Admission Requirements

Meeting the minimum requirements does NOT assure admission to the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. Priority is given to residents of Tennessee and children of UT System alumni. Applicants whose native language is not English must submit results of the TOEFL, with minimal score of 550. To be eligible for consideration for admission, applicants must fulfill the following requirements:

1. BACCALAUREATE DEGREE
   • Applicants must complete a baccalaureate degree prior to admission.
   • Applicants must complete required prerequisite courses (Table 1) with a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale.
   • If a required course is repeated, both grades are calculated into the cumulative GPA, but the credit hours assigned to the course may be counted only once in fulfilling the required number of hours.
   • Credit hours earned for non-theory courses in physical education, music, and military science are not accepted in fulfillment of prerequisite hours or as elective hours.
   • Credit for science courses completed more than five years prior to application will be carefully reviewed by the Admissions Committee and may not be accepted in fulfillment of the required number of hours.
   • Courses completed in a PTA program may not be used in fulfillment of any science course required for admission to the UTHSC physical therapy program. Selected coursework completed in a PTA program may be accepted in partial fulfillment of the required number of elective hours.
   • Priority is given to students who have completed at least a portion of each required course sequence by the fall term prior to application.
2. GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION (GRE)

   Applicants must have taken the GRE within the last 5 years. GRE scores may be reported on the old (General Test) or new (Revised General Test) format.

   • Scores on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE are totaled. The admissions committee will consider the best overall “day total”.
   • Experience has shown that verbal and quantitative scores at or above the 50^th percentile are competitive.
     1. Verbal scores of > 460 (old format) or > 151 (new format)
     2. Quantitative scores of > 630 (old format) or > 150 (new format)
   • Experience has shown that a combined quantitative and verbal GRE score > 1080 (old format) or > 300 (new format) is typically needed for an applicant to be competitive.
   • Students with a combined quantitative and verbal GRE score of < 950 (old format) or < 288 (new format) are unlikely to be competitive.
3. PTCAS APPLICATION
   • Applicants can complete an application to the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) at http://www.ptcas.org. All transcripts should be sent directly to the PTCAS.
   • A projected plan for completion of remaining required courses that includes date(s) and name(s) of institution(s) at which the student plans to enroll is required.
4. PRE-PROFESSIONAL EVALUATIONS
   • One (1) PTCAS reference form must be submitted. Reference must be from either a basic science professor or your academic advisor.
   • The program will NOT accept stand-alone letters submitted without a completed reference form or references from other types of evaluators.
5. OBSERVATION/WORK EXPERIENCE
   • Forms for documenting observation and/or work experience in the field of physical therapy can be found on the PTCAS website.  A minimum of 100 hours is suggested.  Time spent in a variety of settings (hospital, outpatient, pediatric) is preferred.  Experience in an athletic training facility is not acceptable unless the athletic trainer is also a physical therapist.
6. PERSONAL INTERVIEW
   • An on-site personal interview is required for admission. Applicants will be notified by the Admissions Committee if they are selected for an interview based upon their prescribed GPA and GRE scores.
7. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK
   • An approved Criminal Background Check (CBC) is required of all accepted students prior to matriculation.
8. TECHNICAL STANDARDS
   • Applicants who accept a position in the program must declare the ability to fulfill the Technical Standards for Admission to the College of Allied Health Sciences, Department of Physical Therapy.
   • Applicants must demonstrate good physical and mental health consistent with the demands of the educational program
   • An approved Criminal Background Check (CBC) is required of all accepted students prior to matriculation. A student who is challenging any part of the CBC may enroll provided that he/she acknowledges that the challenge must be cleared prior to registration.

Prior to enrollment, the following courses, described in the UTHSC Admissions Requirement Brochure, must be completed with grades of "C" or better.

Courses	Semester Hours
Biological Sciences -Must include General Biology I and II or General Botany and General Zoology -Must include laboratory experiences	8
Human Anatomy and Physiology -Must include laboratory experiences	8
General Chemistry -Must include laboratory experiences	8
General Physics -Must include laboratory experiences	8
Mathematics	3
Statistics -Biomedical statistics, education statistics, psychology statistics as well as statistics courses in the math department are acceptable.	3
General Psychology -Must include General Psychology I and II or General Psychology I Human Growth and Development or Abnormal Psychology	6
Humanities/Social Sciences	12
English Composition	6

*Virtual and online lab coursework is not acceptable. AP courses are acceptable for credit in English and Math, but CLEP hours are not.

Back to top of page

Factors Considered in the Selection of Students

Students admitted to the professional program are selected on a competitive basis . Factors utilized by the Admissions Committee include, but are not necessarily limited to:

1. Academic Record. Past academic performance is considered an indication of the probability of an applicant’s completing the academic portion of the program successfully. The cumulative GPA and science/math GPA are evaluated by the Admissions Committee.
2. Graduate Record Examination scores
3. Pre-Professional Evaluation (PPE). Recommendations from university science professors are important considerations in the selection process.
4. Personal interview. The personal interview explores areas such as: experience and knowledge of the profession, interpersonal skills, communication skills, problem solving abilities and professional potential.
5. Motivation and Knowledge of the Field. The Admissions Committee believes that students who know the most about what physical therapists do are most likely to take maximum advantage of the educational opportunities

Contact:

Jon Rose, PT, MS, SCS
Assistant Professor
Department of Physical Therapy

The University of Tennessee
Health Science Center
930 Madison – Suite 660
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.5888
jrose23@uthsc.edu