University of South Alabama

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION (2011-12)

Department of Physical Therapy
HAHN 2011
5721 USA Drive North
Mobile, Alabama 36688
Phone: 251-445-9330
Phone (alternate number):
Email: ptdept@jaguar1.usouthal.edu
Website: www.southalabama.edu/alliedhealth/pt

APPLICATION DEADLINE for 2012 ENTERING CLASS

PTCAS Application Deadline	December 15, 2011
Deadline Type	FIRM Deadline
Application Close Date (for soft deadlines only)
Program Has Rolling Admissions Process?	NO
Important Dates (if any): Interview Date: Friday, February 24, 2012 GRE GENERAL TEST For 2011-12 CYCLE: DUE TO CHANGES IN THE GRE, THE LAST ACCEPTED TEST DATE FOR THE GRE IS November 28, 2011. OUR NEW GRE COLLEGE PROGRAM CODE IS 7799 Two Categories of Applicants are Considered for Admission: Regular Graduate Applicants: These applicants must hold a bachelor's degree in any field from an accredited college or university and complete all prerequisites for regular graduate admission as listed below with a GPA > 3.00 by the time they would start the PT program. These applicants may apply by the deadline of December 15, or before, if they will complete their bachelor's degree before Fall semester. Advanced Undergraduate Applicants: This special Advanced early-entry option is reserved for the highly motivated and academically strong student. Students with at least 96 semester or 144 quarter hours of specific college prerequisites listed and an overall GPA of > 3.50 may apply for entry to the program prior to completion of the bachelor's degree. The student applying with three years of prerequisites is then able to complete the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree with just six years of college. Applicants in this category should carefully review *Additional Information for Advanced Undergraduates* listed on our website. Admissions rankings for both groups are determined using the same criteria. Acceptance will be based on the student's academic ability and aptitude for a career as a physical therapist including GPA emphasizing Science prerequisites, GRE score, and interview score

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	Fillable supplemental application required
Supplemental FEE required?	YES
If yes, amount	$75 We only accept check or money order. No credit payments.
Supplemental deadline(s) DD-MM-YYYY	15-Dec-2011
Link to supplemental forms or instructions	http://www.southalabama.edu/alliedhealth /pt/apply.html Admission to the program is limited and selective. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all required forms are received by the deadline. Only completed applications will be considered for admission.
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: http://www.southalabama.edu/alliedhealth/pt

#	COURSE SUBJECT	COURSE LEVEL	4-YR *	LAB **	SEM HRS	ACCEPTABLE COURSES	COURSE DESCRIPTION
1	Biology I	General or College	NO	REQ	.	Biology: Cell Biology: GENERAL Biology: Genetics Biology: Histology Biology: Immunology Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology	All science prerequisites must have labs and must be courses a science major would take toward degree requirements. No Intro or Survey courses accepted. Complete one year of biology with lab in order to fulfill requirement (12 quarter or 8 semester units) .
2	Biology II	General or College	NO	REQ	.	Biology: Cell Biology: GENERAL Biology: Genetics Biology: Immunology Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology
3	Chemistry I	General or College	NO	REQ	.	Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry: Organic	Complete one year of chemistry with lab in order to fulfill requirement (12 quarter or 8 semester units)
4	Chemistry II	General or College	NO	REQ	.
5	Physics I	General or College	NO	REQ	.	.	Complete one year of physics with lab in order to fulfill requirement (12 quarter or 8 semester units)
6	Physics II	General or College	NO	REQ	.	.
7	Physiology	General or College	NO	REQ	.	A&P: SEPARATE courses A&P: COMBINED courses A&P: Human A&P: Mammalian A&P: Vertebrate	A & P I & II are accepted as a substitute for Human Physiology.
8	English Composition / Writing (1)	General or College	NO	N/A	.	English Composition I	.
9	English Composition / Writing (2)	General or College	NO	N/A	.	English Composition II
10	Psychology (1)	General or College	NO	N/A	.	Psychology: Abnormal Psychology: Adolescent Psychology: Child Psychology: Death & Dying Psychology: Developmental Psychology: GENERAL Psychology: Human Behav. Psychology: Growth & Dev. Psychology: Life Span Dev. Psychology: Rehabilitation Psychology: Social	.
11	Psychology (2)	General or College	NO	N/A	.		.
12	Social or Behavioral Science	General or College	NO	N/A	.	Anthropology Psychology: Any Course Sociology	Any Social Science course is acceptable.
13	Math (1)	General or College	NO	NO	.	Math: Pre-calculus Algebra	Pre-calculus Algebra & Trigonometry or higher mathematics
14	Math (2)	General or College	NO	NO	.	Math: Trigonometry Math: Calculus	Pre-calculus Algebra & Trigonometry or higher mathematics
15	Statistics	General or College	NO	NO	.	Biology: Biostatistics Business: Statistics Math: Statistics Psychology: Statistics	.
16	Communication / Speech / Public Speaking	General or College	NO	NO	.	.	Only required for the Advanced Undergraduate Applicant category
17	Computer Science	General or College	NO	NO	.	.	Only required for the Advanced Undergraduate Applicant category
18	Literature	General or College	NO	NO	.	Literature I & II	Must be a sequence in World, American or British Literature. Only required for the Advanced Undergraduate Applicant category
19	OTHER	General or College	NO	NO	.	Fine Arts: Drama Fine Arts: History Fine Arts: Appreciation	Only required for the Advanced Undergraduate Applicant category
20	Biological Science	General or College	NO	NO	.	Biology: Microbiology	Will accept Infectious Disease in place of Microbiology. Only required for the Advanced Undergraduate Applicant category
21	Humanities	General or College	NO	NO	.	History of U.S. History of Civilization	Only required for the Advanced Undergraduate Applicant category

* 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: All science prerequisites must have labs and must be courses a science major would take toward degree requirements. No Intro or Survey courses accepted. All applicants must have a minimum grade of "C" in each of the prerequisite courses.

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	7799 (new)
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)	28-Nov-2011
Oldest GRE score considered – DD-MM-YYYY (if applicable)	31-Jul-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	Minimum Verbal + Quantitative score is 1000	450
Verbal Percentile
Quantitative	Minimum Verbal + Quantitative score is 1000	650
Quantitative Percentile
Analytical Writing		4.0
Analytical Writing Percentile
Additional information about program’s GRE requirements	GRE scores must be taken by November 28 and submitted electronically using institution code 7799 (new) by December 15. Minimum Verbal + Quantitative score is 1000. The Analytical Writing section is also required on each attempt. Scores cannot be combined from different exam attempts to achieve the required minimum score of 1000.

References

Number of references required by program: None

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
Physical Therapist-2
Professor in Major
Professor
Academic
Supervisor/Employer
Teaching Assistant
PTA
Pre-PT Advisor
Politician/Elected Official
Health Care Professional
Friend
Family Member
Co-worker
Clergy
OTHER

Additional information about program’s reference requirements:

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	50
Total Number of PT Hours RECOMMENDED
DEADLINE for Completion of All PT Hours DD-MM-YYYY	15-Dec-2011
PAID Experience	Accepted
VOLUNTEER Experience	Accepted
INPATIENT Experience	Accepted
OUTPATIENT Experience	Accepted
Additional information about program’s PT hours requirement	Please submit all PT Observation Hours forms to PTCAS only.

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	3.00	3.50
Dual Degree Program Cumulative GPA (for those applying to South Alabama's dual degree BS/DPT program)	3.50
Additional information about program’s GPA requirements (if any)	In addition to the Undergraduate Cumulative GPA, the program also considers the prerequisite science GPA in the ranking of applicants.

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
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 must apply to the University's Office of International Services, with certified translations of transcripts, by October 15 and then apply to through PTCAS by December 15.

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)	BS/DPT
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	36
Anticipated Size of Next Entering Class	36
Percent of IN-STATE applicants accepted	31%
Percent of WICHE applicants accepted (if applicable)
Percent of OUT-OF-STATE (non-resident) applicants accepted	67%
Percent of CANADIAN applicants accepted
Percent of INTERNATIONAL (non-U.S/non-Canadian) applicants accepted	2%
Additional information about the class profile

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Department of Physical Therapy has provided quality physical therapy education for over 30 years with continuous accreditation. A friendly faculty that is clinically and academically strong teaches the curriculum leading to the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree.

The department mission includes "education of physical therapists who provide the highest levels of professional care to diverse communities while maintaining a commitment to life-long learning." Upon graduation from this CAPTE-accredited DPT program, the student is eligible to take the national physical therapy examination for licensure.

The exciting and challenging DPT program is offered in eight-semester (32 continuous months) format, a new class entering each fall semester. The 121 credit curriculum includes a variety of professional training/educational experiences to prepare students to enter PT practice. Students benefit from significant hands-on clinical practical labs and formal lectures/discussions led by faculty with experience in each clinical practice area, clinical problem solving activities, clinical research, plus 33 weeks of full-time clinical internships supervised by licensed physical therapists. The clinical internships are available in over 250 affiliated hospitals, rehabilitation centers and various specialty practices spread across the United States, representing a wide variety of educational opportunities for the student.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of South Alabama prepares graduates for professional practice and is designed as an entry-level, first PT degree. Throughout the program, students develop necessary communication skills in addition to professional and manual skills and techniques. Strong emphasis is placed on gaining clinical reasoning/problem-solving skills and the ability to practice as an autonomous primary care provider for rehabilitation to maintain or restore human movement in any employment setting. Graduates will also have the ability to assume responsibilities in areas of administration, consultation and research in physical therapy.

(Page last updated 7/25/2011)