Physical Therapy
Guidelines for Entry Level Masters and Doctoral Programs
“The physical therapist (PT) provides services aimed at preventing the onset and/or slowing the progression of conditions resulting from injury, disease, and other causes. The physical therapist provides these services to people of all ages who have functional conditions resulting from back and neck injuries, sprains/strains and fractures, arthritis, burns, amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, birth defects such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida, injuries related to work and sports, and others” (The American Physical Therapy Association).
Although many of the 120,000 practicing PTs work in hospitals, nearly 80 percent of PTs practice in outpatient clinics or offices, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing, extended care, home, education or research centers, schools, hospices, industrial, workplace, or other occupational environments, fitness centers and sports training facilities.
Physical therapists attain their skills through extensive academic and clinical education. One may earn a masters in physical therapy (MPT), or a post-baccalaureate degree, that is, doctor of physical therapy (DPT). There are 142 accredited professional (entry-level) DPT programs; the length of the majority of these programs has been extended beyond the traditional two-year masters program. The final or culminating clinical education experience is typically extended beyond the average of 15 weeks; some are 1 year in length. One of the key differences between the two is that DPTs do not need a referral from a medical doctor to treat patients, MPTs do. Research MPT and DPT programs, and decide what programs work best for you. There are currently 234 PTA programs across the country.
Admission into physical therapy programs is most often based on prerequisite course work, an interview, and essay. In addition, most programs also require direct observation of the field through internships or volunteer work (anywhere from 20 – 100 hours).
Addresses of accredited physical therapy programs are available from the Pre-Health Secretary, and are also available online from The American Physical Therapy Association (http://www.apta.org/). Because the requirements for physical therapy programs are so diverse, it is best to contact at least 10 different programs and learn their specific requirements—in relation, of course, to which track you choose to follow, MPT or DPT. If you have decided physical therapy is your career of choice, take note of the list below.
Things to plan for:
- Researching schools of interest
- Required classes for schools of choice
- Observing physical therapists in the workplace
- Deadlines for the GRE (most students who apply for acceptance in the fall semester after graduation take the entrance exam in the spring-summer of their junior year)
- Application deadline for various schools
Most programs require:
- 1 year Biology: BIOL 117 & 118
- 1 year Human Anatomy and Physiology: BIOL 251 & BIOL 347 (or BIOL 252)
- 1 year Chemistry: CHEM 107 & 108
- 1 year Physics: PHYS 121 & 122
- 1 year English
- 1 semester Statistics: MATH 147 or MATH 148 or PSYC 243
- 1 semester Psychology: PSYC 111
Additional Requirements may include some of the following:
- 1 year Psychology: PSYC 220 or 223
- 1 semester Calculus: MATH 221
- 1 semester Organic Chemistry: CHEM 231
- 1 semester Upper Level Biology (200 level or higher)- Cell Biology (example: BIOL 311)
- 1 semester Social Science
- 1 semester Humanities
- 1 semester Computers
- 1 semester Human Development; e.g. HDEV
- 1 semester Research Methods; e.g. PSYC 344
The lists of requirements below are by no means all inclusive. Please contact the schools you are interested for a more exact list or click here.
For more information about Physical Therapy Programs, contact:
American Physical Therapy Association
1111 North Fairfax Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-1488
703/684-APTA (2782)
800/999-APTA (2782)
TDD: 703/683-6748
Fax: 703/684-7343
