PT Program Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission into the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, you must meet the following criteria.

University requirements

1. You must have completed or be in the final stages of completing your bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college, university, or appropriate international institution.
   
2. Paid $50 supplemental application fee.
   

Program requirements

1. Completion of the PTCAS application.
   • A completed and verified PTCAS application by October 1st.
2. A minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0.
3. Completion of observation hours.
   • A minimum of 24 career exploration hours is required. Observation hours can be from one or more settings. Your exploration of physical therapy as a career can include volunteer work, observation hours, or work experience with a licensed physical therapist, as well as interviews and professional journals, reading. Observation hours completed in facilities can be obtained in one or more professional settings with a licensed physical therapist. You must choose settings that offer exposure to different types of patients receiving different types of diagnoses and treatments. Verification of observation hours by a physical therapist is not required.
4. Two letters of recommendation.
   • One must come from a licensed PT and the other must come from a faculty member that you had as an instructor.
     • NOTE: If you have a graduate assistant (GA) or teaching assistant (TA) submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf, the "overseeing professor" must sign off and approve of the GA's/TA's recommendation.
5. Completion of biology credit hour requirement.
   • You must complete at least 14 semester credit hours of human biological sciences. This includes the biology requirements listed above (anatomy, physiology, and exercise physiology), plus additional courses such as human biology, kinesiology, or health science and movement science courses that are the study of humans.
6. Completion of psychology credit hour requirement.
   • You must complete at least six semester credit hours of psychology. This includes the developmental psychology requirement listed above, plus one or more additional courses of human psychology. Please note that PSY 211, Psychological statistics, cannot fulfill both the statistics requirement and psychology credit hour requirement.
7. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in prerequisite academic coursework, with no grade below a 2.0 in each prerequisite course.
8. Completion of prerequisite coursework.
   • At the time you apply for admission to the PT program, you must have completed (or be no more than two classes from completing) the required prerequisite courses listed below. Prerequisites must be completed within six years of when the program matriculates. Check course equivalencies from other institutions to ensure you are completing the appropriate prerequisite courses.

Additional requirements for international students only

International students must complete the following requirements. Contact the College of Health Professions Graduate Admissions with any questions or concerns at chpgradadm@cmich.edu.

1. Course-by-course World Education Services (WES) foreign evaluation.
   • Coursework taken at international institutions must be evaluated by WES, as they are the sole provider of foreign evaluation services for PTCAS. The official WES course-by-course evaluation must be sent to PTCAS directly from WES. Students from English-speaking countries are exempt, e.g., Canada, England, Australia, etc.
2. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores.
   • Prospective students who are not citizens of a TOEFL-exempt country must submit a satisfactory test score on the TOEFL or IELTS. Score requirements: 79 or 6.5 on the TOEFL/IELTS for regular admission, 61-78 or 5.5-6.0 for conditional admission. For more information on TOEFL requirements, please reference the Graduate Bulletin. Visit the TOEFL website for more information.
3. I-20 requirements.
   • Applicants who are offered/accepted into the PT Program, must submit to CMU's Office of Graduate Studies an I-20 Affidavit/Statement of Support Form, along with evidence of financial support. For more information, please reference the Graduate Bulletin or contact the Office of Graduate Studies at grad@cmich.edu.

GPA recalculation policy

Students will be allowed the opportunity to recalculate their cumulative GPA under the following circumstances:

1. The career path and curriculum that they were pursuing had significantly changed so that they were now following a completely new area of academic study.
   
2. The previous academic coursework and their current coursework are separated by a significant enough period of time to demonstrate a change in career direction.
   
3. They do not wish to use courses from their earlier academic career as prerequisites for the DPT Program.
   
4. Their prerequisites were taken within the last six years.
   

If you meet these criteria, you can recalculate your cumulative GPA based on the last 75 credit hours you have taken. These must include all prerequisite courses. Our admissions committee will evaluate your records to confirm whether you meet the listed criteria and are eligible for a recalculation.

If you have any questions regarding our recalculation policy, please contact the College of Health Professions Graduate Admissions at chpgradadm@cmich.edu.