{"id":434,"date":"2014-06-05T11:27:41","date_gmt":"2014-06-05T15:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swtemp.org\/science_math_dept\/?page_id=434"},"modified":"2026-03-08T15:46:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T15:46:39","slug":"pre-physical-therapy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sw.edu\/science-pre-med\/pre-physical-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-Physical Therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Educational Pathway<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Physical therapists are in demand! After completing an Associate of Arts and Scienc<\/em>es Degree with a major in Science, Specialization: Pre-Medical, you will continue your pre-physical therapy study by transferring to a four-year school. Most physical therapy programs require applicants to have a bachelor&#8217;s degree. You can declare a major in any subject at a four-year school to obtain a Bachelor of Science Degree, which will require an additional two years of college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your chosen major does not determine your success in being accepted to a physical therapy program. It is, however, important that you include the prerequisite courses required by the schools you are interested in attending in your educational curriculum. Many of these classes are taken during your two years at SWCC. After being accepted to a physical therapy program it will take a total of three years to be awarded a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) but programs vary in length. There is also a Master&#8217;s<strong> of Physical Therapy (MPT)<\/strong> that requires two years of graduate study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early in your academic career, you will need to research some of the physical therapy programs you are interested in attending in order to ensure you will meet all their criteria for admission. Some basic factors are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Good undergraduate grades (overall GPA of 3.0 minimum)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Test scores (GRE\u00ae)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>True interest in profession as demonstrated by shadowing or volunteering in the field in long-term positions; some colleges require documented hours<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strong reasoning and writing skills (which will be documented on the Graduate Record Examination)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strong reference letters from professionals who know your character, as well as your work ethic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the GRE\u00ae?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>It is the Graduate<\/strong> Record Examination. It is a standardized test taken by students who are applying to physical therapy schools. It will be similar to the ACT\u00ae or SAT\u00ae. It is a broad assessment of your critical thinking, analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning skills \u2014 all skills developed over many years, including your two years at SWCC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Important qualities for physical therapists<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Physical therapists must have excellent communication, writing, and interpersonal skills. Other important qualities are keen observation skills, patience, and flexibility. As in other health-related occupations, empathy, understanding, and a desire to help others are good qualities for effectively dealing with patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is physical therapy for you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The student should shadow physical therapists and ask questions about the profession. Physical therapy involves evaluating, diagnosing, and treating disorders of the musculoskeletal system. They help patients with medical problems to gain mobility, reduce pain, and perform functional activities in daily life. Physical therapists may work in a variety of settings, such as orthopedic clinics, hospitals, schools, home healthcare, sports and fitness facilities, and nursing homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Physical Therapy Schools <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.capteonline.org\/apta\/directories\/accreditedschools.aspx?type=PT&amp;navID=10737421958\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">218 physical therapy schools<\/a> in the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"489\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/sw.edu\/science-pre-med\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2014\/08\/deandustin.jpg\" alt=\"dustin dean swcc\" class=\"wp-image-809\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sw.edu\/science-pre-med\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2014\/08\/deandustin.jpg 489w, https:\/\/sw.edu\/science-pre-med\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2014\/08\/deandustin-300x245.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 489px) 100vw, 489px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Dustin Dean, PT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Dean completed the Science\/Pre-med program at Southwest.<br>After receiving his AA&amp;S. in Science, Dr. Dean graduated from ETSU with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. He was accepted to and completed his studies with the ETSU Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"formWrapper\">\r\n<iframe class=\"salesforceRFI\" aria-label=\"Request for information form\" id=\"myiFrame\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" style=\"border: 0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\ndocument.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {\r\n    \/\/ Start with base URL\r\n    var url = \"https:\/\/cloud.info.sw.edu\/EZ1qCEnk2NaD\";\r\n   \r\n    \/\/ Get current URL\r\n    var currentUrl = window.parent.location.href;\r\n   \r\n    \/\/ Add UTM parameters to the current URL\r\n    if (currentUrl.includes('?')) {\r\n        currentUrl += '&';\r\n    } else {\r\n        currentUrl += '?';\r\n    }\r\n    currentUrl += 'utm_campaign=&utm_medium=webform&utm_source=website';\r\n   \r\n    \/\/ Create the formFrame parameter with the UTM-enhanced URL\r\n    var myParams = \"\/?formFrame=\" + encodeURIComponent(currentUrl);\r\n   \r\n    \/\/ Build final iframe URL\r\n    var iframe_url = url + myParams;\r\n    document.getElementById(\"myiFrame\").src = iframe_url;\r\n});\r\n<\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Educational Pathway Physical therapists are in demand! After completing an Associate of Arts and Sciences Degree with a major in Science, Specialization: Pre-Medical, you will continue your pre-physical therapy study<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"on","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"Physical Therapy","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-434","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.11 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pre-Physical Therapy - 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