Doctor of Physical Therapy Physical Therapy (DPT)

Archana Vatwani, Physical Therapy Graduate Program Director

The Doctor of Physical Therapy degree is designed to professionally prepare students with the knowledge and clinical experiences to become licensed physical therapists who will enter general physical therapy practice. Upon graduation, students will be prepared to sit for licensure in any United States jurisdiction and practice in any health care setting where physical therapy is offered. The curriculum consists of 116 credit hours over a three-year period of time including summers. There are three full-time clinical internships totaling 32 weeks. The first two are completed over the second and third summers, with the final 14 weeks of clinical education occurring in the spring semester preceding graduation. A variety of clinical facilities locally, throughout Virginia, and the United States are used for internship experiences. Students are responsible for providing their own transportation to these off-campus clinical sites.

Requirements for Admission

Students are admitted to the program after completion of a bachelor’s degree and prerequisite course work. The application deadline is October 1 of each year, and the program begins in late May. Specific procedures for admission must be followed including the verification of meeting the technical standards. Admission into the program is competitive.

An application to the University and a separate application to the Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) must be submitted. The PTCAS website will be open to applicants mid June each year at www.PTCAS.org. Deadline for application submission is October 1 each year.  Please follow the directions for application found at the PTCAS site.

A competitive admission process is used for determining acceptance. Excellent ODU students may qualify for guaranteed entry into the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. For criteria and additional information, please contact the Pre-Health Undergraduate Advisor from Exercise Science (757) 683-4995 or College of Health Sciences advisor at (757) 683-5137.

Prerequisite courses include the following:

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
STAT 130M	Elementary Statistics	3
BIOL 121N	General Biology I	3
BIOL 122N	General Biology I Lab	1
BIOL 123N	General Biology II	3
BIOL 124N	General Biology II Lab	1
BIOL 240	Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology I	4
or BIOL 250	Human Anatomy and Physiology I
BIOL 241	Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology II	4
or BIOL 251	Human Anatomy and Physiology II
Two semesters of Chemistry, including labs		8
Two semesters of Physics, including labs		8
Psychology		3
An introductory course in Biomechanics or Kinesiology recommended but not required
Total Credit Hours		38

DPT Curriculum 

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Year 1
Summer Year 1
PT 621	Introduction to Physical Therapy	2
AT 691	Gross Anatomy for the Rehabilitation Sciences	6
Fall Year 1
PT 627	Theory and Practice I	4
PT 630	Mechanical Properties of Human Tissues in Rehabilitation	1
PT 634	Clinical Sciences I	3
PT 638	Exercise Physiology	2
PT 640	Patient Evaluation I	3
PT 655	Clinical Problem Solving I	3
PT 665	Biomechanics/Kinesiology I	3
Spring Year 1
PT 628	Theory and Practice II	4
PT 635	Clinical Sciences II	3
PT 641	Patient Evaluation II	3
PT 656	Clinical Problem Solving II	3
PT 666	Biomechanics/Kinesiology II	2
PT 792	Neuroscience I	3
Year 2
Summer Year 2
PT 669	Clinical Experience I	4
Fall Year 2
PT 793	Neuroscience II	3
PT 810	Scientific Inquiry I	3
PT 826	Theory and Practice III	4
PT 836	Clinical Sciences III	3
PT 857	Clinical Problem Solving III	3
PT 880	Psychosocial Aspects of Patient Care	2
PT 884	Clinical Teaching and Professional Communication	3
Spring Year 2
PT 822	Scientific Inquiry II	2
PT 827	Theory and Practice IV	4
PT 837	Clinical Sciences IV	3
PT 842	Patient Evaluation III	3
PT 858	Clinical Problem Solving IV	3
PT 881	Inter-Professional Case Management for Special Populations	3
Year 3
Summer Year 3
PT 875	Clinical Experience II	6
Fall Year 3
PT 870	Pediatric Rehabilitation	3
PT 882	Practice Management	3
PT 883	Professional Issues in Physical Therapy	2
PT 890	Differential Diagnosis Seminar	3
PT 891	Seminar in Scientific Inquiry	3
PT 896	Topics in Physical Therapy II	1
Spring Year 3
PT 876	Clinical Experience III	7
Total Credit Hours		116