Q. Can I take my prerequisite courses at a community college?
A. Yes, you can take your prerequisite courses at any accredited two- or four- year college or university.
Q. Can I take online courses to meet a prerequisite requirement?
A. Yes, you can use online courses to meet a requirement as long as the course is taken for college credit and is offered through an accredited college or university. The Institute now offers most of our required prerequisite courses online. You will also find specific course numbers for our online courses by topic in the content below.
Q. What courses will fulfill the prerequisite requirements?
Anatomy and Physiology
What works: Most people fulfill this requirement with two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology (A&P).
Note: Both semesters have to have a lab attached. We offer online Anatomy and Physiology I and II courses here at the Institute that will fulfill the requirement. They are undergraduate level courses with online labs.
Learn more about our online prereqs.
Alternatively, you can take a course in Anatomy and a separate course in Physiology. In this case, both courses have to have the lab attached. We accept Human or Vertebrate Anatomy
Biology
What works: Any Biology course. It can be anything from General Biology to Genetics to Molecular Biology to Environmental Biology.
What doesn’t work: Non-Biology courses
What if I can’t find a local college that offers Biology? You can take it online.
Chemistry
What works: Any two Introductory Chemistry courses in a series with associated labs. They can be for non-science majors.
What if I can’t find a local college that offers Chemistry?
You can take it online.
We offer online General Chemistry hear the the IHP that will fulfill the requirement. There are two undergraduate level courses that include labs. The course numbers and titles are:
Physics
What works: Physics, but it does not have to be Calculus-Based Physics. Two introductory courses in a series will do as long as they have labs attached.
We offer online Physics 1 and 2 courses at the Institute that will fulfill the requirement. They are undergraduate courses with online labs. The course numbers and titles are:
What doesn’t work: Biomechanics, Kinesiology
Statistics
What works: Introduction to Statistics. We are looking for inferential statistics, so the course should include probability, distribution, measures of central tendency, t-tests, hypothesis testing, and perhaps correlations. The course is often offered through social science or math departments.
The Institute offers an online course in Statistics, HSTATS-451, in summer, fall, and spring semesters. [link to course description]
What doesn’t work: Business Statistics, Qualitative Statistics
General Psychology/Abnormal Psychology
What works: Either General Psychology (sometimes called Introduction to Psychology) OR Abnormal Psychology.
The Institute offers an online course in Abnormal Psychology, HPSYCH-452.
What doesn't work: Educational Psychology, Sports Psychology, Psychology of Disability
Q. What recommendations does the IHP PT program have about the types of observation hours that would best prepare me for admission to and graduate study in PT?
A. We require 10 hours and recommend combining depth and breadth.
Depth: Identify one facility where you can spend enough time that you are likely to have a good idea of what PT is like in a particular facility. Try spending at least one week full-time in a facility. However, that is rarely logistically feasible. Therefore, using 40 hours as a framework, set up a schedule that would allow at least that much time.
Breadth: Spend at least one full day in one or two other PT facilities that are different types of settings from the one in which you spent your depth of experience. If you spent your depth in an outpatient setting, consider an inpatient or rehabilitation hospital setting. Not all experience that is helpful will be directly PT-related. What other health care experience do you have that will inform your ability to interact with patients or clients and with other members of the health care team? Be prepared to make an argument about how this experience informed your decision to be a physical therapist.
Q. What foreign evaluation agency do you recommend?
A. The PTCAS Work Group recently selected World Education Services (WES) as the preferred foreign transcript evaluation service for PTCAS applicants with non-U.S. coursework. If you have a degree earned outside of the United States, you will need to have your transcript credentialed by a credentialing agency.
Q. What backgrounds do your DPT students come from?
A. Our students in the Class of 2018 come from 32 states, 3 countries, and a wide variety of undergraduate degrees. Kinesiology (18%) • Exercise Sci/Physiol (18%) • Biology/Biochem (7%) • Psychology (7%) • Health Science (4%) • Neuroscience (3%) • Anthropology (3%) • English (3%) • Nutrition (3%) • Organizational Development • Physical Education • Art History • Athletic Training • Biopsychology • Dance • Entrepreneurship • Finance • Math • Pharmacology • Physiology • Political Science • Spanish
for PT programs in the country for more than 15 years, by U.S. News & World Report
