The University of South Dakota

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION

Richard Ekstrom
Co-Chair of Admissions
The University of South Dakota
Department of Physical Therapy
414 E. Clark St.
Vermillion, South Dakota 57069
Phone: 605-677-5915
Phone (alternate number): 605-677-5000
Email: Tamara.Olson@usd.edu
Website: http://www.usd.edu/med/pt/

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Final PTCAS Application Deadline

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Deadline Type

Firm Deadline

Program has rolling admissions process?

Two interview sessions.

Early interview session during fall semester and
general interview session during the spring semester.

Other deadlines (if any):

Early application deadline: 15-Sep-08
General application deadline: 15-Jan-09

Additional Deadline Information:

The early interview session requires a minimum overall GPA of 3.5; prerequisite GPA of 3.5; and a GRE score of 1000 (combined verbal and quantitative). The early interview session dates are November 21 and 22, 2008.
The general application requires a minimum overall GPA of 3.0; prerequisite GPA of 3.0; and no minimum GRE score. The general interview session dates are March 20 and 21, 2009.

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://www.usd.edu/med/pt/prereqs.cfm

Course prerequisite fields will be blank if program data is not available or applicable.

Course Prerequisite Name or Subject Area	Req, Rec, Crq*	SEM hrs	QTR hrs	Lab Required (Y/N)	Additional Program Information
Biology	REQ	8	.	YES	.
Chemistry	REQ	8	.	YES	.
Physics	REQ	8	.	YES	.
Human Anatomy	REQ	3	.	NO	Or a combined Human Anatomy/Physiology course with a minimum of 6 credit hours with lab over 2 semesters.
Human Physiology	REQ	3	.	YES	Or a combined Human Anatomy/Physiology course with a minimum of 6 credit hours with lab over 2 semesters.
Statistics	REQ	3	.	NO	.
General Psychology	REQ	3	.	NO	.
Developmental Psychology	REQ	3	.	NO	Call the department if not offered at your college/university.
Abnormal Psychology	REQ	3	.	NO	.

* “Req” = required course; “Rec” = recommended course; “Crq” = conditionally required course

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

GRE: Required
Last acceptable GRE test date( if applicable): September 15, 2008 for early interview session and January 15, 2009 for general interview session.
Oldest GRE score considered (if applicable): GRE scores that are older that 5 years will not be accepted.

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	.	420
Verbal Percentile	.	.
Quantitative	.	618
Quantitative Percentile	.	.
Analytical	.	.
Analytical Percentile	.	.
Writing	.	4.2
Writing Percentile	.	.

Additional information about program’s GRE requirements:
Minimum GRE of 1000 (combined verbal and quantitative) for early interview session. No minimum for general interview session.

References

Total number of references required by program: 3 References

REFERENCE TYPE	Reference Type Is Required, Recommended, Accepted, Conditionally Required, NOT Accepted, or Other
Teaching Assistant	Accepted
Supervisor	Accepted
PTA	Accepted
Professor (Science)	Accepted
Professor (Math)	Accepted
Professor (Liberal Arts)	Accepted
Pre-Health Advisor	Accepted
Politician	Accepted
Physical Therapist (1)	Required
Physical Therapist (2)	Accepted
Health Care Provider	Accepted
Friend	Not Accepted
Family Member	Not Accepted
Faculty Advisor	Accepted
Employer	Accepted
Co-Worker	Accepted
Clergy	Accepted
OTHER	N/A

Additional information about program’s reference requirements:
At least one reference must be from a physical therapist. It is recommended that the other two be from an instructor/professor, employer/supervisor, or a second physical therapist.

PT Observation Hours

Enter your PT observation hours on your PTCAS application. Login to the PTCAS application and print each customized PT Observation Hours form, if the program requires a physical therapist to verify your hours with a signature. Mail the signed form directly to the PT program, if required. Do not mail 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 Hours REQUIRED	50
Total Number of Hours RECOMMENDED	.
DEADLINE for Completion of All PT Hours	At Application Deadline
PAID Experience	Accepted
VOLUNTEER Experience	Accepted
INPATIENT Experience	Accepted
OUTPATIENT Experience	Accepted
Number of hours in each PT specialty (if specified)	.
Number of hours in each PT setting (if specified)	.

Additional information about program’s PT hours requirement: Hours must be with a licensed physical therapist. Please see supplemental application for observation forms.

GPA Requirement

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

Name of GPA	Minimum GPA	Average GPA for Accepted Students
Overall Undergraduate Cumulative	3.00	3.65
Program-specific Prerequisite	3.00	3.49
Other GPA 1:	.	.
Other GPA 2:	.	.

Additional information about program’s GPA requirements (if any):

Minimum overall GPA of 3.5 and minimum prerequisite GPA of 3.5 for early interview session.
Minimum overall GPA of 3.0 and minimum prerequisite GPA of 3.0 for general interview session.

PTCAS Essay Instructions

You can customize your PTCAS essay for each designated PTCAS program. The PT program may require you to respond to specific essay questions. If program instructions below are blank, respond to 3 of the 5 essay questions on the PTCAS application form.

What personal characteristics do you have that make you suitable for the profession of physical therapy?
What is your motivation for pursuing a career in physical therapy?
How has your background and experience prepared you to interact effectively with individuals who are different from you in their social, cultural, or economic perspectives?
What types of patients have you observed with the greatest frequency, and what have you learned from them?
If you were to be accepted to two or more physical therapy education programs, what would help you make the decision regarding which program you should select?
REPEAT APPLICANTS If you have applied to a physical therapy program in the past five years, what have you done to improve upon, or enhance, your application for this current admissions cycle?

PROGRAM’S ESSAY REQUIREMENTS (If program instructions are blank, you must respond to 3 of the 5 essay questions on the PTCAS application form):

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

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

ITEM	PROGRAM REQUIREMENT
Supplemental application required?	YES - For all complete PTCAS applicants
Supplemental deadline(s)	September 15, 2008 to be considered for the early application process. January 15, 2009 to be considered for the general application process.
Link to supplemental application or instructions	http://www.usd.edu/med/pt/admissions.cfm
Supplemental FEE required?	YES
If yes, supplemental fee amount	$35
Briefly describe requirements for supplemental materials (if applicable)	The USD Graduate School Application and the USD PT Application Packet must also be completed. The USD PT Application Packet includes observation forms as well as information related to technical standards/essential functions/criminal background check form and the employment verification/criminal history form. See the website for additional information.

Criminal Background Check

Are accepted applicants required to complete a criminal background check? YES
Description of criminal background check process (if applicable): Once provisionally accepted into the program, criminal background check must be completed. Final acceptance into the program is based on an approved criminal background check.

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.

POLICY	PROGRAM REQUIREMENT
Program’s citizenship requirements (individuals listed may be eligible for admission):	U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, Canadian citizens, 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 original foreign transcript to program AND foreign transcript evaluation to PTCAS.
Program policy for CANADIAN coursework:	Same as instructions for foreign transcripts above.

Additional information about program’s policy on foreign coursework: English translation required for original foreign transcripts.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

PT Degree Offered:	Program culminates in a doctoral (DPT) degree.
PT Program Start Date(s) For Entering Class:	7/27/2009
Dual-degree programs offered in conjunction with the PT degree (if any):	.

PROFILE OF MOST RECENT ENTERING CLASS

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

PROFILE INFORMATION	PROGRAM DATA
Size of Most Recent Entering Class	26
Anticipated Size of Next Entering Class	26
Percent of IN-STATE applicants accepted	65
Percent of WICHE applicants accepted (if applicable):	.
Percent of OUT-OF-STATE (non-resident) applicants accepted	35
Percent of CANADIAN applicants accepted	0
Percent of INTERNATIONAL (non-U.S/non-Canadian) applicants accepted	0

Additional information about the class profile:

Institution's religious affiliation (if any):

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The University of South Dakota offers a full-time 3-year DPT program with competitive tuition rates. Our program is designed to prepare general practitioners for physical therapy practice in rural settings. We are pleased to provide a small class size with a 3:1 student to faculty ratio. Our students participate in 38 weeks of full-time clinical education experiences in 5 different settings as well as a 1 week clinical experience during the first year and several 1 day clinical experiences during the second year of the program. We are proud to have excellent graduation rates, first time passage rates on the National Physical Therapy Exam, and post graduation employment rates. Please visit our website for more information on our program.