Perhaps the most distinctive feature of our DPT program is the year-long, full-time, paid clinical internship. The internship follows the completion of our academic program. Internship sites are located within the Boston area and across the country.
Our program was one of the first and remains one of the relatively few in the country that offers this form of an internship as the culminating clinical experience. Given the unique opportunities for long-term professional development offered by the year-long internship process, a number of programs across the nation are developing internships specifically modeled on MGH Institute's concept.
The internship is arranged in cooperation with clinical sites, following interviews and a matching process that includes student and employer feedback. The payment structure model and amount of compensation for the internship is determined by each clinical facility.
Students receive their DPT degree four months into the clinical internship year. They then sit for state licensure and complete the remainder of the year as licensed physical therapists.
Interns make a commitment to the internship facility for the full year. The internship allows our graduates to enter the profession with a strong clinical background so that they can move into a variety of practice settings with solid experience, skill, and confidence.
All students take part in the internship interview and matching process. Students either match and complete a paid year-long internship, or complete the DPT program with a traditional 14-week unpaid clinical experience that ends upon graduation - after which the graduate independently pursues a clinical position.
