, with courses in leadership and management, research, education, advanced clinical skills, and disease management. Fall and spring cohorts admit up to 30 students each, and applicants are scored on an objective point system built from college GPA and a program essay. A solid transcript and a clear reason for returning carry real weight here.

Before you apply: The RRT-to-BSRT program holds provisional CoARC accreditation (program number 510034). Admission is capped and competitive, with a minimum 2.5 GPA and no individual course grade below a C.

UT Health San Antonio delivers its degree from an academic health center, as 32 hours of fully online coursework that students can finish in one to three years depending on how many courses they carry. Admission rests on the RRT credential and the Texas Common Core Curriculum, with applications routed through the Allied Health Centralized Application Services. Cohorts enter in spring, summer, and fall, with deadlines of November 15, April 6, and July 15. The same department offers an online Master of Science in Respiratory Care for therapists with a bachelor’s degree in any field, so you can continue at the same school if graduate study is the goal.

Before you apply: The Texas Common Core Curriculum must be complete before you apply, so any gaps in general education need to be filled at another school first.

Midwestern State gives you the most say over what you study. The 120-hour degree calls for ten upper-level respiratory courses, 30 hours in all, picked from twelve that range across critical care, neonatal, pediatrics, pathophysiology, pulmonary function, management, leadership, ethics, research, and education. The RRT earns 39 semester hours, and the 49-hour academic foundation core can come from any appropriately accredited school. In the traditional option you take one course a term or as many as four on 16-week schedules, while the accelerated option pairs two courses per 8-week semester and wraps up the ten courses in about a year.

Before you apply: Only the 16-week option lets you choose your courses; the accelerated option assigns them. A C (75) is the minimum in respiratory courses, except RESP 4123 and RESP 4423, which use a 70.

Michigan-Flint admits therapists who hold the CRT as well as the RRT, provided the RRT is earned before practicum and capstone courses begin, which opens the door for some who would be turned away elsewhere. The degree totals at least 120 credits with a 21-credit respiratory therapy core and can be finished online in as little as 12 months. Admission is rolling, so you can apply in any month. Graduates are guaranteed an interview for the Master of Science in Physician Assistant program, and a joint BSRT and Master of Public Health option trims up to 10 credits from the combined path.

Before you apply: The program holds provisional CoARC accreditation until it earns continuing accreditation, and practicum and capstone courses are part of the curriculum.

Newberry awards 15 hours of life credit for your respiratory license at no cost, then asks for 33 hours of BSRT completion courses and a 15-hour online liberal arts core to reach 120. The course list reads like a charge therapist’s checklist: advanced airway management, advanced critical care monitoring, pharmacology in disease management, emergency and disaster management, and a capstone to finish. Tuition is $405 per credit hour with student services, course resources, and testing fees included, and the college’s Tuition Promise locks the rate. Fall and spring starts support a finish in as few as 12 months.

Before you apply: Active AARC membership is an admission requirement, along with the RRT, an active state license, and an associate degree earned at a 2.0 GPA or better. Books run roughly $100 to $300 per course, and a $50 technology fee applies each subterm.

Marian applies 43 transfer credits for associate-level respiratory courses, and its seven-week MPath terms open six start dates a year. About 30 of the 120 credits are general education, and the core leans toward healthcare administration, management, and leadership in ethical organizations. A three-credit Allied Health Capstone has students solve a professional problem with evidence-based solutions. There is no clinical component, since clinicals were completed at the associate level, and students can finish in as little as 18 months. Wisconsin respiratory therapists receive a 20 percent tuition discount.

Before you apply: The listed core topics are healthcare administration, management, leadership, organizational behavior, and presentations, so the curriculum points toward supervision more than added clinical content.

Akron teaches each respiratory therapy course in person, live-streams it, and records it, so a working RRT can attend, join synchronously online, or watch later. Candidates arrive with an AAS of at least 60 credit hours from a CoARC-accredited program, then complete 28 credits of respiratory therapy requirements: advanced pharmacology, advanced critical care, neonatal and pediatrics, alternate settings with a laboratory, and a four-credit capstone. Ethics, supervision, and professional leadership courses round out the 120-credit total. Akron lists 43 credits of general education, and many of those requirements may be met by transfer credit.

Before you apply: The last 30 credit hours must be earned at the University of Akron, which limits how much coursework from other schools can be added late in the degree.

The University of Mary builds a personalized study plan, so a therapist who arrives with extra credits can finish in as little as one year while others move at a steadier pace. Tuition is $370 per credit, and fall, spring, and summer starts keep the calendar open. Credit for prior learning is available through exams, portfolio review, and military transcripts. The school lists respiratory department manager, case manager, health educator, and home health specialist as career paths, and it names physician assistant school as a goal for some RRTs.

Before you apply: The program holds provisional CoARC accreditation (program number 510018). Admission asks for a cumulative GPA of at least 2.50 and 2.75 or higher in respiratory therapy courses.