Best Physical Therapy and Therapist Masters Programs in Tennessee

All physical therapy professional programs in Tennessee offer a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree and require a Bachelor of Science degree prior to admission. All have a list of specific courses that must be completed prior to admission, some also require the Graduate Records Exam (GRE) and work experience.

While pursuing a bachelor degree at Tennessee Tech, physical therapy career track students will also incorporate pre-requisite courses required by physical therapy schools. Graduate professional schools accept many majors, so students are encouraged to explore a major according to their interests and strengths.

Acceptance into physical therapy school is highly competitive.

South College offers a full-time, entry-level or first professional Doctor of Physical Therapy degree (DPT). The curriculum consists of 135 credits across eight academic quarters, which includes 31 weeks of clinical practice. The program curriculum is completed in 2 years.

South College Atlanta Campus is seeking accreditation of a new physical therapist education program from CAPTE. On December 1,2022, the program submitted an Application for Candidacy, which is the formal application required in the pre-accreditation stage. Submission of this document does not assure that the program will be granted Candidate for Accreditation status. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status is required prior to implementation of the professional phase of the program therefore, no students may be enrolled in the professional courses until Candidate for Accreditation status has been achieved. Further, through achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status signifies satisfactory progress towards accreditation, it does not assure that the program will be granted accreditation. Candidacy is considered to be an accredited status, as such the credits and degree earned from a program with Candidacy status are considered, by CAPTE, to be from an accredited program. Therefore, students in the charter (first) class should be eligible to take the licensure exam even if CAPTE withholds accreditation at the end of the candidacy period. That said, it is up to each state licensing agency, not CAPTE, to determine who is eligible for licensure. South College Nashville is seeking accreditation of a new physical therapist education program from CAPTE. The program is planning to submit an Application for Candidacy, which is the formal application required in the pre-accreditation stage, on December 01, 2023. Submission of this document does not assure that the program will be granted Candidate for Accreditation status. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status is required prior to implementation of the professional phase of the program therefore, no students may be enrolled in professional courses until Candidate for Accreditation status has been achieved. Further, though achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status signifies satisfactory progress toward accreditation, it does not assure that the program will be granted accreditation.

South College seeks to make available all online programs courses to residents of Tennessee and other states, and to allow completion of required clinical or practical experiences in those states. We work through the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) process and with states directly to ensure that when authorization or licensure is necessary, required approvals are secured (such as California where South College is approved as an Out-Of-State Registered Institution). Tennessee is a member of SARA and South College is an approved SARA institution. As such, we adhere to a set of national standards for interstate offering of post-secondary distance education courses and programs. SARA also covers all interstate placements in clinical or practical situations among SARA member states, no matter the nature of the main program. All states are SARA members except for California. Please review the document available here for current information for authorization information.

Completion of the Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) Application and the South College DPT Supplemental Application are both required when applying to the program. Your application materials are not complete until both have been received.

The South College Doctor of Physical Therapy Program application opens in June each year.

Both applications and all supporting materials must be submitted by the deadline in order for your application to be reviewed by the Admissions Committee. The South College DPT program will make offers of admission on a rolling basis so applicants are encouraged to apply early within the application cycle.

The fee for the PTCAS Application depends on the number of schools you apply to as well as your application submission date. The fee for the South College DPT Supplemental Application is $60. This fee can be submitted online when completing the supplemental application.

The DPT program requires two letters of recommendation. One letter must be from a licensed physical therapist. Letters from family members, friends, clergy, or politicians will not be accepted. This will allow all references to submit recommendations electronically.

You will be asked to provide a standard essay on your PTCAS Application. You may also provide a personal statement on your academic record within the PTCAS Application.

A $1500 non-refundable tuition deposit is required to guarantee your spot in the program. The entirety of this deposit will be applied to your tuition in the first quarter of the program.

Applicants must achieve a minimum cumulative and prerequisite GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale in order to be considered for admission. If cumulative GPA is less than 3.00 on a 4.00 scale, an applicant may still be eligible for admission if a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or greater has been achieved over the last 60 semester or 90 quarter hour credits of coursework prior to applying for admission to the program.

We do recommend at least 50 hours of paid work or volunteer experience in physical therapy under the direct supervision of a licensed physical therapist to adequately expose the applicant to the profession of physical therapy and affirm their desire to pursue a career in the field. We recognize that obtaining 50 observation hours will be difficult with the current clinical environment. We recommend that you pursue multiple clinical settings in order for you to have a well-rounded knowledge of the physical therapy profession. Examples of different settings can include hospital-based settings, out-patient clinics, pediatrics, rehabilitation, industrial rehab, pelvic health, aquatic therapy, hippotherapy, wound care or telehealth.

In prerequisite courses will not be accepted. Pass Fail courses are not accepted.

The DPT Admissions Committee may also consider requests for course substitutions on a case by-case basis. The applicant must compile and submit as much information the course as possible (e.g., course description, syllabus, detailed outline of topics covered, etc.). The Admissions Committee makes the final decision as to whether the course substitution is accepted.

Applicants may submit an application that includes in-progress courses and still be considered by the Admissions Committee for the current admission cycle. However, it is recommended that you have no than 3 prerequisite courses to complete when submitting your application. Additionally, if offered admission, all prerequisites must be completed prior to entering the program.

Yes, these courses do require a laboratory component to fulfill prerequisite requirements. A laboratory component is also recommended for the Biology courses, but not required.

If a prerequisite course is repeated, the credit hours assigned to the course may be counted only once in fulfilling the required number of hours. The prerequisite GPA will be determined using the highest course grade achieved however, both grades will be calculated into the cumulative GPA.

Applicants must complete Anatomy and Physiology courses within the last 5 years prior to application or demonstrate ongoing work experiences that have kept this knowledge current (e.g., physical therapist assistant, athletic trainer, etc.). All remaining letter-graded prerequisite coursework is acceptable no matter when the coursework was completed.

As long as they are completed through a regionally accredited institution and satisfy content, credit hour, and lab requirements, online coursework can be acceptable in fulfilling prerequisite requirements.

No. The South College DPT program does not grant advanced placement, credit for experiential learning, or transfer credits from other physical therapy programs or institutions. All courses within the professional didactic and clinical curriculum are required and must be completed in sequence to successfully complete the program.

South College is a private institution and does not have a residency requirement. Geographic location has no influence on acceptance. Accordingly, we are only able to admit applicants who are either U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Our program design consists of an accelerated two-year DPT curriculum that is delivered in a hybrid or blended learning format. The curriculum is delivered in 8 academic quarters.

By definition, an academic year for programs offered in semester or quarter credit hours must include at least 30 weeks of instructional time. Our program includes 66 weeks of didactic instruction and 31 weeks of clinical education for a total of 97 weeks of instruction. Accordingly, the instructional time provided by this program is the equivalent of three (3) academic year. Our curriculum contains all of the required elements, but uses a blended learning model and an academic quarter system to improve the efficiency of its delivery.

Blended learning refers to an educational model in which the student learns through a combination of online and onsite delivery platforms. Using this format, our curriculum will combine the best aspects of online learning activities and interactions, hands-on laboratory sessions, and collaborative clinical education into an innovative and dynamic professional learning experience.

Based on our 135 quarter credit program, 52% (71 credits) are completed using various online learning platforms, 19% (25 credits) are conducted as onsite lab immersions, and 29% (39 credits) are completed as clinical education experiences. Essentially, 52% of the overall curriculum is delivered online and 48% is completed as traditional face-to-face lab and clinical education instruction.

Blended learning courses consist of both online, distance learning activities and onsite, hands on lab instruction. Generally speaking, students will begin each academic quarter with at least 7 weeks of online learning to establish a knowledge base within each content area. in Knoxville, TN or Atlanta, GA. These lab immersions are held between weeks 8-11 of each quarter and range in duration from 11 to 17 days, depending on the content. Students complete the 12-week academic quarter with additional online learning activities and required student assessments (e.g., final examinations).

Online didactic education is provided using the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). The majority of course work is conducted asynchronously, providing students with flexibility in creating their weekly schedule. Asynchronous learning activities include recorded lectures, required and optional readings, online forum discussions, and individual and group assignments. Classes are held each week using Zoom as an online virtual classroom.

Physical therapy is a hands-on profession that requires extensive training and practice to develop critical patient management skills. Psychomotor skills for the patient examination, intervention, and effective human interaction are taught and practiced during these onsite lab immersion sessions. Each onsite lab immersion session is scheduled at a strategic time in the academic quarter to facilitate learning and skill development. Lab sessions are conducted on or near the respective campus of enrollment.

Travel to Campus is required for orientation prior to initiating the program, onsite lab immersions during the first six academic quarters, and for a final program debriefing and graduation following completion of the program. You will only be required to travel to the Campus you are enrolled in: Knoxville, TN or Atlanta, GA.

Students are required to maintain an overall 3.00 GPA to successfully complete the program.

Students receive exposure to a variety of practice settings that demonstrate the breadth, depth and continuum of physical therapy practice. Also, students are generally exposed to a minimum of two specialty practice areas. Clinical placements for the 8-week experience will typically consist of inpatient facilities that offer acute, post-acute, or long-term rehabilitation services. Clinical placements for terminal internship experiences will typically consist of general outpatient facilities that provide interns with exposures to a variety of patient presentations and caseloads. Follow-on residency options are also considered for those students desiring to transition into a post professional clinical residency upon graduation.

Considering that the delivery of the curriculum of the program occurs through a blended learning format, we recognize that some students may desire to maintain some level of employment while enrolled. However, our students are full-time students in every sense of the term with course loads ranging from 15 to 19 credits per academic quarter. The academic demands of this accelerated curriculum and the travel requirements for onsite lab immersions and clinical education will make employment virtually impossible for the majority of students.

Considering the accelerated nature of the curriculum, research opportunities while in the DPT program are limited.

We encourage all graduates to participate in a residency program of their choosing immediately after graduation and professional licensure. While most students are completing their DPT degree in 3 years, our students will complete their degree requirements in 2 years and have the option to complete residency training and achieve board certification within 3 years (one additional year). Using our vast network of clinical sites, we offer assistance to students seeking an external residency placement. This eliminates the need most of our students to relocate for residency training.

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Physical therapy is a unique and vital health profession concerned with health promotion, prevention of physical disabilities and the habilitation rehabilitation of person disabled by pain, disease, or injury. Physical therapy is defined as the assessment, evaluation, treatment and prevention of physical disability, pain and movement dysfunction resulting from injury, disease, disability, or other health related conditions.

The UTHSC Physical Therapy has an outstanding Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, with top-notch student outcomes on the licensure exam and in clinical internships. We consistently receive feedback from employers that UTHSC DPT students are among the best in the country.

Ranked in the top 50 Best Physical Therapy Programs by U.S. News World Report.

Physical TherapyThe University of TennesseeHealth Science Center930 Madison Avenue, 6th FloorMemphis, TN 38163901.448.5888Fax: 901.448.1411.