Overview
The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) is a graduate level full-time program with no option for part-time study. Qualified DPT applicants will have earned a baccalaureate degree, completed all of the prerequisites, and met the academic and professional behavior standards set forth by the Department of Physical Therapy and The University of Scranton. The Mission of the Physical Therapy Department states: In concert withn the Catholic and Jesuit mission of the University of Scranton, the Department of Physical Therapy aspires to graduate knowledgeable, service-oriented, confident, adaptable, culturally competent, and reflective physical therapists. The Department of Physical Therapy promotes the quest for excellence and knowledge along with a commitment to life-long learning, social responsibility, and advocacy. Graduates are expected to render independent judgments that are ethical and based on the best clinical practices and scientific evidence currently available. The Department fosters a spirit of caring for the whole person and strives to prepare its graduates as “men and women for and with others”.
Following completion of all prerequisites and acceptance into the DPT program, the course work begins in Summer session with Anatomy for PT. Completion of the program requires three years of course work comprised of six semesters and three summer sessions. Two ten-week full-time clinical experiences occur during the second and third summer sessions and one fourteen-week full-time clinical experience during the entire final/spring semester of the program. Clinical sites are located primarily in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern regions of the United States, but the department also maintains clinical contacts throughout the country. All contacts with clinical sites are handled exclusively by the PT Department. Interference with clinical assignments may jeopardize normal progression through the curriculum.
Clearances and Immunizations
In preparation for clinical experiences and coursework involving children, students will be required to annually obtain annual background checks and clearances. Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance and PA State Police Criminal Background Check are required prior to the fall semester of DPT Year 1 and will be submitted annually using the clinical education data management system. A ten-panel drug screen and FBI fingerprinting will be required by the beginning of the spring semester DPT Year 1 for inpatient integrated clinical experience clearance. Other clearances may be necessary as required by clinical sites. Failure to receive clearances in a timely manner may result in a delayed start of the clinical experience.
In addition, all students must complete the following requirements prior to the fall semester of DPT Year 1: physical exam within the past year and immunizations listed on the back of the Department’s Student Information Form, including 1-step PPD test. All students must be immunized in order to complete the DPT curriculum. Clinical sites may have other specific requirements which must be met prior to beginning each clinical experience. Clinical site requirements are subject to change as affiliating organizations continue to develop more stringent requirements or time frames. In addition, the affiliating organization may refuse placement of a student based on failure to meet its requirements.
Curriculum
The DPT curriculum includes 111 credits, which progresses from foundational science courses to clinical application and addresses the practice of physical therapy in all settings throughout the lifespan. Full-time clinical experiences account for 24 credits with a total of 34 weeks. Safety, ethics and evidence-based practice are common themes, which continue throughout the curriculum. All DPT courses must be completed in the prescribed sequence, which can be found in the DPT student handbook and the department website. Students will receive a copy of the handbook at the beginning of the first summer session.
Graduates will:
1. Sit for the physical therapy licensure examination within six (6) months of successfully completing all the requirements of the educational program;
2. Achieve a passing score on the physical therapy licensure examination;
3. Attain employment by entering the profession as a licensed physical therapist within one year of graduation;
4. Demonstrate competence in all areas of patient/client management (i.e., screening, examination/evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, plan of care, intervention, and outcomes assessment) for individuals in varied health care delivery settings;
5. Embrace and exhibit the core values of the profession including: accountability, altruism, caring and compassion, excellence, integrity, professional duty and social responsibility;
6. Effectively communicate using appropriate teaching methods that are culturally sensitive and commensurate with the needs of the learner;
7. Utilize evidence-based practice to make clinical decisions essential for design and implementation of best practice for various populations;
8. Demonstrate professional advocacy and social responsibility by participating in prevention, health education and wellness initiatives locally, nationally and/or globally.
Academic Progress
- A DPT student who earns less than a C/77% (i.e., C- is not acceptable) in a DPT course will be dismissed from the program. The student may reapply to the program for the subsequent year, but there is no guarantee of readmission.
- A DPT student whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.00 will be placed on academic probation by the Dean of LCHS.
- A DPT student must earn a 3.00 cumulative GPA or higher in order to enroll in full-time clinical experiences. A DPT student who does not earn a 3.00 cumulative GPA prior to a full-time clinical experience will be dismissed from the program. The student may reapply to the program, but there is no guarantee of readmission.
- Students who interrupt normal progression through the curriculum for any reason will be required to retake and pass the final written examination and/or practical examination for any course considered essential for safe and successful completion in preparation for any clinical experience.
- If a student does not pass all of the final written and practical examinations, the student will be dismissed from the program with no options for reapplication.
DPT Guaranteed Seat
A select group of incoming freshmen who indicate an interest in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program on their application for undergraduate admission will be offered a guaranteed seat in the DPT program as they enter The University of Scranton. The guaranteed seat is conditional and is based on the overall strength of the student’s application to the University. Students who receive a guaranteed seat must complete all prerequisite courses with a grade of C or better (i.e., C- is not an acceptable grade). All students admitted in the undergraduate class with a guaranteed seat in the DPT program must also achieve an overall GPA of 3.20 or higher and a science GPA of 3.20 or higher (Anatomy & Physiology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics) as calculated by the Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) at the time of application. Students with a guaranteed seat must also complete the required clinical observation hours as outlined below by the date of the application through PTCAS. Students with a guaranteed seat will be expected to annually confirm their intention to enroll in the DPT program and must apply to the DPT Program by September 15 of their senior year by completing the application using PTCAS for admission. No updates/corrections to GPA will be considered after application submission to PTCAS. Waiver and/or partial waiver of policy regarding acceptance into the DPT Program requires approval of the Dean of the Leahy of Health Sciences. Regardless of the applicant’s undergraduate academic performance, unprofessional behavior (e.g., violations of the Student Code of Conduct) may be grounds for revocation of the guaranteed seat.
Admission
Admission to the DPT program is competitive and limited. All applicants must submit an application for admission using PTCAS and will be evaluated using the same standards. Late applications will be reviewed on a space available basis. Admission of applicants without a guaranteed seat will be limited by the available space in the program for a particular year. The PTCAS application deadline for students without a guaranteed seat is November 15. All students approved for admission must confirm their intent to enroll by making a non-refundable deposit, which will be applied to summer tuition.
Undergraduate Majors for the DPT
There is no undergraduate major in Physical Therapy. Students may select from a variety of undergraduate majors as long as they successfully complete all the prerequisites and meet the minimum grading and GPA standards. Majors such as Kinesiology, Biology, Physiology and other sciences generally meet the prerequisites. Regardless of major, students, with the help of their academic advisors, will need to carefully plan the selection of general education core requirements and electives in order to meet the prerequisites in a way that does not significantly add to their credit load.
Admission Requirements and Prerequisites
Prerequisite Courses must be completed with a grade of C or better (i.e., C- is not an acceptable grade). In order to be eligible for admission into the DPT program, students must repeat any deficient prerequisite course until a grade of C or better is attained.
Applicants must submit documentation and verification of 30 hours of direct observation of physical therapy patient care by the time of application to the DPT program. All experiences must be supervised by a licensed physical therapist. Observation in more than one setting is strongly encouraged. Documentation and verification must be submitted through the PTCAS application process.
To be eligible for admission to the DPT program in 2021, applicants must have an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.20 or higher, and a science GPA of 3.20 or higher (Anatomy & Physiology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics) as calculated by the Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS).
- Biology with labs: (may include general biology, genetics, microbiology, additional anatomy/physiology; not botany) 2 courses, 8 credits minimum
- Anatomy and/or Physiology: 1 course, 3 credits minimum (human or mammalian)
- General Chemistry with labs: 2 courses, 8 credits minimum
- General Physics with labs: 2 courses, 8 credits minimum
- General Psychology: 1 course, 3 credits minimum
- Advanced Psychology (Childhood, Adolescence, Aging or Abnormal Psychology): 1 course, 3 credits minimum
- Statistics: 1 course, 3 credits minimum
*Note: Science prerequisite courses must be taken at The University of Scranton if the undergraduate degree is earned at The University of Scranton. Exceptions may be approved in special cases, but the courses must be taken at another four-year college with the approval of the chair of the respective department.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE
DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM
The purpose of this document is to delineate the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills deemed essential to complete the DPT Program at the University of Scranton and to perform as a generalist physical therapist in a competent and safe manner. For continued progression and completion of the physical therapy curriculum, a student must be able to possess or perform the identified essential functions.
If a student needs assistance to demonstrate the following skills and abilities, it is the responsibility of the student to request accommodation through the Office of Student Support and Success (OSSS). The University and the Physical Therapy Department will provide reasonable accommodation as long as it does not fundamentally alter the nature of the program offered, or impose an undue hardship such as those which cause a significant expense, difficulty, or are unduly disruptive to the educational process.
A. Cognitive/Critical Thinking Skills
The student must be able to (with or without accommodations):
- Master relevant content in all coursework at a level deemed appropriate by the PT profession.
- Receive, remember, analyze, interpret, evaluate, and synthesize information from multiple sources, in a timely fashion.
- Attend to multiple tasks throughout the day of scheduled classes and clinical experiences.
- Organize and prioritize information in the academic setting and possess critical thinking abilities sufficient for making sound judgments in the classroom and clinical settings.
- Organize and prioritize information to make safe, appropriate, and timely decisions regarding patients for the purpose of further examination, intervention, or referral.
- Problem solve, recognize deviations from a norm, formulate evaluations, and derive clinical judgments from information collected, in a timely fashion.
- Observe and accurately interpret patient responses and adjust examination and/or intervention(s) as indicated by the patient response, in the classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings.
B. Psychomotor Skills
The student must be able to (with or without accommodations):
- Possess adequate strength, dexterity, balance, and sensation to accurately carry out physical activities including:
- variety of patient examinations and interventions including (but not limited to): palpation, auscultation, joint mobilizations, patient transfers, ambulation training
- safely guard patients with limited mobility or unsafe balance responses
- provide safe, reliable, efficient emergency care
- Maintain the stamina to perform satisfactorily in clinical physical therapy settings throughout four clinical experiences which involve a minimum of 8 weeks of full time (40 hours/week) patient care that occur during predetermined dates.
- Competently perform and/or supervise cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
- Physically ensure the safety of themselves and patients at all times.
C. Affective/ Emotional Skills
The student must possess/demonstrate the following affective skills (with or without accommodations):
- Appropriate affective behaviors and mental attitudes to avoid jeopardizing the emotional, mental, and behavioral safety of any individual with whom one interacts in the academic or clinical setting.
- Act in compliance with the ethical standards outlined by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).
- Exhibit personal attributes of accountability, altruism, compassion/caring, excellence, integrity, professional duty, and social responsibility as well as cultural competence as outlined by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Core Values.
- Demonstrate the emotional health and mental stability necessary to fully apply and use their intellectual abilities in all aspects of the physical therapy curriculum.
- Interact with others in a respectful and responsible manner during all interactions, academic and clinical, remembering that one represents the name of the University of Scranton.
- Acknowledge and respect individual values and opinions to foster professional working relationships with colleagues, peers, and patients/clients.
D. Communication
The student must be able to (with or without accommodations):
- Communicate verbally and nonverbally in an effective and sensitive manner, at a competency level that allows one to safely carry out the essential functions of physical therapy care.
- Demonstrate the ability to see, speak, hear, read, write effectively in appropriate language, and utilize technology effectively.
- Communicate effectively with instructors, fellow students, patients and family/caregivers, physicians, and other members of the healthcare team verbally, nonverbally, and in written formats.
* Compiled and adapted from: Daemen College Technical Standards and Essential Functions for Physical Therapy Practice, Ithaca College Essential Functions for Physical Therapy Practice, Lebanon Valley College’s Essential Requirements of Physical Therapist Education, Misericordia University Essential Functions for the Student Physical Therapist, and Quinnipiac University Essential Function Requirements of the Program; Ranel A, Wittry AS, Boucher B, Sanders B. (2001) A survey of Essential Functions and Reasonable Accommodations in Physical Therapist Education Programs. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 15(1), 11.
Curriculum
Total Program Credits: 111 credits
*Credit increase from 1 to 2 beginning with the Class of 2025
**PT 756 is not required for the Class of 2025
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