 |
Advising Notes
Admission to Physical Therapy Programs
Penn State does not offer a program in physical therapy. However, qualifying curricula would allow interested students to transfer to undergraduate or graduate programs at other universities.
Avenues of Admission to Physical Therapy Programs
- Associate Degree programs: Physical Therapist Assistant (available at the DuBois, Hazleton, Mont Alto, and Shenango campuses of Penn State)
- Master of Physical Therapy (transfer after two or three years at Penn State)*
- Entry-level Master of Science (after completion of bachelor's degree program at Penn State)*
- Entry-level Doctorate of Physical Therapy (after completion of bachelor's degree program at Penn State)*
* The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) encourages these routes. Master's-level programs are beginning to be phased out.
Choice of Major
Students may be in any major at Penn State as long as they complete the requirements for admission to a physical therapy program. Some popular choices with regard to major are the following:
College of Education
- Rehabilitation Services
- Secondary Education—Biological Science Teaching option
College of Health and Human Development
- Biobehavioral Health
- Kinesiology—Movement Science or Athletic Training option
- Health Policy and Administration
- Nutritional Sciences—Applied Sciences or Basic Sciences option
- Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management—Therapeutic Recreation option
College of the Liberal Arts
- Letters, Arts, and Sciences—Liberal Studies option
- Psychology (B.S.)—Neuroscience option
Eberly College of Science
- Biology
- Premedicine
- Science
Typical Minimum Requirements for Admission to a Master's Degree Program
- Mathematics: college algebra (MATH 021) or higher
- Statistics: STAT 200
- Biology: BIOL 110, 230W or 240W, 129 or 421; 141/142 or 472/473; upper division: BIOL 409, 422W, 437, or 440
- Inorganic chemistry: CHEM 110, 111, 112, 113
- Physics: PHYS 250, 251
- Psychology: PSYCH 100 and 212 and/or 470 or 270
- Social sciences and/or humanities
- English composition: ENGL 15/30 and 202
Additional Courses That Some Schools May Require
- Anthropology and/or sociology: 400-level
- Applied human anatomy: KINES 202
- Biobehavioral health: BB H 451
- Biochemistry: B M B 211
- Biomechanics: KINES 384 or 484
- Calculus: MATH 110 or 140
- Communications: CAS 100
- Computer science: CMPSC 101 or 203
- Exercise physiology: KINES 350
- Movement skills: KINES 360
- Organic chemistry: CHEM 202, 203
- Psychology: PSYCH 260
- Research methods course (e.g., PSYCH 301W, PSY 407, HD FS 312W, BB H 411)
Admission Requirements in Addition to Specified Courses
- Cumulative GPA between 3.00 and 4.00**
- High grades in prerequisite science courses
- For entrance to a Master of Science or Doctorate of Physical Therapy program (after completion of a baccalaureate degree), Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores may be required.
- Field experience with a licensed physical therapist while an undergraduate (physical therapy schools are looking for a variety of experiences)
- Letters of recommendation
** Since physical therapy schools admit only a controlled number of students per class, the more competitive your cumulative grade-point average is, the greater your chances of acceptance will be.
Paid/Volunteer Work Experience Opportunities
The Easter Seal Society of Central PA
383 Rolling Ridge Drive
State College, PA 16801
Phone: 238-4434
Mt. Nittany Medical Center
1800 East Park Avenue
State College, PA 16801
Phone: 231-7000
University Health Services
Ritenour Building
University Park, PA 16802
Phone: 865-7381 (Physical Therapy Department)
Healthsouth Rehabilitation Hospital
550 E. College Avenue
Pleasant Gap, PA 16823
Phone: 359-3421
Healthsouth Outpatient Center
1522 Martin Street
State College, PA 16801
Phone: 234-1986
Lemont Physical Therapy, Inc.
2766 West College Avenue
State College, PA 16803
Phone: 861-6608
|
O'Neill Physical Therapy
911 University Drive
State College, PA 16801
Phone: 237-5134
Back to Life Physical Therapy
434 West Aaron Drive
State College, PA 16803
Phone 235-9995
University Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Center
101 Regent Court, Scenery Park
State College, PA 16801
Phone: 231-2101
Penn State Orthopaedics
1850 E. Park Avenue, Suite 112
University Park, PA 16803
Phone: 865-3566
Phoenix Rehabilitation
805 S. Atherton Street
State College, PA 16802
ProCare Rehabilitation
2825 Earlystown Road
Centre Hall, PA 16828
|
Physical Therapy Resources on the Web
For further information, contact:
American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
1111 N. Fairfax Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-684-2782 or 1-800-999-2782
Pennsylvania Physical Therapy Association
Suite 106, 4701 Devonshire Road
Harrisburg, PA 17109
Phone: 717-541-9169
Physical Therapy Club
Linda Eck, PT, faculty adviser
University Health Services
Physical Therapy Department
Phone: 814-865-7381
Revised 4/08
Advising Notes is a compilation of special topics publications for students and academic advisers.
Privacy and Legal Statements | Copyright | © The Pennsylvania State University. All rights reserved. Last revised May 9, 2007.
|
