Western Carolina University

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION (2011-12)

Linda Donaldson
Administrative Support Associate
Western Carolina University
Department of Physical Therapy
156 Joyner Drive
Moore Building Room 310
Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, North Carolina 28723
Phone: 828 227-3523
Phone (alternate number): 828 227-7070
Email: donaldson@email.wcu.edu
Website: http://www.wcu.edu/6009.asp

APPLICATION DEADLINE for 2012 ENTERING CLASS

PTCAS Application Deadline	February 1, 2012
Deadline Type	FIRM Deadline
Application Close Date (for soft deadlines only)
Program Has Rolling Admissions Process?	NO
Important Dates (if any): On-site applicant interviews will be scheduled for the period March 19-31, 2012 for applications evaluated as competitive. Applicants are accepted from those who receive an on-site interview.

EARLY DECISION

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

YES

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	Applicants must complete a Graduate School application through Apply Yourself (an on-line application system); pay the application fee; and have official GRE scores sent directly to the Western Carolina University Graduate School (code # 5897)
Supplemental FEE required?	YES
If yes, amount	$50
Supplemental deadline(s) DD-MM-YYYY	1-Feb-2012
Link to supplemental forms or instructions	https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=wcu-grad
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.wcu.edu/6009.asp

#	COURSE SUBJECT	COURSE LEVEL	4-YR *	LAB **	SEM HRS	ACCEPTABLE COURSES	COURSE DESCRIPTION
1	Anatomy	General or College	NO	REQ	4	A&P: SEPARATE courses A&P: Comparative A&P: Human A&P: Mammalian	The anatomy and physiology requirement may be met by a one-semester course in human anatomy and one-semester course in human physiology. A two-semester sequence of combined human anatomy and physiology courses is also acceptable.
2	Physiology	General or College	NO	REQ	4
3	Chemistry I	General or College	NO	REQ	4	Chemistry: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry: Organic	Acceptable courses include general chemistry, biochemistry, and organic or inorganic chemistry.
4	Chemistry II	General or College	NO	REQ	4
5	Physics I	General or College	NO	REQ	4	.	Courses must include mechanics, electricity, heat, sound, and light.
6	Physics II	General or College	NO	REQ	4	.
7	Statistics	General or College	NO	NO	3	Math: Statistics Psychology: Statistics	At least one lecture should include descriptive statistics and tests of hypotheses. Qualitative research methodology is recommended but not required. Satisfactory courses in statistics include those taught by departments of psychology, math, education, computer science, and sociology. Statistics courses in departments such as business and health professions services are also acceptable, if they include the content described above.
8	Social or Behavioral Science	General or College	NO	NO	6	Psychology: Abnormal Psychology: Adolescent Psychology: Child Psychology: Death & Dying Psychology: Developmental Psychology: GENERAL Psychology: Human Behavior Psychology: Growth & Dev. Psychology: Life Span Dev Psychology: Rehabilitation Psychology: Social Psychology: Sports	Acceptable social science courses can be from a variety of disciplines. Suggested courses include organizational behavior, urban or rural sociology, educational psychology, social psychology, medical history, human growth and development, and introductory

* 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	# 5897 (university code)
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)	15-Dec-2011 (to ensure your scores are received by the programs February 1, 2012 application deadline)
Oldest GRE score considered – DD-MM-YYYY (if applicable)

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	527
Verbal Percentile
Quantitative	400	617
Quantitative Percentile
Analytical Writing	3.0	4.2
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 highly recommended
Total Number of PT Hours REQUIRED
Total Number of PT Hours RECOMMENDED	At least 129 hours
DEADLINE for Completion of All PT Hours DD-MM-YYYY	1-Feb-2012 (to be considered in application review)
PAID Experience	Accepted
VOLUNTEER Experience	Accepted
INPATIENT Experience	Accepted
OUTPATIENT Experience	Accepted
Additional information about program’s PT hours requirement	We strongly recommend that applicants seek volunteer or paid experience in a variety of physical therapy settings. It is helpful to assure that the profession is a good fit for the applicant and also creates a frame of reference for professional preparation. Applicants are awarded points in the admissions process for the total number of volunteer or paid hours as well as the number of 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	2.84	3.65
Program-specific Prerequisite	2.84	3.70
Additional information about program’s GPA requirements (if any)	A GPA less than 3.0 is unlikely to be competitive. Prerequisite coursework (with the exception of the social sciences) must have been completed within the last 7 years prior to the projected enrollment. Requests for exception to this time limit must be made in writing to the department director, including justification.

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 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 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 Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree.
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	32
Percent of IN-STATE students in most recent entering class	56%
Percent of WICHE students in most recent entering class (if applicable)
Percent of OUT-OF-STATE (non-resident) students in most recent entering class	44%
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

Below are just a few reasons why we believe WCU will be a great choice for you:

Facilities: The program will reside in a spacious 160,000 square foot state of the art new Health Sciences Building with custom-designed laboratory spaces and new equipment for physical therapy. The architects have created an environmentally friendly building design that blends with the surrounding natural beauty and maximizes opportunities for engaged learning. An interdisciplinary clinic and teleconferencing capabilities on the first floor of the building will allow countless opportunities for hands-on learning.

Beautiful Location: Few places in the world are more beautiful than the Great Smoky Mountains. Here, WCU offers the ideal blend of rural beauty with state-of-the-art facilities and countless recreation and fitness opportunities.

Comparatively Low Tuition and Fees: At WCU, you’ll find a tremendous academic value: a competitive academic program that’s on par with public and private universities across the country.

Quality of Instruction: Teaching is the primary mission of the university and our department. All classes are taught by highly qualified faculty who are committed to providing you with the best education possible.

Small Class Sizes: We admit only 32 students a year and we maintain a student-to-teacher ratio of 9:1.

Hands-on Experience: Faculty commitment to active learning, spacious state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, and strong collaborative relationships within the larger community allow lots of hands-on learning experiences.

Pass Rates on National Licensing Examination: Our students consistently achieve pass rates above state and national averages.

Service Learning: Students are involved in service learning as part of the regular curriculum and they also have the option of completing either a research or service-learning project for their final project.

Clinical Education: Our students have the opportunity to participate in four full-time clinical education experiences (total 34 weeks) at sites across the nation in addition to a variety of clinical laboratory experiences.

Human Movement Science Laboratory: Our state-of-the-art lab, provided by a grant of approximately $300,000 from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, allows the program to supplement the education of students, conduct research, and provide diagnostic clinical services to individuals in the surrounding region.

Doctor of Physical Therapy: Our program fully supports doctoral level education for the physical therapy professional. The University of North Carolina General Administration has granted our request to transition to a doctoral degree program. We believe that our graduates are receiving an excellent education that prepares them for practice in today’s workplace. Our graduates consistently exceed state and national average pass rates on the licensure examination and are able to gain employment in an excellent job market.

(Page last updated 11/03/2011)