Pre-Physical Therapy Requirements

Admission Requirements

Pre-Physical Therapy

Prior to admission, a minimum of 90 semester hours of credit from an approved college or university is required. Students should be broadly educated in the sciences and humanities. The Department of Physical Therapy recognizes that, since physical therapy deals with people, an understanding of literature, art, history, ethics, and philosophy is an adjunct to a physical therapist. Science and humanities are both viewed as necessary for the practice of physical therapy.

The following list of courses and credits indicates the core prerequisites all applicants must complete prior to admission to the physical therapy program. It is strongly recommended that students be computer literate prior to entering the professional program. Students may take additional electives from any field of study; however, the depth of the pre-physical therapy education should demonstrate that students have progressed from simple to complex studies in at least one content area. This requirement might typically be demonstrated by a discipline major, but in any case, should demonstrate a basic comprehensiveness and integrity of study within a particular content area. This does not suggest that a separate undergraduate degree must be awarded; however, the breadth and depth of a discipline should be demonstrated. Course credits equivalent to a minor, i.e., approximately 20 credits at UND, in a particular discipline, could accomplish this requirement. The prospective student should include eight (8) credits from upper-level courses, i.e., 300 and/or 400 numbers.

• Two semesters of General Biology (8 cr.)
• Two semesters of General Chemistry (8 cr.)
• Two semesters of General Physics (8 cr.)
• Two semesters of Human Anatomy & Physiology (8 cr.)
• One semester of Introductory Psychology (3 cr.)
• One semester of Developmental Psychology (3 to 4 cr.)
• One semester of Abnormal Psychology (3 cr.)
• One semester of a Public Speaking course (3 cr.)
• One semester of an undergraduate statistics course (3 cr.)
• Essential Studies requirements

All of the prerequisite coursework must be completed before entering the professional program; however, the prospective student may be enrolled in pre-professional coursework at the time of application. All students must apply for the professional program through the PTCAS system. WICHE-eligible students should also apply through the WICHE certification process. Please refer to the UND-PT website for application details.

Acceptance is on a competitive basis, with the major determinant being the basic science grade point average. The basic science GPA is defined as: biology (eight semester credits), chemistry (eight semester credits), physics (eight semester credits), anatomy & physiology (eight semester credits), and psychology (seven semester credits). In addition to the science GPA, cumulative GPA, an interview. and letters of reference will be considered in the admission process. Prospective students are expected to complete at least 60 hours of physical therapy observation prior to application.

The applicant must meet the School of Graduate Studies’ current minimum general admission requirements as published in the graduate catalog.

1. Completion of the application for admission to the professional program and UND School of Graduate Studies application form.
2. Submission of score from the Graduate Record Examination General Test.
3. Satisfy the School of Graduate Studies English Language Proficiency requirements as published in the graduate catalog.
4. Applicants who have received their bachelor's or master's degree in the United States or English-speaking Canada are not required to submit the TOEFL or IELTS.

Early Assurance Admission

Each academic year, a selected group of high school seniors will be accepted for early assurance into the UND Physical Therapy program. The exact number of individuals selected will be determined each year and will not exceed 20 students.

How to be considered by the UND PT program for early assurance include:

1. High school seniors apply for admission to UND
2. Declare intent to pursue Pre-Physical Therapy on UND admission application
3. Complete the Physical Therapy early assurance application (invitation and link to application will be emailed to qualified candidates)
4. Priority is given to early applications
5. Students who are not selected for early assurance are encouraged to apply for admission to the Physical Therapy program through the standard admission process

Early Assurance Application Process

1. Completed UND PT Early Assurance application
2. Written essay responses
3. Interview with Early Assurance Advisor
4. Approval for early assurance acceptance by the UND PT Committee of the whole

Once accepted into the early assurance program, the student will sign an agreement detailing specific requirements that must be maintained throughout undergraduate coursework to remain eligible for early assurance into the PT program.

Requirements to maintain early assurance eligibility during undergraduate coursework include:

1. One meeting per semester with UND PT Early Faculty Advisor
2. Maintain a GPA of 3.25 for all undergraduate coursework
3. Achieve a GPA of 3.50 for UND PT prerequisite coursework by the Fall prior to the anticipated year entering the program.
4. Progress through prerequisite coursework for the UND PT program as determined by meetings with UND PT Faculty Assurance Advisor
5. Fulfillment of UND essential studies requirements
6. Attain 60 observation hours, 40 of which must be with a physical therapist
7. One of the following:
   1. Bachelor’s degree
   2. > 90 semester credit hours with the equivalent of an identified minor in a selected discipline
   3. >90 semester credit hours with a cognate (i.e., area of concentration). The cognate requires at least 20 credit hours in one discipline, with 8 of those at the 300 and/or 400 level(s). 
8. Students may only withdraw once from an individual course and may only have three total course withdrawals
9. Students may only retake 2 UND PT prerequisite courses.
10. Students are expected to comply with all elements of the UND Code of Student Life and interact with peers, faculty, and community members in a thoughtful, respectful manner.
11. Pass a criminal background check prior to matriculation within the professional program.

Students who do not complete all requirements to maintain early assurance once at UND will forfeit the early assurance offer.  Students unable to complete all early assurance requirements are encouraged to apply to the PT Program through the traditional application pool and process.

Degree Requirements

1. Students must be formally accepted into the professional education component of the DPT and endorsed by the Chair of Physical Therapy. NOTE: Acceptance by the UND Office of Admissions or the School of Graduate Studies does not constitute acceptance into the professional program in Physical Therapy.
2. The professional education component of the DPT will require three academic years and two summer sessions following completion of the pre-physical therapy entrance requirements.
3. No student will be allowed to remain in the program or complete the full-time clinical experiences unless he/she attains a letter grade of at least “C” in the major courses.
4. To advance to candidacy, the student must successfully complete the initial comprehensive examination, and maintain a cumulative School of Graduate Studies GPA of ≥ 3.00 AND/OR a summer session GPA of ≥ 3.00. Students who fail to advance to candidacy during the first year will be dismissed from the professional program.
5. After advancement to candidacy, the student is expected to maintain a cumulative GPA of ≥  3.00. The School of Graduate Studies will monitor the cumulative GPA, which must be ≥ 3.00. If the cumulative GPA is not ≥ 3.00, the School of Graduate Studies policies for probation and dismissal will govern the student’s status.
6. Students in the professional program should be aware there are special requirements for clinical uniforms, professional liability insurance, medical insurance, immunizations, CPR certification, and completion of criminal background checks. These requirements must be met prior to any clinical contact with patients. The student will also be responsible for travel, housing, and food costs, in addition to the payment of tuition and fees, during the full-time clinical experience semesters. The majority of these experiences will be completed at geographical locations other than the City of Grand Forks.
7. Prospective students should be aware that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to obtain a professional license to practice physical therapy.
8. The faculty reserves the right to place on professional probation or to cancel the registration of any student in Physical Therapy whose performance in the classroom or the clinic is unsatisfactory.

Pre-Physical Therapy

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Courses should contribute to completion of Essential Studies requirements.

Bachelor of General Studies Degree with Health Studies Option

This degree will be available to Physical Therapy students who:

1. do not already have a baccalaureate degree,
2. have completed at least 30 of the 90 pre-Physical Therapy credits at UND before beginning Professional Year One,
3. have successfully completed fall, spring and summer semesters of Professional Year One.

The BGS degree would normally then be awarded at the end of the summer semester of Professional Year One if the student has completed all general UND graduation requirements:

1. 120 total credits,
2. 30 credits from UND,
3. 36 upper-level credits,
4. all essential studies requirements.

Professional Program - Physical Therapy