Fresno offers a 4-year BS in interdisciplinary health and rehabilitation sciences (IHRS), which qualifies students to pursue a master's degree in several health professions including physical therapy. The IHRS degree requires 124 units, 65 in the major field. Students take 29 or 30 units of core courses; the remaining courses depend on their career path. The physical therapy path includes 44 units of physical therapy and 51 units of general education courses. Students must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average (GPA) on the last 60 units and at least a grade of C in all physical therapy courses to enroll in the master of physical therapy (MPT) program. During the MPT program students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 with a minimum grade of C in all clinical experience courses. The program totals 68 units, including 3 courses of clinical experience at the midpoint of the program and 18 weeks of clinical work at the end of the program. APTA surveys show that 83 percent of students who enter the program complete it successfully.
Physical Therapy Department
California State University, Fresno
2345 East San Ramon Avenue
MS-MH29
Fresno, CA 93740
559-278-2625
csufresno.edu
Quinnipiac University's program has two parts: a 3-year or 4-year program of 122 units leading to a BS in health and science studies; and a 3-year program leading to the DPT degree. Applicants' high school courses should have included college-preparatory mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics. Tests such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) are material. Applicants need a minimum of 10 hours of experience observing physical therapists in different settings. The DPT program requires 102 units. To enter, students must earn a GPA of 3.2 along with their BS degree, including grades of C- or better for certain courses. Students enrolled in the DPT program risk dismissal unless they maintain a GPA of 3.0 each semester, and minimum grades of C+ in critical courses. Students receive 10 to 12 weeks of clinical experience in the second year's fall semester, and 30 to 36 weeks during the final year's spring and summer courses. The APTA reports 80 percent of students graduate from this program; 94 percent successfully test for their license on the first attempt. The employment rate was 100 percent for sampled graduates.
Quinnipiac University
275 Mount Carmel Avenue
Hamden, CT 06518-1908
203-582-8200
quinnipiac.edu
Students can enter this MPT program without a BS degree. They must complete Texas core curriculum and prerequisite courses that qualify them for a BS in health care sciences, awarded when they receive their DPT degree. The core curriculum contains 42 units of English, college-level mathematics, natural sciences, humanities, social sciences and behavioral sciences. Students with a 4-year degree complete only the prerequisite courses for the BS degree which is 58 units of subjects such as general biology, human anatomy, and human physiology. Students must have a GPA of 3.0 in all science, math and prerequisite subjects and take the graduate record exam (GRE) before enrolling in the MPT program. The program lasts 7 semesters and has 100 semester units with space for about 40 students each fall. Curriculum includes 3 mandatory 8-week clinical experiences. Clinical experience starts the summer session of the second year. Third-year clinical experience may require the student to relocate temporarily at his or her own expense. The employment rate for graduates surveyed by APTA was 100 percent. Approximately 95 percent pass their licensing test the first try; 92 percent of enrollees successfully complete the program.
University of Texas
Department of Physical Therapy
7703 Floyd Curl Drive
San Antonio, TX 78229
210.567.8750
uthscsa.edu