Doctor of Physical Therapy
To provide entry-level professional education to prepare individuals to sit for the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) licensure exam and practice as autonomous physical therapists. This program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).
Length of program
35 months (110 graduate credit hours) of professional course work and field work presented in a full-time day format, starting in August each year. Beginning 2018, the program will start in May each year.
Prerequisites
- Human Anatomy with lab (1 semester)
- Human Physiology with lab (1 semester)
- Statistics (1 semester - must include descriptive and inferential)
- General Chemistry with lab (2 semesters - inorganic)
- Physics with lab (2 semesters)
- Life Span/Human Development Psychology^ (1 semester)
- Introductory Psychology (1 semester)
- Medical Terminology (Matriculation requirement; not required for admission)*
^Course must include entire lifespan of human development from conception to death (infant to old age); multiple courses may be required.
ALL prerequisite courses must be a minimum of 3 credit. Prerequisite courses must be complete with a grade of “C” or higher.
*If offered admission to the DPT program, Medical Terminology is also required and must be demonstrated by formal course work, or online instruction with certificate of completion
All science courses must be at a level for science majors and include a lab. Online courses are accepted except for science courses with labs.
Credit Retake Hours
Students are approved to retake up to 15 hours of prerequisite courses, and the higher grade will be used to calculate the prerequisite GPA. Cumulative GPA will include each course completed according to the institutional repeat policy where the course(s) were repeated.
Advanced Placement (AP) Credit/Dual Credit
High School Advance Placement (AP) credit appearing on official college transcripts is accepted if score is 3 or higher. If the AP credit is for a prerequisite course, the course is omitted from the prerequisite GPA. For dual credit courses, the course title must appear on an official college transcript with letter grade.
Admission Requirements
This program is designed for students who do not have a degree in physical therapy, but have a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution, and are seeking an entry-level graduate program in physical therapy. Application cycle is July 1 to October 1 annually.
Applicants must meet the following criteria by the application deadline:
- Complete a baccalaureate degree prior to the start of the program. The program will not have a preference as to the background or type of bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution as long as the prerequisite courses are completed.
- A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, and a minimum prerequisite GPA of 3.2/4.0. GPAs will be calculated by PTCAS. All undergraduate and graduate course work is included in cumulative grade point average calculations.
- Completed all prerequisites, or have only one (1) outstanding by the application deadline. The outstanding prerequisite course must be completed before start of the program with a grade of ‘C’ or higher while maintaining at least the required 3.2 admission cumulative GPA. Final transcripts accounting for any outstanding prerequisite coursework must be received prior to matriculation into the program.
- Completed the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test within 5 years of the application deadline and submitted test scores to PTCAS using code 7692.
- Completed a minimum of 40 hours of observation of physical therapy, a minimum of 20 inpatient hours and a minimum of 20 outpatient hours. Observation hours must be supervised by a licensed physical therapist. The observation hours and the contact information of the supervising PT are entered in the PTCAS application.
- Submitted PTCAS application in “Complete” status by application deadline. This means all application materials submitted to PTCAS have been received and documented by PTCAS. Applicants must submit materials to PTCAS several weeks in advance of this date in order to be considered ‘complete’ by the application deadline. Applications which are not in ‘complete’ status or which are submitted after the application deadline will not be reviewed.
- Submitted an IUPUI Graduate/Professional Application by the application deadline.
International applicants, or applicants with foreign transcripts, must meet additional requirements as determined by the IUPUI Office of International Affairs, http://iapply.iupui.edu/. For applicants for whom English is not the native language, a minimum TOEFL score of 628P or 267C or 113i is required at time of application. This policy is waived if the applicant has received an undergraduate degree from an accredited school in the United States by time of entrance into the program.
Applicants who previously matriculated in any physical therapy program in the United States are not eligible for admissions into the IU DPT Program
Required Application Materials
1. IUPUI Online Graduate Application for Admission and $60 non-refundable application fee. This must be completed by application deadline. For “Intended Program and Plan,” select the following:
- What type of degree do you intend to pursue? Doctoral/PhD
- Academic Program: Health and Rehabilitation Professional
- Academic Plan: Physical Therapy DPT
- Are you applying to a dual degree program: No
- Term: Summer
- Recommendations: skip this section
- Personal Statement: skip this section
2. PTCAS application—must be in “Complete” status by application deadline. “Complete” status means all application materials submitted to PTCAS have been received and documented by PTCAS. Applicants must submit materials to PTCAS several weeks in advance of this date in order to be considered “Complete” by the application deadline. Applications which are not in “Complete” status by application deadline or which are submitted after the application deadline will not be reviewed. Official transcripts from all universities where courses were completed should be sent directly to PTCAS.
3. Required Observational Hours. Record all observation hours (a minimum of 40 hours of physical therapy observation with a licensed physical therapist, minimum 20 inpatient and minimum 20 outpatient). Observation hours are to be entered in PTCAS.
4. Prerequisite Course Completion Form: upload and submit with the IUPUI Graduate Application.
5. Declaration of Intent to Complete Degree Requirements Form: as you complete the IUPUI Online Graduate Application by uploading the completed form under Department Information then Additional Upload section. You need to submit the above form if you do not currently hold a baccalaureate (bachelor’s) degree by the application deadline. Note: All degree requirements must be completed before the start of classes in May. All coursework must be completed prior to the start of the program in May. Those applying without a degree will be required to submit a final transcript with proof of degree awarded.
6. GRE general test scores submitted to PTCAS using code 7692
Admission to the professional Doctor of Physical Therapy program is competitive and selective; therefore, completion of the prerequisites and submission of an application does not guarantee admission to the program.
All application materials must be submitted by the application deadline to be considered. Students who have submitted an application by the application deadline and who have met all admission requirements will be ranked based on overall cumulative grade point average and prerequisite grade point average. The top 80-100 applicants, as determined by the academic criteria, will be invited to an on-campus interview. Interviews are held the first Friday in December, or the second Saturday if severe weather occurs on the first Saturday. The interview is required for both in- and out-of-state invited applicants.
The final admission ranking is determined based on overall cumulative grade point average, prerequisite grade point average, Verbal GRE score, observation hours, personal statement, and interview. There are 38-40 applicants are admitted each year. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required at the time the student accepts admission into the program. The deposit will be credited to the student’s first semester tuition if the student matriculates into the program.
Tuition
For the 2016-2017 academic year, the tuition rate per credit hour is $523.11 for Indiana residents and $966.60 for nonresidents. Additional information about additional costs of attending, financial aid, and scholarships can be found at https://shrs.iupui.edu/tuition-scholarships/tuition.html.
