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PT FAQ
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School of Physical Therapy
- Degree Requirements
- Curriculum & Course Descriptions
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- School of Physical Therapy
November 1 is the firm deadline to e-submit your application to PTCAS. Do NOT wait for PTCAS to receive all of your materials (transcripts, references, etc.) before you submit your application. We suggest that you apply early as it can take up to 4-5 weeks for PTCAS to process your file once it is complete. Be sure to submit the $50 application fee to the Office of Admission. See Physical Therapy Admission Requirements for more information.
Human, comparative, or vertebrate Anatomy & Physiology (human preferred); one year series of physics; one year series of chemistry; statistics; and abnormal behavior or introduction to psychology. A lab experience is required for A & P, Physics, and Chemistry. We do not require a lab with each course in the series. You must earn a grade of 3.0 or higher in each Anatomy and Physiology course, and a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher in all prerequisite courses.
The program accepts regionally accredited online degree programs (those accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities or other regional accrediting bodies). We accept online or hybrid prerequisite courses taken through regionally accredited colleges or universities, but recommend traditional, live, on campus courses for the laboratory science prerequisites (Anatomy & Physiology, Chemistry, and Physics). The laboratory science prerequisites must have some form of laboratory component if taken online (virtual laboratory, hands-on work completed with a kit, etc.). Transcripts can be reviewed by the Office of Admission at admission@pugetsound.edu. Read more under Required Undergraduate Preparation.
Please use the Guide to Washington Community College Courses to assist you.
If you have a B- (2.70) or lower grade in Anatomy or Physiology, you have not fulfilled our requirement for this prerequisite. Assuming you have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better overall, and you plan to repeat the course prior to enrolling in our program, you can apply. You must indicate on your application that you have a plan to complete the prerequisite before entering our program. It is best if the repeat course is work in progress during fall term. This is similar to degree in progress, in which case you can apply and you can be admitted, but it will be a contingent admission. This means that if you do not successfully fulfill all contingencies, you will not be allowed to enroll with the class.
If you have submitted your PTCAS application by our deadline of November 1, and you included in your written plan course work for fall semester/quarter, your file will be evaluated after the academic update deadline set by PTCAS for posting fall grades.
We require applicants to achieve a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. If you do not meet this requirement, you will not be eligible for admission at this time. To be considered in a future admission cycle, you may improve an otherwise insufficient GPA in one of two ways:
- Complete a second baccalaureate degree or a graduate degree (masters or doctorate). Once a new degree is completed, the most recent degree’s GPA will be used to qualify instead of the initial undergraduate GPA.
- Repeat lower-graded courses from your original baccalaureate degree. We will recalculate your GPA by replacing earlier courses with more recent repeats to raise your original GPA accordingly. Repeats do not need to be taken at the original institution, but must cover comparable content to the original courses. Please note that repeating a semester-long course at a quarter-system institution may require completion of two quarter-long courses to cover the same material. Please indicate repeats in your PTCAS application as such.
Take the general test. The committee looks at the scores from the verbal, quantitative and analytical essay sections of the general test. We do not require minimum scores. The committee will make a judgment on your writing ability based on considering the quality of writing on our application questions combined with your score on the GRE essay section. View the Profile of the Recently Admitted (in the What We Look For section) to see the average GPA, GRE scores, and hours of exposure to practice.
University of Puget Sound accepts official scores from the ETS for the GRE without preference. However, please note that the paper-delivered GRE revised general test is not offered in areas of the world where computer-delivered testing is available. We will accept the at-home GRE option offered by ETS. More information is available at their website.
Yes, GRE scores must be submitted before the application close date. On the PTCAS program page, we post a deadline for the application materials and the last accepted GRE test date which is before our submission deadline.
No, the GRE must be taken within five years prior to enrollment in the program. You will need to retake the GRE.
All of your test scores are available in PTCAS. We consider the highest score within each category.
No, the admission committee is looking for information specific to the physical therapy profession; therefore, the licensed physical therapist is the only acceptable professional for this reference.
You are unable to submit more than four references. The PT admissions committee requires a minimum of three (3) references, one of which must be from a licensed physical therapist and one must be from a college professor who has taught you in a college level course.
The physical therapy admission committee does not have a specific hour requirement for experience and exposure in the field. The committee does encourage you to obtain experience in a volunteer or paid position, (which must be under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist) in as many different physical therapy settings as possible, and including care for patients with various conditions. Most importantly, you should be able to communicate an understanding of physical therapy to the admission committee through answers to the physical therapy essay questions contained in the application which can be found on PTCAS. We do not require verification of hours completed.
No, decisions for admission are made on the application materials submitted. You are strongly encouraged to visit the program and meet the faculty, but information from this visit is not recorded for admission decision purposes. To schedule a visit, register online.
No, University of Puget Sound does not accept physical therapy courses from other institutions for credit toward the physical therapy degree. Courses in the Puget Sound program are all designed specially to function as an integrated curriculum.
You can find the class profile (in the What We Look For section) for the most recent entering class online. In addition, successful applicants demonstrate strong writing skills in their application materials, and their recommenders must indicate that they possess excellent character traits.
Puget Sound graduate students pay a "per/unit" tuition rate. You can find the most current information about tuition and expenses online. In general, you should plan for tuition rates to go up by some percentage every year at any school. Typical annual tuition increases at University of Puget Sound are two to three percent.
Please visit our PT Scholarships page to learn more.
No; specifically, you do not need to register or pay for the Certiphi Screening background check as detailed in PTCAS. After admission to the program, you are required to undergo annual local and national criminal background checks needed for clinical education. If your criminal background checks are deemed unsatisfactory you may be denied access to clinical experiences at certain clinical facilities. The PT program may also deny you access to the on-site clinic based on the results of a criminal background check. Failure to complete the clinical education component of the program will prevent you from graduating from the program.
Note: A previous criminal background may impact your ability to obtain licensure as a physical therapist despite successful completion of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. For specific information as to whether a criminal record may limit a person’s ability to obtain licensure as a physical therapist in the State of Washington, contact the Washington State Department of Health at www.doh.wa.gov.
The application cycle opens in July and ends during the first week of November each year. See our Application Requirements page for more information.
You are automatically sent an email notifying you when we receive your PTCAS application. Please note: we only have one application and that is through the PTCAS website.
We begin contacting applicants in late February and continue until all spaces in the program are filled. Please wait for email notifications.
You are encouraged to visit our program. A visit may include a campus tour, meeting with professors and current students, and even sitting in on classes. Please register online to schedule a visit. The prospective student advisor for the fall of 2020, Dr. Jennifer Hastings, can best be reached via email for specific questions. NOTE: During summer months we do not have faculty on campus. Please email all questions to pt@pugetsound.edu or sign up for a scheduled group meeting online. Please review the FAQs before reaching out to an advisor.
The Doctor of Physical Therapy degree is an entry level, clinical degree. All accredited PT programs must confer this degree. The Doctor of Physical Therapy qualifies a graduate to sit for the physical therapy licensure exam, and upon passing that exam, practice physical therapy. It is very different from a PhD, (which may cause confusion because of the name "doctor" in the title), because a PhD has a research emphasis rather than a clinical focus. A Doctor of Physical Therapy degree implies a mastery of the current knowledge of the clinical field of physical therapy. PhD training is about creating new knowledge in a field of study.
In order to register for classes, all newly-enrolling students at the university must meet the university requirements for vaccinations; see Mandatory Immunization for details. The following immunization series, titers, and/or tests are required prior to entering the PT program: Hepatitis B, Varicella, Poliomyelitis, Tetanus/Diphtheria including one Tdap, and a two-step TB test.
Yes. The graduate program admissions are different from the undergraduate programs and the GRE is required.
International Students
No, we are a full-time program only and cannot offer single course completion.
Yes, you will need to follow instructions on the PTCAS website as it relates to foreign transcripts and courses.
To insure that candidates for the DPT have proficient English skills for the successful completion of the academic and clinical education DPT program, and successful clinical practice in the United States, each applicant who is not a native English speaker, regardless of years spent in the United States, is required to submit TOEFL scores. We require a minimum score of 100, with component minimums of 22 on reading, 22 on listening, 26 on speaking and 24 on writing. We will consider a waiver for the TOEFL if you have completed another valid English-language proficiency exam with scores equivalent to our TOEFL standard. Please note that undergraduate preparation in the US does not eliminate the TOEFL requirement for non-native English speakers.
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