Requirements
A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or Early Contingent Admission (ECA) status at URI.
- An Introductory or General Biology Course with lab (not botany) (4 semester credits)
- A Second level Biology Course (not botany), or Exercise Physiology, or Neuroscience Course with lab (4 semester credits)
- *An anatomy and/or physiology course may not be used to fulfill this requirement.
- 2 Human or Mammalian Anatomy and Physiology Courses with labs (8 semester credits)
- *An exercise physiology course may not be used to fulfill this requirement.
- 2 Chemistry Courses with labs (8 semester credits)
- 2 Physics Courses with labs (8 semester credits)
- Introductory or General Psychology Course (3 semester credits)
- Second level Psychology Course (e.g., developmental, adolescent, social, lifespan, etc) (3 semester credits)
- Statistics Course (3 semester credits)
- Writing Intensive or Compositions Course (3 semester credits)
Applicants are required to have 9 of the 12 prerequisite courses completed by December of the admissions cycle. Incomplete prerequisites must be completed with a C or better and applicants must maintain the 3.2 GPA requirement for the prerequisites.
AP credit for prerequisite courses will be accepted as long as they have received credit from their undergraduate institution. Applicants also need to submit their test scores from the AP Students College Board.
Please visit our FAQs for answers to common questions about prerequisites.
Application Process
Submit the PTCAS application, which includes:
- Official transcripts from every college/university attended
- AP scores from the College Board (if applicable)
- A minimum of 30 observation hours or experience in a physical therapy setting is required at the time of application (The physical therapy experiences must occur under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist)
- One personal statement (PTCAS general question)
- A minimum of 2 letters of recommendation are required. One letter must be from a Physical Therapist, but we encourage two
The PTCAS application portal will open for applications as of June 17th
Application Deadline: October 15th
We require that all materials are submitted prior to the admissions deadline in order for review by the Admissions Committee.
Interview Process
- Selected candidates will be invited to interview with the PT faculty
- An invitation for the interview will be sent by mid-November 2024
- Interviews will be conducted virtually in mid to late December 2024
Early Contingent Admission (ECA)
For University of Rhode Island students, ECA is a second route to admission into the Physical Therapy Program. The Department of Kinesiology offers an accelerated undergraduate curriculum that completes degree requirements and prerequisites in 3 years. For information on this option, please contact Dr. Matthew Delmonico in the Kinesiology Department. ECA students applying for the DPT program apply through PTCAS and all of the application processes that apply to a student with a bachelor’s degree will apply to them.
Students entering through the Early Contingent DPT program complete 26 credits of required graduate level courses during their Senior Year. Early Contingent DPT students complete the same minimum of 110 credits applicable to the DPT program requirements.
If you have any questions about application or admission, please contact Brittany Casey.