Program Overview

The first three years of the curriculum are considered pre-physical therapy (or pre-professional curriculum). The professional component of the D.P.T. curriculum includes three full academic years including two summer sessions.

All required coursework listed for the pre-physical therapy curriculum must be completed or underway before the student can apply to the professional program. There is a 90-credit pre-physical therapy entrance requirement. When coursework is near completion, the student is eligible to apply to the professional program that year.

Students interested in the physical therapy program at UND should stay in contact with the P.T. department to keep informed of the pre-professional and professional curriculum requirements.

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 list of courses and credits below indicate the core prerequisites all applicants must complete, with a letter grade, prior to admission to the physical therapy program. It is strongly recommended that students be computer literate prior to entering the professional program. In addition, 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 in 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

*May be attained through individual courses of one semester of human anatomy and one semester of human physiology.

All of the prerequisite coursework must be completed before entering the professional program; however, the prospective student may be enrolled in preprofessional coursework at the time of application. All science prerequisite courses must be completed for a grade; S-U and pass/fail grading are not accepted.

The Department of Physical Therapy does not require a bachelor's degree for admission. At least 90 credits and course credits equivalent to a minor as determined by the discipline are required. This is typically represented by at least 20 credit hours in a particular discipline and should include 8 credits of upper division courses (i.e. 300 AND/OR 400 level courses).

A minimum of 90 semester hours of credit from an approved college or university is required.

Students must apply for the professional program through the PTCAS system. All students entering the professional program must also be admitted through the UND School of Graduate Studies. WICHE-eligible students should also apply through the WICHE certification process.

The professional education component of the D.P.T. requires three full academic years including two summer sessions following completion of the pre-physical therapy entrance requirements.

Students must be formally accepted into the professional education component of the D.P.T. 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.

No student will be allowed to remain in the program or complete the full-time clinical experiences unless they attain a letter grade of at least "C" in the major courses. Once students are admitted to the School of Graduate Studies, they must maintain a 3.00 GPA in all of the professional coursework. See UND graduate catalog requirements for the physical therapy degree requirements.

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.  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.

Students in the professional program should be aware that there are special requirements for clinical uniforms, professional liability insurance, medical insurance, a current immunization record, and CPR certification. These requirements must be met prior to any clinical contact with patients. In addition, a criminal background check is required prior to starting the professional program. The student is responsible for travel, housing, and food costs, in addition to the payment of tuition, 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.

Prospective students should be aware that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to obtain a professional license to practice physical therapy.

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.

The UND Department of Physical Therapy participates in the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service known as PTCAS. Applicants to the entry-level physical therapist education program must apply online through PTCAS. A supplemental application is required for the UND School of Graduate Studies; however, applicants may disregard components related to recommendations/references, essays/personal statements, and official transcripts as those documents submitted through PTCAS are used for acceptance decisions. PTCAS application process and calendar of deadlines may be found at www.ptcas.org. WICHE-eligible students must apply for WICHE certification. Alaska students should contact the Department of Physical Therapy and the Alaska WICHE office.

APPLICATION OPTIONS:  The Physical Therapy program accepts 52 students per year. Acceptance into the program is on a competitive basis, with the major determinant being the basic science GPA. Final acceptance into the professional physical therapy program is also dependent on cumulative GPA, GRE scores, reference letters, a personal interview, and other components of the completed application. Applicants are referred to the UND Department of Physical Therapy website for complete information about the admissions requirements and process. 

There are three different options for admission to the professional DPT program at UND during the current application cycle (2021-2022).  Early acceptance interviews will occur in September and additional acceptance options will occur in November and February.  Individuals with fully completed applications, verified transcripts and higher prerequisite science GPAs receive a scheduling preference for interview dates.

Option 1: Early Acceptance

• Applicants who 1) have completed all science prerequisite courses with a GPA of 3.7 or higher AND 2) are ND residents OR have completed all post-secondary (post-high school) coursework at UND.
• Application Deadline:  August 15
• Interview Timeline:  September

Option 2:

• Applicants who 1) have completed 8 of the 10 science prerequisite courses with a GPA of 3.5 or higher at time of application AND 2) will have completed all science prerequisite courses by the end of December.
• Individuals who submit complete applications will be considered for interviews and acceptance.
• Application Deadline:  October 15
• Interview Timeline:  November

Option 3:

• Individuals who submit complete applications by December 15 will be considered for interviews and acceptance.  Any applicants from Option 1 and Option 2 without a previous acceptance notification will be considered for admission in Option 3.
• Application Deadline:  December 15
• Interview Timeline:  February/March

   

Acceptance is on a competitive basis, with the major determinant being the science prerequisite grade point average (SGPA). The basic SGPA is defined as: biology (8 semester credits), chemistry (8 semester credits), physics (8 semester credits), anatomy & physiology (8 cr.), and psychology (7 semester credits).

• The average SGPA of students accepted into the professional program ranges between 3.6 and 3.8.
• For admission to the program, the SGPA will be the most important factor but cumulative GPA and Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores are also considered.
• All Science prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade.  S-U and Pass/Fail grading are not accepted.
• A student will be allowed two retakes or replacements (as per departmental approved list) maximum and the student will select the retakes to be incorporated into the SGPA.
• All course retakes must be completed by the end of the fall semester of the admission year to be computed in the SGPA.
• If students are retaking courses during spring semester of the year they are applying, the original grades will be used to compute the SGPA.
• Reference letters, a personal interview, and other personal qualifications are also considered prior to final acceptance.
• Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, prospective students were expected to complete at least 60 hours of observation prior to admission, 40 of which must be with a physical therapist. The UND PT department recognizes that the COVID pandemic has limited the available opportunities for observation hours and, therefore, the requirement for observation hours was suspended.  We continue to highly recommend completing observation hours to increase knowledge of the field of physical therapy prior to program application.
• Acceptance by the UND School of Graduate Studies does not constitute acceptance into the professional program in Physical Therapy.

Semester rates are based on current, approved tuition rates and are subject to change each year. Dollar amounts are for tuition only. University fees are variable.