Biology - Pre-Physical Therapy School Information Page

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The pre-physical therapy program at Western Kentucky University is designed to prepare students for application to accredited programs in physical therapy. Currently, it is recommended that the student complete a baccalaureate degree while completing the pre-requisite requirements of the physical therapy schools to which they plan to apply. It should be noted that most physical therapy schools have switched to Doctorate/PhD level programs, and as a result, the pre-requisites may be slightly different from what is listed below. Although the program was originally established to follow the prerequisite guidelines for physical therapy schools in Kentucky, enough flexibility exists to allow modification of the curriculum to meet the requirements of physical therapy programs in other states. Completion of the following prerequisites does not guarantee admission into a physical therapy school; it merely places the candidate into a competitive pool of applicants from which the successful candidates will be selected and interviewed.

Application to the physical therapy schools at WKU (a doctoral program admitting its first class in 2012), the University of Kentucky (a doctoral program) and Bellarmine University (a doctorate level program) requires applicants to have earned a bachelor's degree by the time they enter the program. A grade of  "C" or better is required in all prerequisite courses. Applicants must also show evidence of having completed at least 50 hours of physical therapy observation and/or volunteer experience at two or more health care facilities. The following requirements must be completed by the time the successful applicant enters the professional program:

I. General Education Requirements

• 2 semesters of English Composition: ENG 100 & 300
• 1 semester of Literature: ENG 200
• 1 semester of Humanities (Fine or Performing Arts): ART 100; or THEA 151; or MUS 120
• 1 semester of Speech Communication (COMM 145 or 161)
• 2 semesters of Psychology: PSY 100 & PSY 199
• 1 semester of History (Western Civilization): HIST 119 or 120
• 1 semester of Cross-Cultural Studies (ANTH 120 or 200; FLK 350; or HIST 110 or 360; or RELS 320)
• 1 semester of Introductory Philosophy; PHIL 110
• 1 semester of Ethics: PHIL 320 or 322
• 1 semester of Health and Safety: SFTY 171
• 2 semesters of Foreign Language

II. Math/Science Requirements

• BIOL 120/121; 122/123; (BIOL 224/225; 321 and 330/331 are strongly recommended for UK applicants)
• BIOL 131 and 231 (recommended for Bellarmine University, but not required for UK; required for WKU)
• CHEM 120/121; 222/223
• PHYS 231/232; 332/233 (or 201/202)
• MATH 118 or 116 and 117 (MATH 142 is recommended for the University of Kentucky)
• Statistics: BIOL 283 or either one of the following: PH 383 or MATH 183
• Medical Terminology: AH 290 (recommended for WKU)

The GRE is also required and should be completed by mid-April of the application year for UK; by mid-October for
Bellarmine. It is also strongly recommended that professional certification in first aid by the American Red Cross and
in CPR by the American Heart Association be completed prior to entrance into the program. The community CPR
course offered by the American Red Cross is NOT acceptable.

Minimum overall GPA should be 2.75; minimum science core GPA should be 3.0 (4.0 scale). However, the
competitive nature of the application process over the last several years indicates that overall and science GPA's
should both be 3.4 or higher to seriously contend for entrance.

Tutorial by Dr. Steve Huskey on the pre-physical therapy program.  (Please be patient as it may take a few minutes to download.)

Advisors:  Kerrie McDaniel

Go to http://www.wku.edu/physicaltherapy/ for the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at WKU.