School of Physical Therapy

Requirements:

Baccalaureate degree in any major must be completed with a minimum last 60 hours GPA of 3.0 prior to beginning the program. Note exception below for Human Biology, Kinesiology and Psychology fast track students at TWU. If you are attending another university for your undergraduate education, be sure you and your advisor are familiar with TWU’s requirements for admission.
You must have successfully completed (mostly A’s and B’s) these prerequisites:

• Two semesters of biology or zoology with laboratory
• Not accepted are biology for non-science majors, anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, botany, and ecology
• Two semesters of chemistry with laboratory
• Not accepted is chemistry for non-science majors
• Two semesters of basic physics with laboratory
• Not accepted is Physics for non-science majors
• One semester of college algebra AND one semester of college trigonometry, OR One semester of pre-calculus, OR One semester of calculus.
• Six hours of psychology (excluding statistics)
• One three-hour course in statistics
• One semester of general physiology with laboratory (preferably human); OR Two semesters of anatomy and physiology with laboratory; OR One semester of anatomy and physiology with laboratory PLUS One semester of exercise physiology.
• Applicants must complete a course in medical terminology. 

• Competitive scores on the Verbal, Quantitative, and Writing tests of the Graduate Record Examination. (TWU institution code: R6826. PT code:  0619) 
• International students must also submit acceptable TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and TSE/Test A (Test of Spoken English) scores.
• Three (3) completed Applicant Recommendation Forms.  At least 2 recommendations must come from physical therapists (licensed to practice in the US) where you have observed/worked/volunteered for at least 20 hours with each therapist in two different clinics. Two recommendations from the same clinic are considered as one reference. The third recommendation can come from  a professor, supervisor, employer or a third physical therapist at another facility.
• A minimum GPA of 3.0 in last 60 hours of coursework.

Class Statistics

Admission to the School of Physical Therapy is highly competitive. For the incoming class of 2008, the average last 60 hrs. GPA is 3.76, the average Math/Science GPA is 3.63 and the average GRE total is 1118. 

Recommendations:
Applicants should know as much as possible about the profession in order to make sound decisions of their suitability for physical therapy. We recommend that applicants work or volunteer in several different types of physical therapy facilities to experience the wide range of practice options that are available.  A strong background in anatomy facilitates success in the cadaver dissection anatomy which is taught in the program. If you have not taken an anatomy course we recommend an internet course offered in the summer semester prior to beginning the PT Program at TWU.  Please contact Mary Beth Daugherty (mdaugherty@twu.edu) for more details.

Entering Freshmen:
At TWU, degree plans are available in kinesiology, human biology, psychology, nutrition, and child development which enable freshmen to complete the courses necessary for the major and the prerequisites for the graduate program in physical therapy. Be sure to tell your advisor when registering for classes that you are interested in the pre-physical therapy degree plan. (See contact information below)

Special TWU Fast Track degree plans are available only in kinesiology, human biology and psychology which prepare the student to apply to the graduate physical therapy program in the junior year. Students may be accepted into the graduate program after three years of baccalaureate work and then may complete the B.S. in kinesiology, human biology or psychology and the DPT in physical therapy in six years. It is recommended that a student only completes one year at a community college if interested in this Fast Track degree since upper level courses will need to be taken in the sophomore year.