Virginia Commonwealth University

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION (2011-12)

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.sahp.vcu.edu/pt/

APPLICATION DEADLINE for 2012 ENTERING CLASS

PTCAS Application Deadline	November 1, 2011
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.

EARLY DECISION

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

YES

If yes, special eligibility requirements and instructions for early decision candidates to program

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
Supplemental FEE required?	YES
If yes, amount	$50
Supplemental deadline(s) DD-MM-YYYY	01-Nov-2011
Link to supplemental forms or instructions	http://www.sahp.vcu.edu/pt/application_instructions
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://www.vcu.edu/pt/prospectivestudents/dpt_prerequisites.html

#	COURSE SUBJECT	COURSE LEVEL	4-YR *	LAB **	SEM HRS	ACCEPTABLE COURSES	COURSE DESCRIPTION
1	Chemistry I	General or College	NO	REQ	4	Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry: Organic	.
2	Chemistry II	General or College	NO	REQ	4	Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry: Organic	.
3	Physics I	General or College	NO	REQ	4	.	.
4	Physics II	General or College	NO	REQ	4	.	.
5	Math	General or College	NO	NO	3	Math: Calculus Math: Trigonometry	Must be trigonometry, pre-calculus, or calculus.
6	Statistics	Introductory	NO	NO	3	Biology: Biostatistics Business: Statistics Math: Statistics Psychology: Statistics	.
7	Anatomy & Physiology I	General or College	NO	Rec	4	A&P: SEPARATE courses A&P: COMBINED courses A&P: Animal A&P: Comparative A&P: Human A&P: Mammalian A&P: Vertebrate	.
8	Anatomy & Physiology II	General or College	NO	Rec	4		.
9	Psychology	Introductory	NO	NO	3	Psychology: Abnormal Psychology: Adolescent Psychology: Child Psychology: Death & Dying Psychology: Developmental Psychology: GENERAL Psychology: Human Behavior Psychology: Growth & Dev. Psychology: Life Span Dev.	This requirement can be met by an introductory course and an upper level course or two upper level courses. Abnormal and developmental recommended.
10	Psychology (specialized)	Introductory	NO	NO	3
11	Biology I	General or College	NO	REQ	4	Biology: Cell Biology: Embryology Biology: GENERAL Biology: Genetics Biology: Histology Biology: Microbiology	.

* 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: Science prerequisites must be taken within the last 10 years or be reviewed and approved by the Director of Admissions.

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	# 5570 (university code)
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)	01-Nov-2011
Oldest GRE score considered – DD-MM-YYYY (if applicable)	01-Nov-2001

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
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 DD-MM-YYYY	31-May-2012
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.

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 DD-MM-YYYY	18-Jun-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	54
Anticipated Size of Next Entering Class	54
Percent of IN-STATE students in most recent entering class	85%
Percent of WICHE students in most recent entering class (if applicable)
Percent of OUT-OF-STATE (non-resident) students in most recent entering class	15%
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.

(Page last updated 6/17/2011)