Complete each step below in order to apply to the Respiratory Care Practitioner program.

Complete online Fresno City College application.

All applicants to the Respiratory Care Practitioner program must apply for admission to Fresno City College to obtain a SCCCD Student ID number prior to applying to the program.  If you are a current student at Fresno City College, you do not need to complete this step.  When applying you will be asked to declare a major, please select Pre-Allied Health.  Once accepted into the program your major will be changed to Respiratory Care Practitioner.

Application Requirements: 

Application requirements include the completion of all five (5) pre-requisite courses and a cumulative GPA for 2.5 or higher.

Completion of Pre-requisites

"In Progress” prerequisite courses are not accepted. Pre-requisite courses must be completed with a letter grade of "C" or better. "Pass" or "Credit" grades will only be accepted if completed prior to 2024. Science courses with in-person or online labs are acceptable. FCC BIOL 24 will not fulfill any of the science pre-requisite requirements.

• BIO 20 - Human Anatomy and BIO 22 - Human Physiology or BIOL 21A - Human Anatomy & Physiology I and BIOL 21B - Human Anatomy & Physiology II
• CHEM 3A - Introductory General Chemistry
• BIOL 31 - Microbiology 
• MATH 3A - College Algebra or transfer-level math course

GPA of 2.5 or above

• A cumulative GPA calculation will be done using all college coursework documented on all college/university transcripts.

After completing all pre-requisite courses and program application requirements, students may apply to the program during the application period.

Students will be selected by a randomized lottery.  Selected applicants will begin the program in the summer with enrollment in RCARE 101.  This introductory course provides students with a more detailed overview of the program and the opportunity to explore the profession.

After successful completion of RCARE 101, interested students will be enrolled in the next available Fall cohort.  If demand exceeds spaces available, then students could be placed on a waitlist.

Beginning with the Spring 2026 Respiratory Care Practitioner Application:

• The 2.5 GPA requirement will be calculated based on the five required program pre-requisites and the additional General Education courses required for the local FCC Associate degree.
• All general education for the local associates degree must be complete at the time of application. GE requirement may also be met by completing the Cal-GETC (the CSU or IGETC GE pattern will be accepted, if completed). If you have questions about which GE pattern you are eligible to complete, please meet with a counselor to review.
• MATH 103 (or intermediate algebra from an outside institution) will no longer be accepted to meet the math pre-requisite requirement.

Applicants with courses from outside State Center Community College District

Applicants who would like to use pre-requisite or general education courses completed from outside of SCCCD should meet with a Fresno City College Counselor.  The counselor will assist in determining whether the Course Substitution Petition process needs to be completed.  This process should be completed before applying to any Allied Health Program.  Students with courses from a California public community college or university may use the following links to determine equivalency of courses from outside institutions with Fresno City College:

C-ID

ASSIST

If a Course Substitution Petition is needed, courses must be evaluated by each department for possible approval.  The required documents to initiate the review of a course are a copy of the official transcript and the course syllabus.  This is a lengthy process and must be done at least 2-3 months prior to submitting an application.  All approved FCC course substitutions must be submitted with application.

 Advanced Placement (AP) Credit

Appropriate credit for AP scores recognized by Fresno City College may be applied to meet general education requirements. Please submit with your Respiratory Care program application an unofficial copy of the AP College Board scores for any course you would like considered to meet program course requirements. Students must submit an official copy of their AP College Board scores to Fresno City College in order to receive college credit.

Applicants using Foreign Education courses

Students who have completed courses outside of the United States must have foreign transcripts evaluated by an evaluation services approved by Fresno City College. Please meet with a Fresno City College Counselor/Health & STEM Pathway Counselor.

The Respiratory Care Program Application must be submitted during the application period.

The upcoming application period is January 15-February 12, 2025.

 A completed application must contain the following:

1. Online Respiratory Care Practitioner Program Application. Please list all colleges attended on the program application including Fresno City College and all affiliated campuses.  Failure to list all colleges previously attended may result in your application being denied. If you submitted an application during a previous application period you must complete and submit a new application in order to be considered in the next lottery.

2. Submit one (1) official college/university transcript from each school attended outside of SCCCD.  If you have attended Fresno City College, Reedley College, Clovis Community College or Madera Community College you do not need to submit transcripts from those institutions.  All pre-requisite coursework must be completed at the time of application and grades must be posted on the transcript.

 Transcripts may be submitted one of two ways:

E-Transcripts can be sent by the institution to Fresno City College Admissions and Records Office: transcripts@fresnocitycollege.edu

OR

Sealed official transcripts can be mailed by the institution or the student to the following address:
Fresno City College 
ATT: Admissions & Records (ATT: Transcripts)
1101 E. University Ave
Fresno, CA 93741

If applicable to the applicant, submit the following documents by uploading them to the online Program Application:

• Veteran or a spouse of a veteran requesting veteran preference requires submission of a copy of the DD214 from.

• Course Substitutions - include a copy of approved Course Substitution(s) for prerequisite and General Education courses. 

• AP College Board Results

Drop-In Application Q&A Dates and Times

Application Q&A will be available virtually on the following days and times via Starfish. After logging in you will be added to a list and receive a phone call from a counselor before the Q&A time ends. Click on the link below during designated days/times to add yourself to the waitlist:

January 14 - February 12, 2025

Tuesdays 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Thursdays 1:00 -3:00 p.m.

Fridays 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

To view how to complete the application, please watch the Application Video Guide

1. After submitting the Respiratory Care Practitioner Application a confirmation email will be sent to the email address provided on the application.  You may need to check your junk folder if you do not see it in the Inbox.
2. Acceptance notifications will be emailed to applicants.  
3. If you are accepted into the program a response is required to confirm your acceptance. If a response is not received by the deadline then your placement will be forfeited and your file closed.
4. If you are not accepted into the program, then you do not need to respond.
5. Check "Important Dates to Follow" for response deadlines.
6. All communication from the Respiratory Care Practitioner Program will be sent to the email address provided on the application.

Upon selection into the Respiratory Care Practitioner Program students must confirm acceptance to participate in the program and must attend a mandatory orientation.  Information about the orientation will be provided at the time of selection.  Failure to attend will result in forfeiture of program placement.

Upon admission to the program all immunizations, health exams, CPR requirements, transportation verification, consents, etc. must be met prior to beginning the Respiratory Care Practitioner Program.  More information provided at the the time of admission.

Selected applicants will begin the program in the summer term with enrollment in RCARE 101.  This introductory course provides students with a more detailed overview of the program and the opportunity to explore the profession.

After successful completion of RCARE 101, interested students will be enrolled in the next available Fall cohort.  If demand exceeds spaces available, then students could be placed on a waitlist.