Navigating the Path: Understanding Undergraduate Physical Therapy Program Requirements

Becoming a physical therapist (PT) is a journey that demands dedication and strategic planning. The ultimate goal is earning a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree, the terminal degree for the profession. However, the path begins with undergraduate studies and careful preparation to meet the competitive requirements of physical therapy schools.

Laying the Foundation: The Undergraduate Degree

The first step toward a career as a physical therapist is earning an undergraduate degree. While there's no specific major required, a strong foundation in science is highly recommended. If you earn an undergraduate degree in another field, you can apply for physical therapy school if you complete PT school prerequisites. DPT candidates should plan an undergraduate curriculum that will give them a comprehensive base in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.

Maintaining a High GPA

One of the most crucial aspects of your undergraduate preparation is maintaining a high GPA. A low GPA is hard to overcome on your application, and a higher GPA can help you qualify for scholarships for your DPT program.

Strategic Course Selection

In selecting a college major, consider how you will you satisfactorily complete any prerequisite courses for your designated DPT programs in addition to the college/university's degree and major requirements.

DPT programs may require preprofessional (undergraduate) science courses to be completed in a four-year university/college within the seven to 10 years prior to enrollment. Some DPT programs only accept anatomy and/or physiology courses completed in a biology, neuroscience, anatomy, or integrated physiology department. DPT programs may not accept a combined anatomy and physiology (A&P) course or those completed in other departments, such as kinesiology. Visit PTCAS directory for program-specific admission requirements.

Read also: Undergraduate Programs at UNC

The following coursework is required to provide students with the foundational knowledge necessary to be successful in the program. ONE FULL YEAR REQUIRED; no exceptions for condensed quarter system courses. Students on the quarter system should seek an advanced course with lab (e.g. Students should choose a physics course intended for health science majors when available. All labs MUST be completed in person. All prerequisite requirements must be completed prior to starting the DPT program, and courses must have been taken within 7 years of application due date, respectively (see prerequisite courses below). An applicant may have up to 4 prerequisite courses pending. However, Anatomy and Physiology coursework must be completed before submitting your application. Requires a full series with labs (two semesters of the same). Requires a full series with labs (two semesters of the same).

Gaining Practical Experience: Observation Hours

Before applying to PT school, you’ll need to earn physical therapy observation hours. Many PT schools require applicants to have a certain number of hours volunteering, observing or working in a physical therapy setting to ensure they have experience and are familiar with the discipline. Some PT schools will allow you to apply as you work toward your observation hours. For example, at USAHS, you need at least 40 physical therapy observation hours, and 20 completed hours are required to apply. We do not require a minimum number of observation hours or settings. We encourage all applicants to complete at least 50 verified physical therapy observation hours. More hours and broader exposure across a variety of settings will strengthen your application.

To gain this experience, contact local physical therapy settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes or rehabilitation centers, to ask if you can volunteer to meet your requirements for PT school admission. Start working in a physical therapist’s office or volunteering in a physical therapy setting as soon as you know you’ll apply to physical therapy school.

Physical therapy is an intellectually, physically, and psychologically demanding profession. Observation requires the functional use of vision, hearing, somatic sensations, and the use of common sense. Candidates must have visual perception, which includes depth and acuity. A student must be able to observe lectures, laboratory dissection of cadavers, and laboratory demonstrations. The student must be able to observe a patient accurately, observe digital and waveform readings and other graphical images to determine a patient’s condition. Candidates must be able to observe patients and be able to obtain an appropriate medical history directly from the patient or guardian. Examples in which these observational skills are required include: palpation of peripheral pulses, bony prominences and ligamentous structures; visual and tactile evaluation for areas of inflammation and visual and tactile assessment of the presence and degree of edema.

Standardized Testing: The GRE

Most DPT programs require applicants to complete the GRE. Programs may have minimum acceptable scores and last acceptable test dates. The average GRE score for a DPT program varies by school. The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required as an early indicator of your performance on the NPTE licensing exam.

If you don’t get the GRE score you want the first time, you can retake it and submit your best score. You can take the exam as many as five times in 12 months if you wait at least 21 days before retaking it.7 If you decide to retake it to meet physical therapy school requirements, focus on improving your weakest areas.

Preparing for the GRE

Register for Test Date
Prep courses and practice exams
ASU and Princeton Review GRE Prep
Khan Academy
Kaplan Magoosh
GRE Test Prep

Building Relationships and Securing Recommendations

Many PT schools require you to submit letters of reference with your application. To get the best letters of reference, establish relationships with your undergraduate professors, mentors, observation supervisors and other licensed physical therapists. Before you apply, take some time to build relationships with physical therapists. They can serve as references on your application, help you reach your physical therapy school requirements for observation hours and possibly help you get a job as a PT after graduation.

Be engaged, ask questions and follow through whenever you interact with them. Once you’ve established a relationship, explain that you need a letter of reference to meet one of your physical therapy school requirements and ask if they would be willing to write one. If they agree, give them a copy of your resume so they can easily reference your experience and accomplishments. Ask when they might expect to complete the letter and follow up closer to that date.

As part of the PTCAS application, students are required to submit three letters of recommendation. We require one from a licensed physical therapist, one from an academic instructor, and one from an employer/co-worker/supervisor. Students will submit the contact information for their references into PTCAS. PTCAS will then contact references to fill out the letter of recommendation form.

PTCAS will only allow up to 4 references to be submitted and will not allow letters to be submitted through a letter service.

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Identify people who know you well and can firmly comment on your ability as a student and future Physical Therapist.

Crafting a Compelling Personal Statement

Most PT schools require you to submit a personal statement, sometimes called a statement of purpose. The PT school may ask specific questions, or they may ask for a general statement. Many people choose to write about their first experience with physical therapy, such as a time when they or a family member were injured and needed to receive physical therapy.

Give yourself plenty of time to write your personal statement. Start gathering the necessary documentation to submit with your application.

Personal Statement Guidelines

PTCAS Guidelines
4,500 characters long (Approximately 1 page)
Draft by April of junior year (the year prior to matriculation into physical therapy school).
Review of personal statement offered by Pre-Health Office.

One essays with a maximum of 4500 characters is built into PTCAS. We require two additional short-answer questions with a maximum of 2000 characters each. The CSU system supports the use of AI as a collaborative tool, but your writing should convey your authentic voice, specific experiences, and original ideas.

The Application Process

Applying to PT school takes time-you’ll need to track down paperwork like transcripts, wait for people to write letters of reference, potentially take the GRE more than once and write the perfect personal statement. Once you have the required information, complete and submit your application for PT schools.

Key Application Services and Deadlines

Physical Centralized Application Service (PTCAS)
PTCAS Application Instructions
Important Dates and Deadlines
Complete applications will be reviewed as they are received. Applications submitted by the priority deadline will be reviewed first. All applications marked complete in PTCAS by Oct.
Final Deadline: The PTCAS application must be marked complete by October 1 at Midnight Eastern Time (10:00 pm Utah Time). We recommend starting this process early.

Before you hit the submit button, ask someone to review your application. Admission is competitive, so ensure your PT school application is flawless, and having another set of eyes to review it can catch any errors.

The Interview

A PT school may contact you for an interview. Ask what to expect when the school reaches out to schedule the interview. Once you know what the interview will be like, take time to practice. Look up common PT school interview questions and jot down key talking points. When you feel more comfortable, ask classmates, professors or any licensed physical therapists you know to help, treating these mock interviews like the real thing-dress professionally and practice everything from the opening handshake to walking out the door. The more you practice, the more comfortable you’ll be in your PT school interview.

PT programs may require competitive applicants to visit the campus for an interview or conduct a virtual interview. The interview format varies by institution. Applicants may be required to speak with a single faculty member, a student, a physical therapist, or a panel of interviewers, or participate in an orientation program. If invited, dress in professional business attire. Applicants should be prepared to discuss why they have chosen to pursue a career in physical therapy and how they perceive the role of physical therapists in health care. Those who have researched and gained direct exposure to the profession will be better prepared to respond to the interview questions. During the interview, applicants may be rated on their oral communication skills, professional behaviors and attitudes, ability to interact in a group, knowledge of the profession, ability to solve problems, and motivation to pursue a career in physical therapy.

Overcoming Challenges

If your application gets denied initially, don’t lose hope.

Addressing Extenuating Circumstances

If you feel that you have extenuating circumstances warranting an exception to an application requirement, you may contact an admissions counselor.

Additional Considerations

English Proficiency

If English is not the first language, applicants must take either the TOEFL or the IELTS, to determine English proficiency. On the TOEFL, students must achieve a score of at least 90 Internet based, 575 if paper based. On the IELTS, students must achieve a score of at least 7.0.

Technical Standards and Essential Functions

APTA doesn’t have any policies or positions regarding the essential skills or technical standards necessary to practice or function as a physical therapist. However, individual DPT programs generally do have these types of policies. A program's technical standards and/or essential skills document may describe the physical, behavioral, and/or cognitive abilities needed to complete the physical therapist curriculum at that particular institution and to competently perform as a physical therapist upon graduation.

Communication includes speech, language, reading, writing and computer literacy. Students must be able to communicate effectively, sensitively, and convey a sense of compassion and empathy with patients to elicit information regarding mood and activities, as well as interpret non-verbal communications. Physical therapy education presents exceptional challenges in the volume and breadth of required reading and the necessity to impart information to others. Students must be able to communicate quickly, effectively and efficiently in oral and written English with all members of the health care team. Students must possess sufficient motor function to elicit information from the patient examination, by palpation, auscultation, tapping and other examination procedures. Students must be able to execute movements required to provide general and therapeutic care, such as positioning large and/or immobile patients, gait training using therapeutic aids and orthotics, and performing manual mobilization techniques, performing non-surgical wound debridement, and placing electromyographic electrodes. Candidates must have the physical strength to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency treatment to patients. To effectively solve problems, students must be able to measure, calculate, reason, analyze, integrate and synthesize information in a timely fashion. For example, the student must be able to synthesize knowledge and integrate the relevant aspects of a patient’s history, physical examination, and laboratory data, provide a reasoned explanation for therapy, recalling and retaining information in an efficient and timely manner. The ability to incorporate new information from peers, teachers, and the literature in formulating treatment plans is essential. In addition, students must be able to comprehend threedimensional relationships and to understand spatial relationships of structures. A student must possess the psychological ability required for the full utilization of their intellectual abilities, for the exercise of good judgment, for the prompt completion of all responsibilities inherent to diagnosis and care of patients, and for the development of mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients. Students must be able to tolerate physically and mentally taxing workloads and function effectively under stress. They must be able to adapt to a changing environment, display flexibility and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical environment. Attend and participate in classes for 30 or more hours per week during each academic semester. If a student cannot demonstrate the skills and abilities outlined here, it is the responsibility of the student to request reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation refers to ways in which the University can assist students with disabilities to accomplish these tasks (for example, providing extra time to complete an examination or enhancing the sound system in a classroom). Candidates for admission with a disability are not required to disclose the specifics of their disabilities, but must indicate they can complete these tasks with or without reasonable accommodation. Students who cannot complete these tasks, even with accommodation, are ineligible for admission and any previously made offer of admission can be withdrawn. Candidates for admission who have questions about this or who would like to discuss potential accommodations/program modifications should contact the School of Physical Therapy Director.

State Residency

Some DPT programs give preference to in-state (resident) students. Out-of-state (nonresident) and foreign applicants may vie for a limited number of positions or may be ineligible for admission, depending on institutional and state policies.

Criminal Background Checks

DPT programs may ask applicants to disclose any previous felony or misdemeanor convictions as part of the application process. A criminal record will not necessarily prevent an applicant from enrolling in a DPT program; however, failure to disclose any past or pending charges may be grounds for dismissal. DPT programs may require criminal background checks and/or drug tests in order to verify an individual's suitability to participate in experiential education rotations, to confirm a student's eligibility for licensure, and to ensure patient safety.

Understanding the Physical Therapy Profession

Physical therapists examine, diagnose, and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to people at the end of life. Physical therapists work with patients who have injuries, disabilities, or other health conditions that need treatment. Physical therapists examine each patient, develop a treatment plan to improve movement, reduce or manage pain, restore function, and prevent disability. Physical therapists will work with patients to implement the treatment plan or ask a physical therapist assistant to carry out the treatment plan. Physical therapists will monitor and adjust the treatment plan throughout the patient’s treatment.

Physical therapists can have a profound effect on people’s lives. They help people achieve fitness goals, regain or maintain their independence, and lead active lives.

The median salary for a physical therapist is $97,720. Demand for physical therapists varies by geographical region and area of practice, but PT unemployment rates are typically low across the country.

DPT Program Structure and Accreditation

The length of professional DPT programs is typically three years. Approximately 77% of the DPT curriculum is classroom (didactic) and lab study and the remaining 23% is dedicated to clinical education.

APTA does not rank DPT education programs. Programs are accredited by CAPTE, which assures quality in physical therapist education.

Choosing the Right Program

You should research DPT programs to determine the ones that best meet your needs.

Consider the following factors:

Cost and financial aid opportunities. Most DPT students graduate with student loans. Make sure that you are financially aware and prepared.
Program length.
Demographics and setting.
Programs offer distinctive student experiences and have different costs.

Pursing DPT education will be an investment of your time and resources. You may wish to contact current students and recent graduates of the program, or interview employers who hire new graduates, to ask about a program's strengths and weaknesses.

Post-Graduation Opportunities

A clinical residency is designed to advance a physical therapist's preparation as a provider of patient care services in a defined area of clinical practice. A clinical fellowship is a planned program of postprofessional clinical and didactic education for a physical therapist who demonstrates clinical expertise in an area of clinical practice related to the practice focus of the fellowship.

Physical therapists also have the opportunity to become board-certified clinical specialists through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. Specialization is the process by which a physical therapist builds on a broad base of professional education and practice to develop a greater depth of knowledge and skills related to a particular area of practice.

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