Academic and Advising Services Pre-Physical Therapy Information

To become a licensed physical therapist, a person must earn a graduate degree (a master's degree or a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree) from an accredited physical therapy program and pass a national licensure examination. Thus, a student who intends to become a physical therapist should plan to earn a bachelor's degree, in order to be eligible to enroll in a graduate program. Since no specific undergraduate major is required or preferred by physical therapy programs, a student interested in physical therapy should choose a major about which s/he is passionate; a student who majors in a topic in which s/he is genuinely interested is more likely to achieve the academic success that will enable her/him to get into a physical therapy program.

The courses required for admission to a physical therapy program vary greatly from school to school. Thus, early in her/his undergraduate career, a student should research the admission requirements for the physical therapy programs to which s/he intends to apply, and s/he should schedule her/his undergraduate classes based on the requirements of the programs in which s/he is interested. Each student is ultimately responsible for knowing and fulfilling the admission requirements of the programs to which s/he intends to apply. As a general guide, however, most physical therapy programs require the following classes:

Two semesters of human anatomy and physiology with laboratories (mammalian, vertebrate, or comparative anatomy and mammalian or vertebrate physiology may be substituted in some cases; each student should be aware of the requirements of the schools to which s/he intends to apply)
Two semesters of general physics with laboratories
One semester of statistics

Some physical therapy programs require the following courses, in addition to those listed above:

Two semesters of general chemistry with laboratories
One or two semesters of general biology with laboratories
One or two semesters of advanced biology courses
One or two semesters of social science courses (many physical therapy programs require or prefer courses in general psychology, abnormal psychology, human growth and development, and/or sociology)
One semester of pre-calculus or calculus

Some physical therapy programs recommend the following courses, in addition to those courses they require for admission:

Medical terminology
Applied kinesiology
Exercise prescription/fitness training
Exercise physiology
An upper-division human physiology course
An upper-division research methods course
An upper-division psychology course

In addition to taking the required and recommended courses for the programs to which s/he intends to apply, a student should note that physical therapy programs expect their applicants to be computer literate. Thus, if a student on a pre-physical therapy track feels her/his computer skills could use improvement, the student should consider taking a computer class.

Many physical therapy programs require each applicant to have a minimum overall G.P.A. of 2.8, though some programs require a minimum overall G.P.A. higher than 2.8. In addition, most programs also evaluate each applicant's G.P.A. in math and science and/or prerequisite courses. Note that having the minimum required G.P.A. does not guarantee entry to a program; the higher a student's G.P.A. is, the more competitive the student will be when applying to a physical therapy program.

Most physical therapy programs require applicants to take the Graduate Records Examine (GRE) as part of the application process. See the following link for GRE information: http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.fab2360b1645a1de9b3a0779f1751509/?vgnextoid=b195e3b5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD.

In addition to the academic preparations a student should make before applying to physical therapy programs, s/he should keep in mind that some type of experience with physical therapy is advisable. This experience should include shadowing physical therapists extensively in various clinical settings. Such experience will, of course, serve as evidence to physical therapy programs that a student is truly interested in and knowledgeable about the profession, but it will also help the student determine if s/he is making the right choice by enrolling in a physical therapy program. Note that some physical therapy programs require applicants to have completed a minimum number of documented hours observing physical therapists before applying for admission. For example, the programs at the Medical College of Georgia and Armstrong Atlantic State University require applicants to have observed physical therapists for at least 100 hours; applicants to these programs must observe physical therapists in two or more types of clinical settings, with a minimum of 20 hours of observation occurring in an in-patient setting.

In addition to gaining experience with the physical therapy profession, pre-physical therapy students may wish to join Mercer's pre-health club, MerPMed. For more information, students should visit the club's website, located at http://www2.mercer.edu/AAS/Pre-professional Information/MerPMed.htm, or send an e-mail to merpmed@yahoo.com.

For more information about the physical therapy programs offered in Georgia, see the following schools' websites: Armstrong Atlantic State University (http://www.pt.armstrong.edu/); Emory University (http://rehabmed.emory.edu/pt/); Georgia State University (http://chhsweb.gsu.edu/pt/); the Medical College of Georgia (http://www.mcg.edu/sah/pt/); and North Georgia College and State University (http://www.ngcsu.edu/academic/sciences/pt/index.shtml). For a list of physical therapy programs offered throughout the United States, see the following website: http://www.univsource.com/pt.htm. For more information about educational programs and careers in physical therapy, see the following websites: the American Physical Therapy Association's website (http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home); the website of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (http://www.fsbpt.org/index.asp); and the website of the Georgia State Board of Physical Therapy (http://www.sos.state.ga.us/Plb/Pt/).

More Information

For more information about preparing for and applying to physical therapy programs, contact the pre-professional advisor in the Office of Academic and Advising Services.