Being a physical therapist is an incredibly rewarding profession that is projected to grow by 20% over the next decade. However, just because the profession is growing, doesn’t mean it is easy to get into a Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) program. In fact, over the last several years it has become increasingly difficult due to higher school expectations and rising application rates. In this blog post I will walk you through the necessary requirements to prepare for and apply to a DPT program.

When considering what degree to take before applying to graduate school keep this in mind: the pre-requisites matter more than the degree itself. Yep, you read that right. You just need to have the pre-requisites DPT programs require and the bachelor’s degree you get is relatively immaterial. There are now pre-PT programs just like pre-med programs. Essentially, some universities have packed all the needed courses into one four year degree for you. This is incredibly convenient for the freshman that KNOWS they are going to become a physical therapist. For the rest of us that have no idea what they want to do as a freshman or sophomore, you can pursue any degree and mix in the following pre-requisites into your electives and still end up as a strong candidate for a DPT program. I actually prefer this route anyways because you then have two functional degrees that give you greater flexibility later on in life. If you get a pre-PT Bachelor’s degree and then your DPT, guess what? You are pigeon holed into the profession, ’til death do you part. Having something like business degree or english degree gives you more options farther down the road.

So what are those pre-requisites? They are as follows: one year anatomy & physiology, one year biology (some schools don’t require it), one year of chemistry, one year of physics, a semester of statistics and two of the following psychology classes: psych 101, abnormal psych and developmental psych. In summary, you need a bachelor’s degree of any kind with the aforementioned pre-requisites and then you are ready for the next step. It can be a bit more complicated than this paragraph suggests, so feel free to check out this link as well to give you in-depth detail about each individual program you are interested in.

Before you can apply to a DPT program, you need to not only have your undergraduate transcripts, but also have your Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores. Finding a testing site is a quick google search and most likely, your college campus has a place you can take the exam. The GRE is structured a lot like the SAT…only on steroids. I strongly recommend buying a study guide or taking a course to prepare you to take that test. Going into that test cold is a BAD IDEA.

What Should I Do After I Take the GRE?

Now that you have GRE out of the way, it is time to start looking at schools. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has made this process pretty easy. Use this link to the go to the APTA’s website where you can look at any DPT program in any state to see what their requirements are to get into their program. Once you have a list of programs you are interested in, you are ready to move on to the next phase: applying.

The APTA has made applying as easy as possible by creating PTCAS. This is a centralized location where you can effectively fill out one application and send it out to many schools at once. You still need to be mindful of individual schools deadlines, but all of that can be found on the PTCAS website. Once you create your profile, the website will walk you through the final steps to apply to the schools of your choice.

What Should I Do If I Get an Invitation to Interview?

Congratulations! If you have made it this far, you are at the doorstep of achieving a significant milestone in your life. But you aren’t done yet. In fact, the stakes are even higher now than they were before. Your primary focus should be on learning how to deliver the best interview possible. In order to do this there are multiple variables involved along with knowing the types of questions and settings those interviews will take place in. To learn more about how to prepare for your interview, check out this link here.