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Doctor of Physical Therapy Admission Requirements
Candidates for admission to the D.P.T. program must have a bachelor's degree, in any field, from a regionally accredited institution by registration in August. Early in the process of applying, compare your course work to the prerequisites below so you can review your class schedule and complete the required courses on time.
- Prerequisite courses must be completed before Registration.
- Students should have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in the combined prerequisite courses and a minimum overall grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale when applying.
- All prerequisite courses need to be taken for a grade. Pass/Fail is not accepted. Grades below a C- are not accepted.
- Testing out of a course is acceptable upon approval by the Physical Therapy Admissions Committee.
Required courses:
Biological Sciences: 16 hours
- One course of human anatomy must be taken.
- One course of human physiology must be taken.
- The anatomy and physiology requirements can be fulfilled by a series of two courses of combined anatomy and physiology. They can also be fulfilled by one combined anatomy and physiology course plus a human physiology course.
- All courses should be taken through the biology department if possible. If taken through another department, the course may be subject to review by the Admissions Committee, and a possibility exists that the course will be unacceptable.
- Please note that exercise physiology will not fulfill the human physiology requirement.
- Labs are required with all biology classes. If labs are not offered in anatomy and physiology at your institution, please include a course description for review by the Admissions Committee.
Chemistry: 8 semester hours
- Each course must include a lab.
- A chemistry sequence for science or health science majors is preferred.
Physics: 8 semester hours
- Each course must include a lab.
- A physics sequence for science or health science majors is preferred.
Statistics: 1 Course
- This can be taken either through the math or psychology department.
Psychology: 3 Courses
- One course of general or introductory psychology is required.
- Two upper division courses (other than statistics) are required. Abnormal and developmental psychology courses are strongly recommended to fulfill this requirement.
- Psychology courses should be taken through the psychology department.
English Composition/Speech/ Communications: 2 Courses
- One course of English composition is required.
- Testing out is acceptable if it is reflected on an official transcript.
- Literature courses do not fulfill this requirement.
- Writing across the curriculum and writing-intensive courses will be considered. Course descriptions should be included with your application.
Humanities/Social Sciences: 2 Courses
- Literature, history, philosophy, sociology, theology, foreign language and art, music or theater appreciation will fulfill this requirement.
Highly Recommended (not required) Courses
- Medical terminology, computer applications, kinesiology, exercise physiology, abnormal psychology, developmental psychology, math (trigonometry or calculus).
Observational Experiences
Applicants are required to observe physical therapists at work in various settings. We require that you spend time observing at least three different patient populations for at least 20 hours each. A minimum total of 80 hours of observation is required.
Permanent Residents
Applicants who are legal permanent residents of the U.S. will be required to provide a copy of their permanent resident card ("green card") prior to admission. NOTE: Permanent residency status "pending," is not eligible for admission.
Non U.S. Citizens
Applicants who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents should review the information for international students.
Other
Accepted students will be required to complete a criminal background check prior to matriculation.
GRE scores are required for an application to be complete. Des Moines University's GRE code is 2256.
Questions?
Contact the Admission Coordinator if you have any questions regarding prerequisites at 515-271-7864 or ptadmit@dmu.edu.
