Mercer University*

High school students interested in Mercer's Guaranteed Admission Plus Degree Program for Physical Therapy should contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office (http://www.gomercer.com/). Do not apply using PTCAS.

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION (2011-12)

Student Affairs and Admissions Office
College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Mercer University
3001 Mercer University Drive, PAC-121
Atlanta, Georgia 30341
Phone: (678) 547-6232
Phone (alternate number):
Email: physicaltherapy@mercer.edu
Website: http://cophs.mercer.edu/pt.htm

* CAPTE Candidate Status: This program has admitted at least one class of students and has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. Candidacy status indicates that a program is making satisfactory progress toward compliance with accreditation criteria, but it does not ensure that a program will achieve accreditation.

APPLICATION DEADLINE for 2012 ENTERING CLASS

PTCAS Application Deadline	November 1, 2011
Deadline Type	SOFT Deadline
Application Close Date (for soft deadlines only)	December 15, 2011
Program Has Rolling Admissions Process?	OTHER
Important Dates (if any): Priority will be given to applicants who submit their application materials by Tuesday, November 1, 2011. December 15, 2011 is the firm deadline for acceptance of any application for the Fall 2012 entering class.

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?	NO
If yes, list of items
Supplemental FEE required?	YES
If yes, amount	25
Supplemental deadline(s) DD-MM-YYYY	15-Dec-2011
Link to supplemental forms or instructions	http://cophs.mercer.edu/ptsuppapp.shtm
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
Link to program’s prerequisite web page:

#	COURSE SUBJECT	COURSE LEVEL	4-YR *	LAB **	SEM HRS	ACCEPTABLE COURSES	COURSE DESCRIPTION
1	Anatomy & Physiology I	General or College	NO	Rec	4	A&P: SEPARATE courses A&P: COMBINED courses A&P: Human
2	Anatomy & Physiology II	General or College	NO	Rec	4	A&P: SEPARATE courses A&P: COMBINED courses A&P: Human
3	Biology / Biological Science	General or College	NO	Rec	4	Biology: Cell Biology: Embryology Biology: GENERAL Biology: Genetics Biology: Histology Biology: Immunology Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology	.
4	Chemistry I	General or College	NO	REQ	4	Chemistry: Inorganic	.
5	Chemistry II	General or College	NO	REQ	4	Chemistry: Inorganic	.
6	Physics I	General or College	NO	REQ	4	.	.
7	Physics II	General or College	NO	REQ	4	.	.
8	Statistics	General or College	NO	N/A	3	Biology: Biostatistics Math: Statistics	.
9	Psychology	General or College	NO	N/A	3	Psychology: Abnormal Psychology: Adolescent Psychology: Child Psychology: Developmental Psychology: GENERAL Psychology: Growth & Dev. Psychology: Life Span Dev.	A psychology course with an emphasis on individual behavior is required.
10	Social or Behavioral Science	General or College	NO	N/A	3	.	A behavioral science course with an emphasis on group behavior (sociology, cultural anthropology) is required.

* 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:

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	7750 (new)
GRE Accepted by Program for 2011-12 Cycle	GRE® General Test preferred (take GRE by 7/31)
Last acceptable GRE test date – DD-MM-YYYY (if applicable)	31-Jul-2011
Oldest GRE score considered – DD-MM-YYYY (if applicable)	01-Jan-2006

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	400
Verbal Percentile
Quantitative
Quantitative Percentile
Analytical Writing	3.5
Analytical Writing Percentile
Additional information about program’s GRE requirements	Required Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score of 1000 (combined). Required Verbal score of 400; preferred Verbal score of 450. Required Analytical Writing score of 3.5; 4.0 preferred. The best of attempt of each section will be considered when calculating your combined score.

References

Number of references required by program: None

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 - no verification by a physical therapist
Total Number of PT Hours REQUIRED	40
Total Number of PT Hours RECOMMENDED
DEADLINE for Completion of All PT Hours DD-MM-YYYY	01-Aug-2012
PAID Experience	Accepted
VOLUNTEER Experience	Accepted
INPATIENT Experience	Accepted
OUTPATIENT Experience	Accepted
Additional information about program’s PT hours requirement	Required Experiential Hours: Volunteer, observation, or work experience in physical therapy and service learning: A minimum of 60 hours total, divided among three settings with at least 20 hours in each setting. Experiences should be in at least two different types of physical therapy clinical practice settings. Examples of physical therapy settings include: out-patient orthopedics, pediatrics (outpatient, home health, inpatient, rehab), geriatrics (home health, skilled nursing facility, rehabilitation center), and acute care (hospital). Thirty (30) of these hours should be completed prior to application. The third experience should be as an active participant in a service or community project. Examples of this service/volunteer experience include working in an after-school program, volunteering with a food bank or shelter, or engaging in community improvement projects (locally, nationally, or internationally). Ten (10) of these hours should be completed prior to application.

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
Additional information about program’s GPA requirements (if any)	Preferred undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale. Completion of all prerequisites prior to matriculation with GPA of 3.00 (using best grades) is required. We recommend you complete at least six (6) of the ten (10) prerequisites prior to application and include a plan for completing the outstanding prerequisites in your application. If you have taken a prerequisite more than once, we will use your best attempt in averaging your GPA.

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?
Program policy for submission of non-U.S. (foreign/international) coursework	Send foreign transcript evaluation from either Josef Silney & Associates, Inc., World Education Services (WES), or American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) to PTCAS.
Program policy for CANADIAN coursework	Send foreign transcript evaluation from either Josef Silney & Associates, Inc., World Education Services (WES), or American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) to PTCAS.
Additional information about program’s policy on foreign coursework

PROGRAM INFORMATION

PT Degree Offered	Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
PT Program Start Date(s) For Entering Class DD-MM-YYYY	20-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	32
Anticipated Size of Next Entering Class	36
Percent of IN-STATE applicants accepted
Percent of WICHE applicants accepted (if applicable)
Percent of OUT-OF-STATE (non-resident) applicants accepted
Percent of CANADIAN applicants accepted
Percent of INTERNATIONAL (non-U.S/non-Canadian) applicants accepted
Additional information about the class profile

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Mercer University offers an innovative, 8-semester professional program in physical therapy which awards the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. The program is offered on Mercer’s Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus in Atlanta, Georgia. Students benefit from low faculty-student ratios, opportunities to engage in educational and professional activities with physical therapist residents, and interaction with patients/clients in the on-campus physical therapy clinic. Mercer’s DPT Program provides a comprehensive entry-level professional education, including an integrated clinical education track that consists of service-learning, clinical experiences, and clinical internships. Mercer DPT students are actively engaged in clinical education each semester.

Please review our vision, mission, core values, and program goals for an overview of the physical therapy program via our website (http://cophs.mercer.edu/pt/dpt.html). A review of the profile of the Mercer University Doctor of Physical Therapy Graduate will allow potential applicants the opportunity to identify with our philosophical statements which we believe should personify a physical therapist. The abilities and attributes, curriculum and course offerings are available for your review.

If you would like to attend an information session or would like more information about the program, please contact us at physicaltherapy@mercer.edu.

Mercer’s Physical Therapy program has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; phone 703-706-3245; email accreditation@apta.org). Candidacy is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation. Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program is progressing toward accreditation. Mercer University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees.

(Page last updated 6/17/2011)