Physical Therapy Department

Clarkson is ideal for highly qualified and motivated students who want a career in physical therapy.

As a physical therapist, you are a movement scientist who evaluates, diagnoses and treats mobility and pain-related disorders, mitigates disease and disability. Hands-on clinical care is supported by prescriptive exercises and purposeful changes that promote health across the lifespan optimizing physical function and return to the community.

Physical therapy is a deeply rewarding healthcare profession that improves the lives of people. As a physical therapist you’ll diagnose and treat individuals of all ages with a variety of different health conditions that limit their ability to move and perform tasks. Part of the physical therapist’s responsibility is to restore movement and the ability to successfully complete everyday tasks. With physical therapy consistently rated among the top 10 growing professions, physical therapists serve a dynamic and comprehensive role in healthcare, engaging in treatment, consultation, education and research.

We offer a graduate level, Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program as well as a pre-physical therapy advising track for undergraduate students.

Clarkson’s physical therapy faculty bring decades of clinical experience and scholarly vision to the classroom. Faculty members use the master adaptive learning approach to address the various learning styles of the students. Through this approach, students are focused to be patient-centered, flexible and responsive to demographic or geographic differences of patients and colleagues and gain the confidence to synthesize and apply the evidence, and make competent evidence-based decisions. Because classes are small and offer case-based experiential learning, you'll work closely with faculty members, which promotes your professional growth and success.

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Accreditation Statement and Program Outcomes

Our Programs

Our program uses an experiential learning model, which uniquely prepares you to become a lifelong learner and expert clinician using an integrated case based approach to learning. You will participate in 4 full time clinical experiences in addition to hands on integrated clinical experiences (ICE) which are interwoven throughout the didactic portion of the curriculum.

Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Programs

Physical Therapy, DPT

Physical Therapy Program in Action

Every year Clarkson University holds a two-week neurology clinic for graduate students in Physical Therapy to get hands-on experience with real people with neurological issues. The two-week program includes a full evaluation and two weeks of physical therapy, complete with discharge orders. The significance of this clinic is explained by Clarkson faculty and students in this short video!

Watch the PT hands-on experience video

Our Mission & Vision

Department of Physical Therapy Mission
To educate and empower the next generation of physical therapists to improve health and well-being, especially in rural communities, through leadership, clinical reasoning, and community engagement.

For graduates to be entry-level physical therapists who emulate the core values of the profession. For faculty, graduates and students to contribute to the profession, community, and society through education, scholarship, service, and practice.

Department of Physical Therapy Vision
Clarkson University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program guides the next generation of movement experts who value community well-being. Through a combination of didactic and experiential learning opportunities, we develop future clinical leaders who are exceptional thinkers that will implement creative solutions to improve health.

Graduate Assistantships

Students who apply to the program are automatically eligible for consideration for these scholarships. Graduate assistantships provide recipients 15% off tuition for which students work for the department. Students cannot receive a Graduate Assistantship during the final semester in the program. Recipients of the scholarships will be notified in early Spring.

Additional scholarships may be found through the American Physical Therapy Association.

Financial Aid

The Doctor of Physical Therapy program tuition is based on a flat rate per semester of $12,719. The program runs over the course of three years for a total of eight semesters.

Additional fees and costs include:

Resource fee: $403 per semester
CUGSA Activity Fee: $25 per Fall and Spring semesters
APTA Student Membership: $85 per year
CU Mandatory Health Insurance*: $4,279 per year
DPT Digital Book: $130 each fall term
Practice kit, lab coat and name badge: $133 one-time purchase during orientation
Parking permit fee: $39 per semester
Costs related to clinical education will be variable and on a student-to-student basis. Planning of clinical experiences typically occurs nine months to one year in advance of placements, so students have ample time to consider and plan for any related expenses.

For information regarding Graduate Financial Aid, see Graduate Financial Aid.
For information regarding student loans, including a comparison of Federal Graduate PLUS loans to Private Student Loans, see Student Achievement Services.
The Financial Aid year begins with summer term, when applicable. Learn more about the application process for Federal Student Loans.
Each student is responsible for the purchase of personal textbooks/e-books, course readers, surgical scrubs and incidental supplies.

*Health Insurance coverage is required during the academic and clinical portions of the curriculum. This insurance is mandatory, but CU health insurance may be waived with proof of other current coverage.

Student Financial Fact Sheet

Meet Professor Heather Shattuck

Meet Heather Shattuck, one of the incredible professors in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Clarkson University. Professor Shattuck's primary teaching area is pediatric physical therapy and she also teaches courses such as foundational sciences, neuromuscular physical therapy and multiple systems management.

Watch our video interview with Professor Shattuck

First Year Student Experience in Physical Therapy

Class of 2023 DPT student Paige shares her experiences while pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy at Clarkson University.

CAPTE - PT Accreditation

Accreditation

The Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Clarkson University is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, American Physical Therapy Association, 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22305-3085; telephone, 703-706-3245; email, accreditation@apta.org; website, http://www.capteonline.org. If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 315-268-7622 or email pthealth@clarkson.edu.

The program was originally accredited on Nov. 16, 2001, reaffirmed on Oct. 28, 2009 and reaffirmed again on April 26, 2017. CAPTE is the sole accreditation agency for physical therapy programs in the nation. Licensure through the state is required for practice as a physical therapist. Licensure is gained through successful completion of the National Physical Therapy Examination offered by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy.

The program has determined that its curriculum meets state educational requirements for licensure or certification in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, secondary to its accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, based on the following:

CAPTE accreditation of a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant program satisfies state educational requirements in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Thus, students graduating from CAPTE-accredited physical therapist and physical therapist assistant education programs are eligible to take the National Physical Therapy Examination and apply for licensure in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information regarding state qualifications and licensure requirements, refer to the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy website at www.fsbpt.org.

Provided Student Outcomes

Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) National Physical Therapy Licensure Ultimate Exam Pass Rate: 87.3% (two-year average from 2024 and 2025).
FSBPT National Physical Therapy Licensure First-Time Pass Rate: 72.1% (two-year average from 2024 and 2025).
Graduation Rate: 90.5% of admitted students to the Doctor of Physical Therapy program graduated (three-year average from 2023, 2024 and 2025).
Employment: Of those program graduates responding to surveys in 2024 and 2025, 100% who sought jobs as physical therapists were employed as physical therapists within 12 months.
The program and institution are also accredited by:
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education (July 1, 2008), and to grant a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree (March 28, 2006).
- The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York to offer a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree program (May 18, 2005).
Comments or complaints about the Clarkson University Doctor of Physical Therapy program may be sent to:
- Samantha Marocco, Program Director and Chair, Department of Physical Therapy, Clarkson University, 8 Clarkson Ave., Potsdam, NY 13699, smarocco@clarkson.edu, 315-268-3786
- Dean, Lewis School of Health & Life Sciences, Clarkson University, 8 Clarkson Ave., Potsdam, NY 13699, ljohns@clarkson.edu, 315-268-4019
- Department of Accreditation, American Physical Therapy Association, 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1488; Fax: 703-684-7343; or emailed to accreditation@apta.org. For more information on the process of filing a complaint with CAPTE, go to http://www.capteonline.org/Complaints/.

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