Welcome to Arkansas State University!

Physical Therapy

Doctor of Physical Therapy
Offered By: College of Nursing and Health Professions
Graduate
Application Deadline: February 1

Description

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) is the preferred degree by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) and the American Physical Therapy Association's (APTA) and it reflects the current level of study that is required to meet the latest standards for physical therapy education.

The DPT program is designed so that a bachelor's degree and prerequisites to the program are completed prior to the professional coursework. Once accepted into the program, students attend full time for 3 years to complete the DPT degree.  

Back to Physical Therapy Home Page >>>


  • Prerequisites
    • Applicants must have a Bachelor's Degree. No specific field of study is required. Students are encouraged to select undergraduate majors consistent with their individual abilities and interests, however the required courses in some majors such as biology and exercise science are more consistent with the specific DPT prerequisites. Students in other majors may have to complete more credit hours than the minimum required for graduation.

    Prerequisite Courses

    IMPORTANT: Satisfactory completion with a letter grade of B or higher in all prerequisite courses are required for admission to the DPT program.


    LOWER DIVISION COURSES

    • Physics - minimum 2 course sequence of Introductory Physics including lab, usually 8 credit hours.
    • Statistics - minimum 3 credit hours
    • Medical Terminology - 1 - 3 credit hours; can be taken online at ASU after acceptance into DPT

    UPPER DIVISION COURSES

    • Human Anatomy or Human Kinesiology -  minimum 3 credit hours (upper division); lab course preferred.
    • Physiology - minimum 3 credit hours (upper division); lab course preferred.

    Human Structure and Function I & II will meet requirements for Anatomy & Physiology. However, both semesters must be taken to cover anatomy & physiology of all body systems. If you only take one of the series, it will be an elective, not a prerequisite. See our Q&A section below.


    Note: Prerequisite and admissions criteria for the DPT program will be seeing some changes beginning the spring of 2015. See the prerequisite and admissions criteria that will be implemented in Spring 2015 >>> 

  • Admission Process

    APPLYING TO THE DPT PROGRAM

    Arkansas State University's DPT program subscribes to the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS). applicants for admission to the ASU DPT program MUST apply online using the PTCAS application. IN ADDITION, students must also apply to the ASU Graduate School.

    Deadline for submitting applications to PTCAS and the Graduate School is February 1st.

    To learn more about the PTCAS application process and to get started, please go to the PTCAS website at www.ptcas.org. Information about the ASU Graduate School application is included as supplemental material on the PTCAS website. If you encounter difficulty with PTCAS, please contact their Customer Service. 

    Once a student has submitted an application through PTCAS, the transcript information is verified by PTCAS. this process takes time and depends both on the efficiency of PTCAS and the speed with which your schools respond to the inquiries from PTCAS. ASU will accept completed, verified applications from PTCAS until March 1st. If PTCAS has not completed the verification process by March 1st, the application will not be considered, even if it was submitted by the February 1st deadline. Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their applications well before the deadline to ensure that the verification process will be completed by the deadline.

    PTCAS Application


    ASU Graduate School Application


    The Department of Physical Therapy will begin reviewing applications after March 1st.

    * The GRE is not required to apply.

    Transcripts


    Official transcripts must be sent to both PTCAS and ASU Graduate Admissions.

    ASU Graduate Admission
    PO Box 1570
    State University, AR  72467

    Please do not submit transcripts to the PT department unless specifically requested to.

    ASU Transcripts

    Students who have attended one or more of the ASU campuses (i.e. Newport, Beebe, etc.) must still request transcripts from them separately to be sent to ASU Jonesboro. ASU campuses are independent of each other in regards to transcripts and can only be verified by the campus where the courses were actually taken.

    Q & A - Answers and information for commonly asked questions >>> Please read this over carefully before contacting the DPT program

  • Additional Information

    TRANSFER STUDENTS

    Students who are currently enrolled in another accredited physical therapy program may apply to the ASU DPT program using the regular admissions process. Should a transfer student be admitted into the ASU DPT program, up to 9 graduate credit hours may be used to satisfy degree requirements of the DPT which will be determined by the Admissions Committee and approved by the Department Chair and ASU Graduate School.

    EARLY COMMITMENT PROGRAM

    ASU students who meet and maintain requirements can secure a spot in the DPT program prior to the application process. We offer a freshman early commit and a senior early commit (the Senior Early Commit option will be eliminated after the spring of 2014). Early Commit Applications are due March 15th! 

    Download the Early Commit Program application>> 


    The Early Commit Program will see some changes in criteria beginning Spring 2015.

    See new criteria beginning in the spring of 2015 >>>


    OTHER INFORMATION

    DPT Application Process & Evaluation Procedures

    DPT Application & Acceptance Statistics

    DPT Professional Coursework Details



  • Checksheets & Degree Plans

    Checksheets

    Checksheets list all of the requirements and university obligations for degree completion.

Physical Therapy
Degree Checklist
$con.checklists
$con.adTitle
$con.adSpot