Physical Therapy Program Admission Requirements
Bachelor's degree
Our Doctor in Physical Therapy (DPT) Program is designed for students who have already received their baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution or are in their final year of undergraduate studies. You must have earned a minimum 3.0 grade point average in prerequisite and overall undergraduate academic coursework, with no grade below a 2.0 in each prerequisite course.
Prerequisite courses and equivalencies
At the time you apply for admission to the DPT Program, you must have completed (or be no more than two classes from completing) the following prerequisite courses. Prerequisites must be completed within six years of when the program matriculates.
Check course equivalencies from other institutions.
| Prerequisites | CMU Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Anatomy with lab | HSC 214 or BIO 337 |
| Physiology with lab | HSC 215 or BIO 392 |
| Exercise physiology (with or without lab) | HSC 308 |
| Chemistry I and II with labs | CHM 120, 127 and 342 OR CHM 131 and 132 |
| Mathematics (trigonometry, pre-calculus, or calculus) | MTH 109, MTH 130 OR MTH 132 |
| Physics I and II with labs | PHY 130, 131, 170, and 171 OR PHY 145, 146, 175, and 176 |
| Developmental psychology (must cover the development of human behavior from birth to old age | PSY 220 |
| Statistics | BIO 500, HSC 544, PSY 211, OR STA 282QR |
Credit hour requirements
Biology: 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.
Psychology: 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.
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.
Graduate record exam
The GRE is not required for the 2024-2025 application cycle.
Letters of recommendation
Two letters of recommendation are required. 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.
Interview
Our CMU DPT review committee evaluates each applicant's credentials and selects candidates for a formal interview or an informal meet-n-greet with faculty and staff. Interviews are held each January or February and acceptance letters are sent out after the visit to campus date.
Technical standards
All candidates interviewing for admission and students admitted into our DPT Program are expected to demonstrate the attributes and meet the expectations listed in the technical standards. These technical standards are required for admission and must be maintained throughout a student's participation in the program.