With growing trends such as select sports and increasing lifespan in the general population, the need to assist others with rehabilitation, injury prevention, health maintenance and wellness advocacy continues to rise. Physical therapists are essential members of the healthcare community who treat a variety of conditions, from helping a person after a stroke learn to walk again to working with a marathon runner who may have injured themselves during a race.
With Carroll University’s pre-physical therapy program, your path to a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree is quick and flexible. You can choose from a wide variety of undergraduate majors and, in most sequences, complete your DPT here in just six years. There are many reasons to consider earning your degree from Carroll University, including our program’s two-year board exam pass rate (2020-2021) of 98.75 percent and job placement rate of 100 percent within one year of graduation (2020-2021).
The profession consistently ranks toward the top of the list in healthcare career opportunities. Positions are in high-demand and that is predicted to grow considerably over the next decade.
At Carroll, you’re empowered to decide which approved major best fits your path toward a career in physical therapy. We offer eleven majors that are approved for physical therapy direct admission students. Direct admission provides selected incoming freshmen matriculating directly out of high school with a guaranteed seat in the graduate level of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program (DPT).
Adding a minor to complement your main field of study is optional and not required. If you choose to add one, suggested minors include:
Each major offers a common core of pre-physical therapy pre-requisite courses, providing you with the foundation needed for DPT graduate school. Our physical therapy program also offers an accelerated time to completion for all nine approved majors. The accelerated time to completion allows students to complete both their bachelor’s and DPT degrees in a total of six years as opposed to seven.
And, regardless of whether you’re planning to attend graduate school at Carroll or another institution, all of our pre-physical therapy students receive specialized advising to ensure they’re on the right track to completing their goals and earning their degree.
Beyond courses in your field of study, a benefit to attending Carroll is participating in our required cross cultural experience component. These experiences allow you to learn about different cultures and give you the opportunity to travel and interact with diverse groups locally, nationally or internationally. Students majoring in the health sciences can use their cross-cultural experience to gain additional knowledge in healthcare. Groups travel on medical missions around the globe to provide care and interact with underserved populations in countries like Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico and Nicaragua. These unique immersive experiences will make you a desirable applicant for graduate programs or professional careers.
Freshman (3+3 track) or early Sophomore year (4+3 track)
- Talk with your Major and Pre-PT Advisors for mentoring and course selections
- Attend an PT Information Session each semester – highly suggested
- Check GPAs:
- All applicants must earn a minimum 3.2 cumulative and 3.2 professional GPA for consideration or progression.
- Begin Physical Therapy Observation Hours and Experiences: Minimum of 16 total hours under licensed PT(s)
- Two unique settings are required. One in-patient setting and one outpatient setting
- Observation hours must be recorded and verified using the Clinical Experience Document
- Consider volunteer & campus activities for future submission
- Consider involvement in the PT Club and/or Sports Medicine Club
- Consider participation in university or community service activities. You may record your extracurricular activities on a resume. Career Services offers resume building workshops.
Late Sophomore (3+3 track) or late Junior year (4+3 track)
- Continue to talk with your Major and PT Advisors for mentoring and course selection
- Attend an PT Information Session each semester – highly suggested
- Check GPAs:
- All applicants must earn a minimum 3.2 cumulative and 3.2 professional GPA for consideration or progression.
- Continue Physical Therapy Observation Hours and Experiences: Minimum of 16 total hours under licensed PT(s)
- Two unique settings are required. One in-patient setting and one outpatient setting
- Observation hours must be recorded and verified using the Clinical Experience Document
- Continue to record volunteer & campus activities for future submission
- Consider involvement in the PT Club and/or Sports Medicine Club
- Consider participation in university or community service activities. You may record your extracurricular activities on a resume. Career Services offers resume building workshops.
- Begin thinking of whom you will ask to be your reference(s)
- Direct Admit students are required to submit one recommendation form from a university faculty member.
- Competitive students are required to submit three letters of recommendation. Suggested sources include n Physical Therapist, instructor, or work supervisor.
- Submit your Application for Graduation
- This initiates a credit audit from the Office of the Registrar
- It is the responsibility of the student to review the audit results and make any necessary schedule change(s).
Early Junior (3+3 track) or early Senior year (4+3 track)
- DPT Application opens July 1st at apply.gxitma.net/apply.
- Submit application for Carroll’s DPT program during the summer or fall semester
- See below for application requirements and deadlines
- Accept seat in DPT program within 10 days of acceptance
- Most students will hear back in November/December. Some could potentially hear back sooner or later depending on when the application is submitted.