School of Physical Therapy

Within a vibrant academic community, physical therapy students at Puget Sound benefit from small classes and personal relationships with professors, as well as extensive, hands-on clinical experiences and a coordinated curriculum of written and oral communication woven throughout the program. Trained as critical thinkers and compassionate caregivers, students gain valuable experience through meaningful research, innovative programs, and advanced clinical electives.

Puget Sound offers physical therapy services to the community in a free clinic where students deliver care mentored by licensed therapists hired from the region. This clinical learning is integrated into students’ second and third years and is in addition to the program’s three required 12-week, full-time clinical internships.

Our graduates leave the program clinically ready, independent practitioners and collaborative professionals in the field. Since the program’s founding in 1976, we have had exceptionally high first-attempt passing rates on the professional licensing exam. In the past three years, Puget Sound graduates have a 95% pass rate on the first attempt, with an ultimate pass rate of 100%.

The School of Physical Therapy has lab/clinic space in Weyerhaeuser Hall. Facilities in Weyerhaeuser Hall include classrooms, a teaching clinic, adapted kitchen facilities, a vocational readiness lab, an adaptive equipment lab, therapeutic laboratory equipment, student computer labs, and office space. Clinical space and equipment are shared with the School of Occupational Therapy. Physical therapy lectures and seminars occur in numerous classroom buildings throughout the campus.

Accreditation

The Physical Therapy program at the University of Puget Sound is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; 703.706.3245; accreditation@apta.org; www.capteonline.org.