Physical Therapy, D.P.T.

Objective of the Program

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree program constitutes the initial professional preparation for students desiring to become physical therapists. Graduates of the program will be prepared to carry out the expanding responsibilities as autonomous health care providers; practicing in prevention, examination, evaluation, intervention, and consultation in acute care, rehabilitation, outpatient settings, and in educational and research environments. The DPT Program will also prepare students to contribute to the field of physical therapy through research and other scholarly activities in addition to the utilization of these activities.

Accreditation

The DPT Program is designed to meet the Standards of Practice of the American Physical Therapy Association and the Accreditation Standards set forth by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314; telephone: 703‐706‐3387; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: http://www.capteonline.org.

Admissions Policy

The Physical Therapy Admissions Committee selects students for admission. Applicants must meet the following criteria to gain admission to the DPT Program:

1. A Bachelor’s degree from US institutions of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting association or the degree equivalent in another country is required.
2. All applicants must successfully complete the following prerequisite courses with a grade of “C” or higher. (Note: Credit Hours are given in parentheses)
   • Zoology with Lab OR Biology with Lab Credit: 4
   • Human Anatomy and Physiology with Lab (or its equivalent) Credit: 8
   • Mathematics (Trigonometry or higher) Credit: 3‐4
   • Physics with Lab Credit: 8
   • Sociology/Psychology (General, Abnormal or Child) Credit: 6
   • Chemistry with Lab Credit: 8
   • Histology with Lab OR Cell Biology with Lab or Microbiology with Lab Credit: 4
   • (Other upper level Science Courses may be considered) and, Statistics Credit: 3
3. A cumulative 3.0 GPA over all course work earned and a 3.0 average in the science and math courses earned that are a prerequisite to the program (including any courses taken during the spring and the summer preceding the fall admission).
4. Graduate Record Examination. Each applicant is required to take the Graduate Record Examination. The School code is 5400 and department code is 0619. Each applicant’s score will be assessed individually.
5. Demonstration of knowledge concerning the physical therapy profession by submitting:
   1. An essay detailing the reasons the applicant desires to become a physical therapist.
   2. Documentation of first‐hand observation and/or work experience related to the practice of physical therapy. This experience must be substantiated in writing by a licensed physical therapist. It is required that the experiences be at two different types of clinical settings with a minimum of 25 hours in each.
6. Submission of three (3) letters of recommendation addressing both the applicant’s moral character and potential as a physical therapist.
7. An personal interview with at least one member of the Physical Therapy Admissions Committee may be required.
8. Prerequisite science courses completed within 10 years prior of the expected matriculation year.

Due to certain factors (i.e., number of available clinical sites), the number of qualified students who can be accepted into the DPT Program is limited. The Department of Physical Therapy Admissions Committee will consider such criteria as cumulative GPA, mathematics and science GPA, GRE, prior experience related to the practice of Physical Therapy and personal interview scores in making its decision for admissions.

Acceptance Policy

Upon acceptance to the DPT Program, the student will be notified and be given two weeks to return their statement of intent. If the student accepts the offer of admission:

1. The student must return the signed statement of intent along with a non‐refundable acceptance fee of $700.00. On admission, this acceptance fee will be credited toward tuition.
2. The student must provide official transcripts from all schools attended to the School of Graduate Studies.

Application Instructions

Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service: Students seeking admission to the program must complete the application and submit the required documentation using the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) at http://www.ptcas.org. PTCAS is a web‐based application and allows the prospective student to submit one application and distribute to multiple PT programs.

PTCAS will not forward an incomplete application to our program, please ensure that you complete all required materials and submit all required documentation. For example, you will be asked to submit the following: all official transcripts, recommendation forms, GRE scores, and documentation of physical therapy observation hours.

Supplemental Application: All applicants must complete the UMES Graduate School application. A non‐refundable application fee of $50 must accompany the application to be considered for admission. Please visit the UMES School of Graduate Studies’ website at http://www.umes.edu/Grad for details.

Application Deadline

1. Early Decision: Applicants who have only two prerequisite courses to complete after the end of August are eligible for early decision. The GRE scores must be available at the time of application. The Early Decision deadline for applicants is August 15^th or the closest business day. Please read the PTCAS Early Decision instructions carefully at: http://www.ptcas.org/ptcas/public/earlydecision.aspx?navID=10737426886.
2. Early Admission: Applicants who have only two prerequisite courses to complete after the end of August are eligible for early admission. The GRE scores must be available at the time of application. Early Admission decisions will be made for applications received between September 1st and November 1st.
3. Regular Admission: The deadline for Regular Admission is December 1st. Regular Admission decisions will be made for applications received by the December 1st deadline or the closest business day.

The program has a rolling admissions process. If space is available, applications received after December 1st may be considered for admission.

General Program Completion Requirements

The program requires completion of didactic course work, clinical internships, independent study, and a research project as partial fulfillment for the Doctorate degree. Core didactic courses include foundational sciences, clinical medicine, physical therapy procedures, and patient management.

The Clinical Education component provides students with the opportunity to apply their didactic knowledge and skills to clinical situations. Through clinical education experiences, students develop problem‐solving and clinical decision‐making skills. Select clinical affiliations provide students with clinical experience in specialty areas of physical therapy practice.

The independent study/electives component allows students to pursue advanced study in areas of individual interest under the guidance of the physical therapy faculty. Each student is required to complete three credits in independent study/electives which are approved by the student’s Academic Advisor.

The Research/Critical Inquiry component consists of one didactic course in research methods and the completion of an extensive independent research project under the direction of a research Advisor. The research project incorporates all phases of the scientific inquiry process from the formulation of research questions or hypotheses and literature review through data collection and analysis of the results. The student must select a research Advisor by the end of the first year of enrollment in the program. Final project requirements include a written document and an oral presentation. Students are encouraged to publish and/or present their research to professional organizations such as the American Physical Therapy Association and the American College of Sports Medicine.

Each student is initially assigned an Academic Advisor who is responsible for advising the student on all aspects of the student’s progress throughout the program. All students must maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA. The program is full‐time continuous enrollment.

Retention in Program

1. Didactic Program Phase
   1. The grading scale for the Physical Therapy Department is as follows:
      A ‐ 90‐100%
      B ‐ 80‐89%
      C ‐ 75‐79%
      D ‐ 65‐74%
      F ‐ 0‐64%
      Students must score 75% or above on all clinical performance based assessments (practical examinations) during the curriculum.
   2. A final grade of ‘D’ in any course (lecture and/or lab) during the DPT Program will result in the student being placed on academic probation.
   3. Students attaining probationary status twice during the DPT Program are subject to automatic academic dismissal from the program.
   4. A final grade of ‘D’ in any two courses during the DPT Program (lecture and/or lab) results in an automatic academic dismissal from the program.
   5. A final grade of ‘F’ in any course (lecture and/or lab) results in automatic academic dismissal from the program.
   6. A student who receives a final grade of D in a course (lecture and/or lab), will need to retake the course and will be referred to the faculty member who will make recommendations to the Department Chairman as to how this grade may be removed and the time limit for removal.  Failure to remove the grade in a specified time limit may result in dismissal from the program.
   7. Students engaging in any unethical practices as outlined by the policies of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Code of Conduct of the American Physical Therapy Association, and State or Federal laws may be dismissed from the program.
   8. It is the policy of the Graduate School that a student must maintain an average GPA of 3.0 or better. If a graduate student falls below the minimum GPA, he/she has two semesters (not including the summer) in which to bring their average GPA back to a 3.0 or greater. The admission of all students, both degree and non‐degree, is continued at the discretion of the major professor, the Department or Program Director and the Dean of Graduate Studies (see the UMES Graduate Catalog Termination of Admission ).
   9. All courses must be completed in sequence.
   10. Students are expected to be able to meet the essential technical standards of performance required by the Department of Physical Therapy.
2. Clinical Practicum and Affiliation Phase
   1. Clinical Affiliation assignments are dependent upon faculty recommendation, Department Chair approval, and availability of clinical sites.
   2. No student may enter the final full‐time summer clinical affiliations during the 3rd year of the program with a final grade of ‘D’ or Incomplete in any course or a cumulative GPA below 3.0. Student assignments to each clinical affiliation are dependent on approval of the Physical Therapy faculty. Final affiliations will be delayed until the ‘I’ or ‘D’ is removed or GPA is above 3.0.
   3. Each clinical affiliation and practicum must be passed. A student receiving a failing grade during a clinical affiliation or practicum is automatically dismissed from the DPT Program.
   4. Students not completing a clinical affiliation or practicum for personal reasons may be required to repeat an affiliation or practicum of the same length or make‐up the time lost at the same affiliation or practicum site.
   5. A student may only repeat or makeup a clinical affiliation or practicum upon approval of the faculty of the Department of Physical Therapy and upon availability of clinical sites.
   6. Students are expected to be able to meet the essential technical standards of performance required by the Department of Physical Therapy and adhere to the Doctor of Physical Therapy clinical education policies and procedures.
3. Readmission
   1. Students who have been dismissed for academic reasons and students who have had to withdraw for personal reasons may seek readmission by submitting a letter of request to the department. Students seeking readmission to the program for the Fall semester must submit their letter by February 1st.
   2. The request for readmission will be reviewed by the Department of Physical Therapy faculty. A student may be readmitted only once to the program, on the basis of the appeal.

Reapplication to the Program

An applicant who has been unsuccessful in obtaining admission into the program and wish to reapply to the program must do so through PTCAS and resubmit the supplemental application to the Graduate School (along with the non‐refundable application fee).

For more information on this program, please contact:

Dr. Michael Rabel
Graduate Program Coordinator
Physical Therapy Program
Department of Physical Therapy Hazel Hall, Suite 2093
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Princess Anne, MD 21853
Email: mcrabel@umes.edu or ptdept@umes.edu