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Admissions Requirements
| ■ | Admissions Process |
| ■ | |
| ■ | Minimum Admissions Requirements |
| ■ | Additional Requirements for Admission |
Admissions Process
The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program
at the Medical College of Georgia uses a
rolling admissions process that begins August 1 and ends December 15. Under
this process
applications are considered as soon as they are complete.
Completed applications must include all official transcripts, completed
reference forms, and official GRE score reports.
Well qualified applicants will be invited to Augusta for interviews.
Admissions decisions will generally be made within
two weeks of the interview date. The best qualified candidates will be
offered either a full or contingent admission until the class is fully
enrolled. A waiting list of otherwise qualified applicants will be maintained. The Doctor of Physical
Therapy program is limited to an enrollment of 36 students/class year. It
is in an applicant’s interest to apply at the earliest possible date and we
strongly encourage you to do so.
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Required Prerequisites
Candidates for the DPT degree must hold a bachelor's degree in a discipline other than physical therapy from a regionally accredited US or Canadian institution prior to enrollment. Please note that you can apply to our program before completing all of the prerequisites but you must have a reasonable chance of completing all the requirements by the time you would actually enroll in the DPT program.Students must earn a grade of C or higher in all
of the following prerequisite courses.
Course |
Credit hours
|
General chemistry (with laboratory) |
One academic year (2 semesters or 3 quarters) |
General physics (with laboratory)
|
One academic year |
General biology (with laboratory) OR Anatomy & physiology (with laboratory)
|
One academic year |
Advanced biology (i.e., not botany, ecology or environmental biology) OR Movement science (e.g., exercise physiology, biomechanics, kinesiology)
|
One course that has general biology as a prerequisite OR One course that has anatomy & physiology as a prerequisite |
Statistics
|
One course |
Social Science (i.e., psychology, sociology, or anthropology)
|
Two courses |
Minimum Requirements:
■ Minimum
3.0 (out of
4.0) cumulative GPA or 3.4 GPA over the last 40 hours of coursework completed.
■ Minimum GPA of 2.80 in the prerequisite science/statistics courses.
■
A combined (verbal and quantitative) Graduate Record Examination score of
1000 and minimum score of 400 on each section is required for full
admission.
■
100 hours of observational, volunteer or other work
experiences in physical therapy settings. We strongly recommend experiences
in both inpatient and outpatient environments in order to appreciate the
differences in physical therapists' responsibilities in each setting.
■ Three recommendations that focus on the applicant’s aptitude for clinical work rather than just academic ability. These should be from rehabilitation professionals and at least one must be from a physical therapist.
■ Basic understanding of medical terminology is
required as part of the physical therapy curriculum. This requirement can be
met by taking a course prior to enrollment or by completion of a self-paced
text during the first semester.
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Additional requirements:
In addition to specific academic requirements,
candidates for admission to the Doctor of Physical Therapy program must have
aptitude, abilities, and skills in the following five areas in order to meet
the full requirements of the program’s curriculum.
■ Sufficient
intellectual capacity to fulfill the
curricular requirements of the program.
■
Ability to effect communication with patients,
colleagues, instructors and other members of the health care community.
■ Physical ability to learn and implement the various
technical skills required to prepare for the independent practice of
physical therapy.
■
Sufficient emotional stability to withstand the stress,
uncertainties and changing circumstances that characterize health care
practice.
■
Social attributes and behaviors required for full use
of intellectual abilities and the development of mature, sensitive and
effective therapeutic relationships with patients and clients.
The faculty of the Department of Physical Therapy acknowledge Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and PL 103-336, The Americans with Disabilities Act and will consider for admission, promotion and graduation candidates who demonstrate the ability to perform the essential skills listed in the department’s technical standards document. These standards are admission guidelines and are subject to continuing revision and improvement. (top of page)