Virginia Commonwealth University

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION (2009-10)

Judith Kendrick
Admissions Coordinator
Department of Physical Therapy
Box 980224
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia 23298
Phone: 804-628-3642
Phone (alternate number): None
Email: jkendric@vcu.edu
Website: http://www.vcu.edu/pt/

APPLICATION DEADLINE for 2010 ENTERING CLASS

PTCAS Application Deadline	Monday, November 02, 2009
Deadline Type	FIRM Deadline
Application Close Date (for soft deadlines only)
Program Has Rolling Admissions Process?	No
Important Dates (if any): We recommend that students submit their applications as soon as possible.

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	Visit the VCU link below for instructions
Supplemental FEE required?	YES
If yes, amount	$50
Supplemental deadline(s) YYYY-MM-DD	2009-11-02
Link to supplemental forms or instructions	http://www.vcu.edu/pt/application_instructions

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.vcu.edu/pt/prospectivestudents/dpt_prerequisites.html

Course Prerequisite Name or Subject Area	Req, Rec, Crq*	SEM hrs	QTR hrs	Lab Required (Y/N)	Additional Program Information
Chemistry	REQ	8	.	YES	.
Physics	REQ	8	.	YES	.
Math	REQ	3	.	NO	Must be pre-calculus or above.
Statistics	REQ	3	.	NO	.
Anatomy and Physiology	REQ	8	.	YES	Must be taken in the Biology department. Can be taken as individual courses or as Anatomy and Physiology I and II.
Psychology	REQ	6	.	NO	This requirement can be met by an introductory course and an upper level course or two upper level courses. Abnormal and developmental preferred.
Biology	REQ	4	.	YES	.

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

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

Is the GRE required?	Required
Program’s GRE College Code	# R5570
Last acceptable GRE test date – YYYY-MM-DD (if applicable)	2009-11-02
Oldest GRE score considered – YYYY-MM-DD (if applicable)	1999-11-01

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	.	510
Verbal Percentile	.	.
Quantitative	.	660
Quantitative Percentile	.	.
Analytical Writing	.	.
Analytical Writing Percentile	.	.
Composite (verbal & quantitative)	.	.
Composite 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:

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	100
Total Number of PT Hours RECOMMENDED
DEADLINE for Completion of All PT Hours YYYY-MM-DD	2010-05-31
PAID Experience	Accepted
VOLUNTEER Experience	Accepted
INPATIENT Experience	Accepted
OUTPATIENT Experience	Accepted
Additional information about program’s PT hours requirement	Our DPT program requires 100 hours of paid or volunteer observation under the direct supervision of a licensed physical therapist. These hours should be in two distinctly different settings.

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	2.7	3.5
Program-specific Prerequisite	.	.
Additional information about program’s GPA requirements (if any)	If courses are repeated, both grades are used in the Total GPA and Math/Science GPA calculations.

Program Essay Instructions

Some PTCAS programs require applicants to respond to a custom essay question in addition to the standard PTCAS essay question. The PTCAS application will automatically prompt you to respond to the custom essays for your designated programs. The custom essay question for this program is below.

(NONE)

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 Canadian citizens Foreign (non-U.S.) citizens with a visa
Program requires non-native speakers to submit TOEFL scores?	We require the TOEFL scores for non-native speakers unless the applicant has completed all their undergraduate work at an accredited US university or college.
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	.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

PT Degree Offered	Program culminates in a doctoral (DPT) degree.
PT Program Start Date(s) For Entering Class YYYY-MM-DD	2010-06-21
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	54
Anticipated Size of Next Entering Class	54
Percent of IN-STATE students in most recent entering class	.
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	.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Virginia Commonwealth University offers one of the premier Doctor of Physical Therapy Programs in the country. Located in the heart of Richmond's VCU Medical Center, the program provides students with easy access to state-of-the-art clinical and research facilities. The VCU Department of Physical Therapy was established in 1945 and was the first accredited physical therapy program in the commonwealth of Virginia and one of the first programs in the country.

The Department of Physical Therapy includes 13 full-time faculty members, more than 20 adjunct faculty members and four staff members. Our full-time faculty members are actively involved in teaching, clinical practice and research across a wide spectrum of clinically relevant topics. Visit the VCU Department of Physical Therapy web pages (www.vcu.edu/pt) to learn more about each full-time faculty member's research and area of expertise.

VCU's DPT Program prepares students for entry into the profession by teaching them to evaluate and manage patients with physical therapy problems effectively and in accordance with ethical principles. The department maintains clinical internship contracts with more than 230 facilities across the United States. DPT students at VCU complete a total of 36 weeks in full-time clinical education experiences. The program provides students with strategies to continually define and meet their own educational needs in order to keep skills and knowledge current throughout their professional careers.