Advising Course Plan - Health Sciences Major - Physical Therapy Interest
Students pursuing a career in Physical Therapy (PT) will apply primarily through a centralized service: The Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS). PTCAS allows applicants to use a single application and one set of materials to apply to the majority of PT programs. A smaller number of programs do not accept applications through PTCAS and have their own application process (e.g., University of Saint Augustine).
The application process typically opens July 1 (for admission a year later for the following fall), and application deadlines vary by school. The earliest application deadlines are October 1 (again, for admission the following fall). A complete list of PTCAS deadlines is found here:
http://www.ptcas.org/ptcas/public/deadlines.aspx?listorder=date&navID=10737426786
There is also an early decision option through PTCAS:
https://portal.ptcas.org/ptcasHelpPages/frequently-asked-questions/early-decision/index.html
As noted on the PTCAS website (http://www.ptcas.org/Home.aspx), there are several requirements that are common across most PT programs. Most programs require the GRE.
First, in terms of course requirements, 98% of PT programs using PTCAS require Anatomy & Physiology from “a biology, neuroscience, anatomy, or integrated physiology department.” Health Sciences (HLSC) at Stetson fits under the category of “integrated physiology department,” but if you are taking your Anatomy & Physiology courses at another institution, you will need to verify that these transfer courses are from a department that meets one of the above descriptions.
Second, the vast majority of PT programs using PTCAS require one or more course(s) in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Specifically, 86% require one or more courses in Biology, 98% require one or more courses in Chemistry, and 100% require one or more courses in Physics. Only 24% require one or more courses in Math.
Third, again the vast majority (96%) of programs using PTCAS require Social and Behavioral Science courses and a Statistics course. For the Social and Behavioral Science requirement, many of our students will take one or more courses in Psychology and one in Sociology.
You will, of course, also need to consider and meet all the HLSC major requirements shown on Degree Audit and in the Course Catalog (NOTE: The sample plan shown below allows you to meet HLSC major requirements).
In addition to a common core of prerequisite coursework (*), many PT programs either require or strongly recommend shadowing/internship hours. Please discuss the opportunities available with your advisor.
Some graduate degree programs may require slightly different prerequisite coursework, so it is your responsibility to look (early! – for example, at the start of your sophomore year) at various universities in which you may be considering in order to know if you will need to take additional/different courses as an undergraduate.
Finally, PTCAS also provides a useful checklist to assist you in making sure your applications are complete prior to submission:
http://www.ptcas.org/Checklist/
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Units | Spring | Units | ||
| BIOL 141P1,* | 1 | BIOL 142P1,* | 1 | ||
| HLSC 119V | 1 | PSYC 101S1,* | 1 | ||
| FSEM 100 (unless transfer student)1 | 1 | MATH 141Q* | 1 | ||
| General Education requirement1 | 1 | General Education Requirement (A, B, H, L course)1 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 4 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall | Units | Spring | Units | Summer | Units |
| MATH 141Q should be taken at some point during this year, if it was not taken in First Year. | HLSC 2021,* | 1 | Take the GRE exam in preparation for PT school applications - by the end of summer before Fourth Year. | ||
| HLSC 2011,* | 1 | CHEM 142P* | 1 | ||
| CHEM 141P* | 1 | PSYC 231 | 1 | ||
| SOCI 101S* | 1 | General Education Requirement (A, B, H, L course)1 | 1 | ||
| General Education Requirement (A, B, H, L course)1 | 1 | ||||
| 4 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall | Units | Spring | Units | ||
| Junior Seminar must be taken during this year. | HLSC 4981 | 1 | |||
| PHYS 121P or 141P* | 1 | PHYS 122P or 142P* | 1 | ||
| COMM 108 | 1 | COMM 108 | 1 | ||
| HLSC 3751,* | 0.5 | PUBH 376 | 0.5 | ||
| Elective | 1 | MATH 125Q | 1 | ||
| 3.5 | 4.5 | ||||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall | Units | Spring | Units | ||
| HLSC 4991 | 1 | Elective | 1 | ||
| PHIL 316V | 1 | Elective | 1 | ||
| PUBH 377 | 0.5 | Elective | 1 | ||
| IHSC Elective1 | 1 | Elective | .5 | ||
| Elective | 1 | ||||
| 4.5 | 3.5 | ||||
| Total Units 32 | |||||
- 1
Required for IHSC major.
- *
Common core of prerequisite course work.