Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions


What should I know about Physical Therapy?
If you like working with people, helping people, and having your mind and creativity challenged, you should consider Physical Therapy (PT). Physical Therapy can offer you a fulfilling career in one of the most exciting health professions. The field of Physical Therapy includes evaluating, alleviating and preventing impairments, functional limitations, and disability from injuries, diseases, and other causes.

What is a Physical Therapist?
Physical Therapists, or PT's, are health care professionals who evaluate and treat people with health problems resulting from injury or disease. PT's assess joint motion, muscle strength and endurance, function of heart and lungs, and performance of activities required in daily living, among other responsibilities. Treatment includes therapeutic exercise, cardiovascular endurance training, and training in activities of daily living. More than 90,000 physical therapists practice in the U.S. today, treating nearly nearly one million people every day.

What is a Physical Therapists role in health care?
Physical Therapists provide valuable health care for people throughout their lifespan - from birth to old age. They help people recover from injuries and function better. Working in a variety of settings, they enable people to live happier, fuller lives. A PT professional plays a dynamic and comprehensive role in health care, and are active at many levels - in treatment, consultation, management, education, and research.

For instance, physical therapists can:

  • prevent and treat sports injuries
  • restore and increase range of motion in joints
  • increase coordination
  • counsel and educate in pre and post-natal care
  • design user friendly home and workplaces
  • educate clients in the use of devices such as canes, crutches and wheelchairs
  • help injured individuals return to work successfully through work hardening program
  • alleviate pain


What can a Physical Therapist offer me?

  • assessment of movement, strength, endurance and other physical abilities
  • assessment of the impact of an injury or disability on physical function
  • assessment of physical preparation of work and sports
  • program planning and education to restore movement, reduce pain
  • individualized treatment of an injury or disability based on scientific knowledge, a thorough assessment of the condition, environmental factors and lifestyle.


Why study Physical Therapy at Clarkson?
Our curriculum is built around Problem-Based Learning (PBL), which is student-centered, collaborative, and self-directed. This active learning process, based on patient case studies, more closely resembles actual clinical experience. It better prepares students for clinical practice for their education and during their lifelong learning process as professionals. As an undergraduate accepted into the Pre-PT concentration, you have a space in the DPT reserved for you (though you must maintain academic and professional standards to keep it). So, as an undergraduate, you can focus on your studies rather than on competing for limited spaces in a PT graduate program.

Starting With Pre-Physical Therapy
At Clarkson, you can take a Pre-Physical Therapy program that will prepare you for our graduate entry-level study in PT. Our Pre-PT concentration allows you to earn a degree in any major program area at Clarkson University. At the same time, you develop a hands-on, multidisciplinary view of the PT profession and gain experience in the world of health care.

Building Your Foundation
For example, you might study mechanical engineering as an undergraduate. If you do, this degree program will give you an exceptional foundation upon which to build your graduate courses in kinesiology (the mechanics of how the body moves) or ergonomics (the design of work spaces that adapt to people). On the other hand, an undergraduate degree in business would prepare you ideally to manage a clinic. Whatever specialized knowledge and skills you acquire as an undergraduate, these will benefit you as a Physical Therapist by giving you broader career opportunities and more flexibility.


What PT opportunities do I have at Clarkson to reinforce my decision as a Physical Therapist?

  • An active "hands-on" approach to learning.
  • An understanding of what it means to be a health care professional.
  • Exposure to health care delivery system to help you make an informed career choice.
  • Computer literacy and application from a health care perspective.
  • Cultural competency to serve the health and educational needs of diverse clients and underserved communities.
  • Exposure to the professional literature and an understanding of the importance of research in clinical practice.
  • Opportunity to build a portfolio demonstrating your course work and experiences in health care - a portfolio that you will use to enter the graduate program and for future employment.


How good is the teaching in this program?
The faculty is of the highest caliber, with Ph.D.s, decades of experience in the profession, and years of teaching experience. Also, the PT program at Clarkson utilizes a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach - students learn by actually doing things, not by just sitting in lecture halls and listening to hours of talk. PT shares the general Clarkson commitment to experiential, real-life learning. You'll get into the community and learn from the real world.

What is Problem-Based Learning?
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is not only the best way to master the skills and knowledge you need, it also prepares you for lifelong learning so you'll be better able to keep up with the rapidly changing health care profession. PBL has become a popular teaching tool in medical and PT schools throughout North America.

Can students get involved in research in Physical Therapy?
Interested undergraduate Pre-PT students may choose to participate in research. In the DPT curriculum, research is a required component. Understanding the scientific basis of health care is an important component of becoming an evidence-based practitioner, and participating in research is the best way to appreciate the importance (and limitations) of scientific knowledge.

What are the prerequisites that must be met for the DPT program?
The Physical Therapy graduate program requires that the students have the following prerequisites (grades of B or above recommended, C or above required):

  • Biological Science with laboratory (2 semesters)
  • Physics with laboratory (2 semesters) equivalent to mechanics and electricity & magnetism
  • Chemistry with laboratory (2 semesters)
  • Statistics (1 semester)
  • Psychology (3 semesters) equivalent to Introduction to Psychology, Abnormal Psychology and Developmental Psychology:


I'm sold! How do I get in?
If you think Physical Therapy may be for you, follow the application procedures. If you have questions about the DPT programs, contact:

Clarkson University
Center for Health Sciences
Department of Physical Therapy
Box 5880
Potsdam, NY 13699-5880

Phone: 315-268-3786
Fax: 315-268-1539
E-mail: health@clarkson.edu.