Health Professions: Pre-Physical Therapy

Prepare Yourself.

The Pre-Physical Therapy or Pre-PT career track is for students who plan to attend physical therapy school after their undergraduate studies. Pre-PT students take a prescribed sequence of courses that prepare them for PT school, which is typically a two-and-one-half year professional program that awards the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, or D.P.T. Students will be able to obtain the courses that are required to apply to physical therapy programs. The following courses are required by many schools:

• BI 111 General Biology: Cells and Genes or BI 112 General Biology: Ecology and Evolution
• BI 220 Human Anatomy and Physiology (8 credit option)
• BI 250  General Microbiology
• BI 318 Genetics
• BI 345 Molecular Cell Biology
• CH 135 General Chemistry I 
• CH 137 General Chemistry II
• PH 231 General Physics I
• PH 232 General Physics II
• CO 101 Fundamentals of Communication
• EN 111 Composition I: Rhetorical Discourse
• EN 112 Composition II: Rhetorical Argument
• MA 155 Elementary Probability and Statistics
• PY 101 General Psychology
• PY 208 Lifespan Development or PY 310 Abnormal Psychology
• PL 255 Ethics 

Valuable resources for applicants to physical therapy programs

Central Application Service

Standardized Entrance Examination: Graduate Record Exam, GRE

Partnership Programs:

• Rockhurst University – The Rockhurst University Physical Therapy program reserves two seats in each cohort for qualified Avila students who have met the Rockhurst Physical Therapy program’s application criteria. Avila students who meet these application criteria must apply through www.PTCAS.org prior to October 1 or the year proceeding the desired summer of admission to be eligible for consideration for these two seats.
• A.T. Still University, Arizona School of Health Sciences – Avila University students who maintain a 3.0 overall and science grade point average and who met application criteria set by A.T. Still University are given priority consideration for admissions to the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program. 
• Mount St. Mary’s College – Avila University students who maintain a 3.0 overall and science grade point average and who meet application criteria set by Mount St. Mary’s College will be granted an interview for the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program. Qualified Avila University students will be granted up to two seats per class.
• Southwest Baptist University – Avila University students who have a minimum 3.0 overall grade point average and who meet application criteria set by Southwest Baptist University will receive preference points when they apply to Southwest Baptist’s Doctor of Physical Therapy Program. Students must complete their application through PTCAS by the deadline of their intended enrollment date. Additional requirements are available from Avila’s Prehealth Advisors.
   

Additional Information:
American Physical Therapy Association