Direct Entry Physical Therapy Program Requirements

Students who are directly admitted into the Doctorate of Physical Therapy program as first-year students will meet with their Pre-PT advisor to discuss, plan, evaluate, plan and assess their readiness for the graduate program. Students progressing to the professional phase of the program may not have any course failures or grades of incomplete, and no outstanding academic integrity or professionalism at the time of progression. Prior to beginning the Doctorate of Physical Therapy program, students meet with a faculty member from the Department of Physical Therapy for a final academic review. The student must meet all academic, curricular, professional, health and immunization, background check and technical standards requirements of the Doctorate of Physical Therapy program to matriculate into the program.

Requirements

Students must demonstrate that they have completed the following requirements to progress into the graduate PT program:

  • Bachelor's degree with an overall GPA of at least 3.2
  • All prerequisite courses with a GPA of at least 3.2
  • All prerequisite coursework with a grade of C or higher
  • 50 hours of observation, volunteer, or work experience in health-related field
  • Three letters of recommendation. At least one from a physical therapist and one from a faculty member who can speak to your academic or professional character.
  • Official transcripts for any courses not completed at Clarkson
  • Ensure the technical standards can be met
  • All documentation must be submitted by the student
  • At the end of each academic year, you must meet with either the DPT Department Chair or a DPT faculty member

Prerequisites

The following prerequisite courses must be successfully completed in order to meet the requirements for the Freshman Direct Entry admission requirements to the Doctor of Physical Therapy program:

  • Cellular and Molecular Biology/Lab (Clarkson course: BY160/BY162); 5 credits
  • Human Anatomy and Physiology I/Lab (Clarkson course: BY471/BY473); 5 credits
  • Human Anatomy and Physiology II/Lab (Clarkson course: BY472/BY474); 5 credits
  • General Chemistry I/Lab (Clarkson course options: CM131 or CM103/105); 4 or 5 credits
  • General Chemistry II/Lab (Clarkson course options: CM132 or CM104/106); 4 or 5 credits
  • Medical Terminology
  • Physics I/Lab (Clarkson course options: PH131 or PH141); 4 credits
  • Physics II/Lab (Clarkson course options: PH132 or PH142); 4 credits
  • Statistics (Clarkson course options: STAT282, STAT284, STAT318, STAT383); 3 credits
  • General Psychology (Clarkson course: PY151); 3 credits
  • Another 3 credit Psychology course, recommend Developmental Psychology (Clarkson course: PY370); 3 credits