California State University, Fresno

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION (2011-12)

Pending approval from the CSU Chancellor's Office and WASC

Penny Lacy
Admissions Coordinator
California State University, Fresno
Department of Physical Therapy
2345 E San Ramon Ave
M/S MH 29
Fresno, California 93740
Phone: 559-278-5027
Phone (alternate number): 559-278-6579
Email: pennyl@csufresno.edu
Website: www.csufresno.edu/physicaltherapy

APPLICATION DEADLINE for 2012 ENTERING CLASS

PTCAS Application Deadline	October 17, 2011
Deadline Type	FIRM Deadline
Application Close Date (for soft deadlines only)
Program Has Rolling Admissions Process?	NO
Important Dates (if any): CSU Graduate Online Application (REQUIRED): www.csumentor.edu Application is available beginning October 1, 2011. Department filing deadline is November 30, 2011. [MUST READ] Fall 2012 DPT Fresno State Application Instructions: http://csufresno.edu/chhs/depts_programs/physical_therapy/documents/ DPT_Fall2012_App_Instructions_8-2011.pdf

EARLY DECISION

Program participates in the PTCAS Early Decision Applicants MUST apply and submit all materials to PTCAS by AUGUST 15.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

If supplemental materials are required, send items directly to the PT program.

Supplemental APPLICATION required?	YES
Supplemental MATERIALS required?	YES
If yes, list of items	Official transcripts and GRE scores
Supplemental FEE required?	YES
If yes, amount	$55.00
Supplemental deadline(s) DD-MM-YYYY	30-Nov-2011
Link to supplemental forms or instructions	www.csumentor.edu http://csufresno.edu/chhs/depts_programs/ physical_therapy/documents/ DPT_Fall2012_App_Instructions_8-2011.pdf
Custom (program-specific) questions on the PTCAS application

PROGRAM PREREQUISITES

Course Prerequisites

Must applicants earn a Bachelor's degree prior to enrolling into the PT program? YES
For more information about course prerequisites, visit the program Web site:
http://csufresno.edu/chhs/depts_programs/
physical_therapy/policies_forms/app_requirements.shtml

#	COURSE SUBJECT	COURSE LEVEL	4-YR *	LAB **	SEM HRS	ACCEPTABLE COURSES	COURSE DESCRIPTION
1	Chemistry I	General or College	NO	REQ	.	Chemistry: Inorganic	.
2	Chemistry II	General or College	NO	REQ	.	Chemistry: Organic	.
3	Physics I	General or College	NO	REQ	.	Physics I	.
4	Physics II	General or College	NO	REQ	.	Physics II	.
5	Physiology ¹	General or College	NO	REQ	.	A&P: Human	Human Physiology lecture and lab
6	Anatomy ¹	General or College	NO	REQ		A&P: Human	Human Anatomy lecture and lab
7	Psychology	General or College	NO	NO	.	Psychology: GENERAL	General or Introductory Psychology
8	Psychology (specialized)²	Upper Division	YES	NO		Psychology: Abnormal	Abnormal Psychology OR Psychological Aspects of Disability
9	Psychology (specialized)²	Upper Division	YES	NO		Psychology: Developmental	Motor Development
10	Statistics	General or College	NO	NO	.	Math: Statistics	Any Introduction to Statistics course

* YES=course must be completed in a 4-year college/university and NOT in a community college.
** REQ=required lab; Rec=recommended lab; NO=lab not required; N/A=not applicable

Additional information about program’s course requirements:

¹ Must be separate courses. Will not accept combined anatomy and physiology course with lab.

² Can be enrolled in upper-division coursework during spring semester prior to admission to the DPT program. Must have all other lower-division coursework completed by the end of the fall semester prior to admission to the DPT.

Students must receive a grade of C or better in each prerequisite course and maintain a total prerequisite GPA of 3.0. An overall GPA of 3.0 on all upper-division coursework of bachelor’s degree is also required. AP credit, CR/NC grades, correspondence courses, or independent study courses cannot be used for prerequisite requirements. Only those prerequisite courses completed by the end of the fall 2011 semester will be accepted, unless noted otherwise.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

For 2011-12 Cycle: Due to changes in the GRE, programs may require or prefer that you take the exam early and before the "GRE® revised General Test" is introduced on August 1. Early Decision candidates in PTCAS must take the GRE and request scores to be sent by no later than July 31.

GRE General Test = Testing on or before July 31, 2011
GRE REVISED General Test = Testing on or after August 1, 2011

Is the GRE required?	Required
Program’s GRE College Code for 2011-12 Cycle	7798 (new) AND 4312 (university code)
GRE Accepted by Program for 2011-12 Cycle	GRE® General Test and GRE® REVISED General Test accepted
Last acceptable GRE test date – DD-MM-YYYY (if applicable)	01-Oct-2011
Oldest GRE score considered – DD-MM-YYYY (if applicable)	31-Dec-2005

GRE table below may contain blank fields if program data is not available or applicable.

GRE Section	Minimum GRE Score	Average GRE Score for Accepted Students
Verbal		434
Verbal Percentile
Quantitative		592
Quantitative Percentile
Analytical Writing		4
Analytical Writing Percentile
Additional information about program’s GRE requirements

References

Number of references required by program: 3 References

EVALUATOR TYPE	Applicant must send one reference from this SPECIFIC type of evaluator	Applicant must send a reference from one or more evaluators in this category to fulfill program's requirements	Evaluator Type ACCEPTED	Evaluator Type NOT Accepted
Physical Therapist-1	X
Physical Therapist-2			X
Professor in Major			X
Professor	X
Academic			X
Supervisor/Employer			X
Teaching Assistant				X
PTA				X
Pre-PT Advisor				X
Politician/Elected Official				X
Health Care Professional				X
Friend				X
Family Member				X
Co-worker				X
Clergy				X
OTHER				X

Additional information about program’s reference requirements: Arrange for three (3) letters of recommendation to be sent to PTCAS on your behalf; one and/or two must be from a licensed physical therapist and a non-physical therapy professor (preference). A single 3rd accepted reference may be from the list above. Fresno State PT Department faculty reference letters are NOT accepted.

PT Observation Hours

Enter your PT observation hours on your PTCAS application. Print the PT Observation Hours form from the PTCAS application or use online PT Hours signature process, if the program requires you to have your hours verified by a physical therapist. Send signed forms to PTCAS.

PT HOURS	PROGRAM REQUIREMENT
Description of Program’s PT Hours Requirement	PT hours are required - a licensed PT must verify hours with signed form
Total Number of PT Hours REQUIRED	100
Total Number of PT Hours RECOMMENDED
DEADLINE for Completion of All PT Hours DD-MM-YYYY	17-Oct-2011
PAID Experience	Accepted
VOLUNTEER Experience	Accepted
INPATIENT Experience	Required
OUTPATIENT Experience	Accepted
Additional information about program’s PT hours requirement	Provide evidence of knowledge of physical therapy through employment, volunteer work, or observation in a physical therapy department for a minimum of 100 hours. Fifty hours must be in a general in-patient setting; 50 hours may be in a special area of practice. All observation hours must be under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist.

GPA Requirement

GPAs will be blank if program data is not available or applicable.

GPA	Minimum GPA	Average GPA for Accepted Students
Overall Undergraduate Cumulative
Program-specific Prerequisite	3.00	3.42
Additional information about program’s GPA requirements (if any)	Applicants must receive a grade of C or better in each prerequisite course and maintain a total prerequisite GPA of 3.0. An overall GPA of 3.0 on all upper-division coursework of bechelor's degree is also required. AP credit, CR/NC grades, correspondence courses, or independent study courses cannot be used for prerequisite requirements. Only those prerequisite courses completed by the end of the fall 2011 semester will be counted toward ranking of candidates for selection into the graduate program. Applicants must hold or be eligible to receive a bachelor's degree by the end of the spring semester prior to admission to the program.

FOREIGN APPLICANTS AND TRANSCRIPTS

The program’s foreign (international) transcript policies do NOT apply to study abroad coursework that is itemized on a U.S. college or university transcript. Study abroad is processed in the same way as U.S. coursework.

Program’s citizenship requirements (individuals listed may be eligible for admission)	U.S. citizens U.S. permanent residents Foreign (non-U.S.) citizens with a visa
Program requires non-native speakers to submit TOEFL scores?	Yes
Program policy for submission of non-U.S. (foreign/international) coursework	Send foreign transcript evaluation to PTCAS
Program policy for CANADIAN coursework	Send foreign evaluation for CANADIAN coursework to PTCAS
Additional information about program’s policy on foreign coursework	International students cannot be admitted to the DPT program prior to coming to the United States for several reasons: the application for the DPT program requires completion of 10 prerequisite courses (with a C or above) to be taken at a U.S. institution, the required 100 contact hours with a licensed physical therapist must be in the United States (50 hours must be in-patient hours), and the applicant must be available in the Spring Semester prior to Fall Semester admission for an interview.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

PT Degree Offered	Program culminates in a Doctorate (DPT) degree. ***Pending approval from the CSU Chancellor's Office and WASC
PT Program Start Date(s) For Entering Class	22-Aug-2012
Dual-degree programs offered in conjunction with the PT degree (if any)
Institution's religious affiliation (if any)

Profile of Most Recent Entering Class

Items will be blank if program data is not available or applicable.

Size of Most Recent Entering Class	25
Anticipated Size of Next Entering Class	30
Percent of IN-STATE students in most recent entering class	100%
Percent of WICHE students in most recent entering class (if applicable)
Percent of OUT-OF-STATE (non-resident) students in most recent entering class
Percent of CANADIAN students in most recent entering class
Percent of INTERNATIONAL (non-U.S/non-Canadian) students in most recent entering class
Additional information about the class profile	Applicants must have an overall minimum 3.0 GPA for the 10 required prerequisite courses and a minimum of 100 observation hours under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist (50 hours must be in a general inpatient or acute setting). GRE scores, 3 letters of recommendation, and submissions of a PTCAS application and a CSU Mentor application are required. If the above criteria are met, applicants will be invited for an interview the first part of February, 2012. Students with incomplete applications will not be considered.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

California State University, Fresno has a well-established graduate program in physical therapy. The Physical Therapy faculty members are an impressive group devoted to their students and the profession of Physical Therapy. Collectively, they are a professionally and personally diverse group with expertise in geriatrics, pediatrics, neurophysiology and neuro-rehab, clinical orthopedics, manual therapy, anatomy, exercise science, biomechanics, motor learning and motor control, electrophysiology, research methods and statistics. The faculty members have vast clinical expertise in all major areas of practice. The majority of faculty conducts research on an on-going basis and routinely present and publish work in collaboration with our students.

Students attending Fresno State will have an opportunity to work with faculty members in diverse research and clinical environments including fall reduction in the older adult, balance and gait, partial body weight treadmill training, motor learning and motor control, outcome measures in post total knee replacements, osteoarthritis, pediatrics, osteoporosis, gaze stabilization in athletes, reaching in children with cerebral palsy, effects of language barriers on outcome measures in physical therapy, and gait training in Parkinson's disease. State-of-the-art equipment, including the HUMAC NORM Isokinetic System, EquiTest Computerized Dynamic Posturography and Balance Master by NeuroCom International, Inc, 8 channel surface EMG (Noraxon), 3 D motion analysis (Optotrak), 2 adult and 2 pediatric lite-gait units for partial body weight treadmill training are available for faculty and students as part of our Gait, Balance, and Mobility Research and Education Center. This center was developed to study best practice models for persons with gait, balance, or mobility disorders. In addition, faculty and students have access to the newly updated Human Performance Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology for metabolic and body composition analysis.

The faculty are dedicated educators and highly accessible. In addition to the seven full-time physical therapist faculty members many other professionals contribute to the Program including physicians, physical therapists, and other health care professionals. We are very fortunate to have a community that is supportive of this program achieving its mission with our students.

The curriculum is contemporary and innovative. Students learn in small class sizes in well-equipped classroom facilities. They have ongoing patient contact in the Program such as patients visiting the classroom and regular trips to local clinics, as well as our on-campus Gait, Balance, and Mobility Education and Research Center that contains state-of-the-art equipment for testing and treating patients. In addition, faculty and students are involved in our Musculoskeletal clinic that provides physical therapy services for students on campus.

The aim of the DPT program at Fresno State is to create a preeminent center of learning and discovery in physical therapy at the clinical doctoral level to prepare physical therapists to meet new health care demands. To achieve this, the curriculum is designed over 3 years including summers. Students enter the program as a cohort with courses offered once a year. The program requires a total of 110 units with students maintaining a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA throughout the program. Students accepted in the DPT are required to complete a Medical Terminology course the summer prior. The DPT program requires passing all coursework, a case report presentation at the end of the second year, satisfactory completion of 30 weeks of full-time clinical externships, and successful completion of an evidenced based research position paper with an oral presentation during their third year in lieu of the dissertation. Students are eligible to take the national licensing examination only after the successful completion of the DPT program. Throughout the curriculum there is a strong emphasis on an evidence-based clinical approach to patient care. Students will learn to be consumers of literature and know how to critique research evidence as it applies to patient care. Learning activities will center on active student involvement through clinical coursework, case studies, clinical investigations, literature critiques, and patient care.

(Page last updated 08/18/2011)