Residential DPT Program - Physical Therapy

COVID-19 Updates for New Applicants

Attention prospective DPT applicants

With unprecedented and evolving changes in higher education caused by COVID-19, there are updates to the Admissions process for the Residential DPT program. Please review the updates below.

Curriculum

The Residential Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program requires 40 semester hours of prerequisites for admission and 100 semester hours (three years) of professional courses after entry into the program.

Residential DPT Program Courses

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Semester	Course	Title	Credits
Fall I	PHYT 6110	Surface Anatomy	1
Fall I	PHYT 6222	Lifespan Development	2
Fall I	PHYT 6311	Clinical Pathology for Rehabilitation Specialists	3
Fall I	PHYT 6418	Human Anatomy for Rehabilitation Professionals	4
Fall I	PHYT 6441	Clinical Examination in Physical Therapy	4
Total: 14
Spring I	PHYT 6111	Introduction to Clinical Experiences	1
Spring I	PHYT 6216	Exercise Physiology	2
Spring I	PHYT 6220	Evidence-Based Practice in Physical Therapy	2
Spring I	PHYT 6313	Neuroscience for Health Professionals	3
Spring I	PHYT 6314	Movement Science I	3
Spring I	PHYT 6343	Exercise & Manual Techniques in Physical Therapy	3
Total: 14
Summer I	PHYT 6223	Professional Issues in Health Care and Physical Therapy	2
Summer I	PHYT 6262	Diagnosis and Management of Integumentary Dysfunction	2
Summer I	PHYT 6315	Movement Science II	3
Summer I	PHYT 6442	Physical Therapy Functioning Training	4
Summer I	PHYT 6463	Diagnosis and Management of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Dysfunction	4
Total: 15
Fall II	PHYT 6285	Medical Diagnostics for the Physical Therapist	2
Fall II	PHYT 6286	Pharmacology for Rehabilitation Specialists	2
Fall II	PHYT 6344	Physical Agents and Pain Management in Physical Therapy	3
Fall II	PHYT 6489	Clinical Education (8 week roration)	4
Total: 11
Spring II	PHYT 6224	Medical Spanish for Rehabilitation Specialists	2
Spring II	PHYT 6326	Management and Health Systems in Physical Therapy	3
Spring II	PHYT 6464	Diagnosis and Management of Neuromuscular Dysfunction I	4
Spring II	PHYT 6465	Diagnosis and Management of Musculoskeletal Spinal Dysfunction	4
Total: 13
Summer II	PHYT 6225	Psychosocial Aspects of Disability	2
Summer II	PHYT 6263	Advanced Orthotics and Prosthetics	2
Summer II	PHYT 6390	Diagnosis and Management of Lower Extremity Musculoskeletal Dysfunction	3
Summer II	PHYT 6467	Diagnosis and Management of Neuromuscular Dysfunction II	4
Total: 11
Fall III	PHYT 6290	Diagnosis and Management of Upper Extremity Dysfunction	2
Fall III	PHYT 6302	Physical Therapy Differential Diagnosis	3
Fall III	PHYT 6368	Diagnosis and Management of Developmental Dysfunction	3
Total: 8
Spring III	PHYT 6682	Clinical Education II (12-week clinical rotation)	6
Summer III	PHYT 6227	Evidence-Based Seminar	2
Total: 8
Summer III	PHYT 6683	Clinical Education III (12-week clinical rotation)	6
Total: 6

Total Degree Plan Credits: 100 credits

Admissions Requirements

Application Deadline: November 1

To be considered for admission to the Residential Doctor of Physical Therapy program, applicants must present official documentation of the following student competencies:

GPA - Grade Point Average
- Cumulative Minimum: 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or Last 90 hours
- Math/Science: 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
  - Courses coded MATH, BIOL, CHEM, PHYS. Kinesiology and Statistics courses are not included in this calculation.
- Note: We will use the higher GPA score from your cumulative GPA or the GPA from your last 90 hours.
GRE - Graduate Record Examination
- All GRE scores, transcripts, recommendations, and student profile information must be submitted to the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS), even if you are a re-applicant or have already sent the score directly to UTMB. Your name must match exactly on both the GRE and PTCAS application.
  - GRE scores must be sent using code 3775.
Admissions Criteria
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university completed by May of the year in which you wish to begin the PT program.
- Submission of three (3) references with email addresses from online recommendations to PTCAS. At least one reference must be a PT who supervised your work or volunteer experience.
- Student honors and awards, professional and community involvement, and work or volunteer experience will be submitted via the PTCAS online application.
- PT work or volunteer experience submitted to PTCAS. At least 80 hours of volunteer or paid experience in a physical therapy settings are required.

Prerequisite Courses

Total Credit Hours: 40

These are the prerequisite courses required of Residential DPT applicants:

Note: Residential DPT applicants must complete 40 hours of the following prerequisite courses with a grade of C or better. All Math and Science prerequisite credits must be less than 10 years old. Class numbers are a guide only based on Texas Number system. It is not all inclusive. Numbering may vary school to school.

Subjects	Credits
General Chemistry for Science Majors with lab CHEM 1411 & 1412	8
College or University Physics with lab PHYS 1401 & 1402 or above	8
Biology for Science Majors with lab BIOL 1406 & 1407	8
Physiology with lab *	4
College Algebra, Trigonometry, or Calculus MATH 1414	3
Statistics **	3
General Psychology PSYC 2301	3
Developmental Psychology *** PSYC 2314 / 2312	3

Notes:

* Physiology with lab - May be a Vertebrate, Chordate, Comparative or Human Physiology course. Must include lab. Must be a course for science majors. Anatomy & Physiology I and II can be used to meet this requirement.

** Statistics - Upper level psychology, sociology or education based is preferred. Must include ANOVA (Analysis of Variance)

*** Developmental Psychology - Abnormal Psychology will not count.

DPT Class of 2022
Average Math/Science GPA Average Overall GPA Average GRE Score Average number of hours of observation Average score of letters of recommendation
3.7 3.8 312 240 4.6

Average Math/Science GPA	Average Overall GPA	Average GRE Score	Average number of hours of observation	Average score of letters of recommendation
3.7	3.8	312	240	4.6

Application Process

Complete and submit your PTCAS application. Note: Your application will be considered incomplete if there is missing information, including GRE scores, and/or documentation by the published deadlines, and will not be processed due to the volume of applications received.
Complete and submit your supplemental application once UTMB Enrollment Services receives and processes your PTCAS application. Applicants will also need to send payment. Once both are received, applicants will be given a UTMB ID number for access to MyStar.
The UTMB Department of Physical Therapy will notify all applicants via email when their applications have been received and when the admissions decision has been made. Please allow several weeks for processing.
The top 150 candidates will be invited for an interview. Interviews will be held throughout the fall and final acceptance letters will be sent out early next year.
UTMB has a rolling admissions process; therefore, your application is open until you hear from us with a final decision. If you do not hear from us by December 1, please contact us 409-772-3068 or email utmbdptp@utmb.edu to inquire about the status of your application.
Once accepted, all selected students will be required to undergo a background check for security clearance and pass a drug screen in order to matriculate at UTMB and other off-campus clinical training facilities.
Admissions decisions are final; unsuccessful applicants may contact the Admissions chairperson for advice on how to strengthen their application and reapply in subsequent cycles/years. Requests for review will be assessed between April-June of each year. Email us at utmbdptp@utmb.edu.
Admissions decisions are based on a folder review and interview score. This holistic review allows the top 54 scoring applicants to be accepted into the program following the total sum of folder review from PTCAS and interview score as a holistic process.
The department admissions committee is comprised of 8 PT faculty members who are charged with selecting each incoming class based on folder review. Core faculty and associated faculty perform interviews on interview day.
All applicant communications with admissions staff may be considered as part of the application review, including email correspondence and phone calls.

COVID-19 Updates for New Applicants

PTCAS Application Submission Deadline

PTCAS access will open mid June each cycle

Deadline: November 1. We will review your application in the order in which it is received and verified.

Prerequisites

With undergraduate programs changing grading scales to Pass/Fail (P/F) or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U), we will accept P/F or S/U grading for coursework completed in 2020 and 2021.

For all prerequisites, we are requiring a Pass or Satisfactory scoring. If you scored fail or unsatisfactory, credit will not be awarded for that prerequisite course.

We are accepting Pass or Satisfactory for up to 8 credit hours of prerequisite coursework in BIO, CHEM, PHYSICS, and PHYSIOLOGY.

We are accepting Pass or Satisfactory for all remaining prerequisite coursework in MATH, STATS, DEV PSYCH, and PSYCH.

Lab Coursework Prerequisite

With undergraduate programs transitioning to online coursework, we are waiving the in-person lab coursework requirement for science prerequisites completed in 2020 and after.

Additional Application Question

PTCAS will add an additional question to the application for the upcoming cycle. The new optional question is intended to allow applicants to share with designated programs how the COVID-19 pandemic has specifically impacted their journey toward a DPT education, either personally or educationally. We ask that if you feel you have been affected educationally, personally, or professionally, that you complete this optional additional question.

PT Observation Hours

We are extending the deadline for completion of 80 hours as applicants may have difficulty obtaining or completing shadowing experiences as facilities adjust to providing care during this public health pandemic. Instead of 80 hours due at the time of submission of the application, we are extending the deadline to May, when all degrees and prerequisite work is due. If you are accepted, we will be monitoring for completion of 80 hours and your acceptance to the program is contingent upon successful completion. We encourage you however to attempt to have as many hours completed at the time of application, as possible.

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Physical Therapy

COVID-19 Updates for New Applicants

Curriculum

Admissions Requirements

Application Process

COVID-19 Updates for New Applicants

PTCAS Application Submission Deadline

Prerequisites

Lab Coursework Prerequisite

Additional Application Question

PT Observation Hours

Are You Ready?

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