Physical Therapy Club
PT Requirements
The following information is subject to change depending on the program you apply to.
Physical Therapy Program
Information
Most Physical Therapy programs now offer
the DPT degree. Admission to a Physical Therapy program is highly competitive.
This is based on pre-requisite requirements, GPA in required courses,
GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and volunteer/paid hours at a
PT clinic.
Most PT programs require the following:
(see individual programs for specific information)
-Bachelor?s Degree (BA or BS)
-Overall GPA 3.0
-Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
-an average of 1000 out of 1600
(see specific programs for average GPA
and GRE scores as well as specific requirements)
-Three letters of recommendations are
required for most schools (at least one from a practicing PT and one
from a professor)
-PT clinical hours (volunteer/paid) on
average 100 hrs. are required (please see specific schools for exact
hours)
-Course Pre-Requisites (Vary from school
to school, check individual programs for exact pre-requisites)
8 hrs. General Chemistry with Labs
8hrs. General Physics with Labs
4-8hrs. General Biology with Labs
3-6 hrs. Mathematics (usually calculus?VT?s 1016 course)
8 hrs. Human Anatomy and Physiology
3 hrs. Psychology
3 hrs. Developmental/Abnormal Psychology or a Sociology course
3 hrs. Statistics
6-9 hrs. Advanced Biology Science Courses (see other course
suggestions--these are not always required, but they are
recommended)
Other Course Suggestions:
Exercise Physiology Kinesiology
Molecular Biology Organic Chemistry w/ Labs
Pharmacology Other Psychology Courses
Cell Biology Pathology
Neuromuscular & Physical Performance
It is important that students interested
in Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy school investigate specific
requirements for admission at the institutions of interest. Requirements
do vary from school to school. This includes specific course requirements
as well as volunteer service hours. Most programs post these requirements
on their website. Programs are also generally more than happy to field
questions regarding the applicability of certain Virginia Tech courses
to serve as meeting the program's requirements.
Lastly, it is important to begin logging
volunteer hours as soon as possible. Try to include service in both
private clinics and hospital settings. This will 1.) give you a better
feel fro the professions and 2.) serve to convince various PT programs
that you are knowledgeable about the profession and serious about your
intent to become a Physical Therapist.
Virginia Institutions that offer the DPT degree are:
Accredited Institutions:
Hampton University: http://science.hamptonu.edu/pt/
Marymount University: http://www.marymount.edu/academics/programs/physicalTherapy
Old Dominion University: http://hs.odu.edu/physther
Shenandoah University: http://www.su.edu/health/C247855227ED472FA494DC8C28F551E7.asp
Virginia Commonwealth University: http://www.sahp.vcu.edu/pt/
Preliminarily Accredited:
Lynchburg College: http://www.lynchburg.edu/dpt
Radford University: http://pt.asp.radford.edu/
Links:
American Physical Therapy Association: http://www.apta.org
Graduate Record Exam: http://www.ets.org/gre
Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS): http://www.ptcas.org/
HNFE Department curricula: http://www.hnfe.vt.edu/