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WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATION FOR THE

FALL 2008 CLASS

Admission Requirements

Please review these requirements carefully as failure to meet requirements in a timely matter will likely have a negative impact on the status of your application.

To be considered for the UTMB Physical Therapy Program, a student must do the following:

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Apply to the program during open admissions. Open admissions begins in the summer of the year prior to the Fall semester start date. For instance, students who wish to apply for the class beginning in August, 2009, must complete an application by November 1, 2008.

Complete a Bachelor's Degree and all pre-requisite courses by May of the year in which they wish to begin the PT program. If a student applies for the class beginning in August 2009, degree and coursework must be completed by May 2009.

The minimal academic criteria for the Admissions Committee to accept an application to this program is a record of academic performance resulting in a GPA of 3.0 or above. Students must demonstrate a GPA of 3.0 or better on all math/science courses and on either the overall GPA or the GPA for the last 90 hours (we will use the higher of those two GPA scores).

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Complete 52 hours of specific UTMB prerequisite courses and at least 68 hours of electives (for a total of at least 120 hours) during the completion of a bachelor's degree or any subsequent academic work.

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No more than 60 hours of the required 120 hours can be from a junior college.

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All Math and Science prerequisites completed must be less than 10 years old. Under special circumstances a waiver of this requirement may be considered. An example of a special circumstance might be an individual whose chemistry courses are over 10 years old but who has taught high school chemistry for 10 years.

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You can apply online via the UTMB Enrollment Services web page and download all the forms you need from the Physical Therapy web site. Or you can request an application packet be sent to you through the mail. Applying via the established online methods will significantly speed up the processing of your application.

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Please DO NOT submit an application packet unless you are reasonably certain you are ready to apply and meet the minimal criteria stated above. Once submitted, documentation cannot be changed with the exception of updating transcripts. If you do not complete the application and wish to wait until the following year, you will be required to pay the application fee again.

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Submit the results of the following standardized test:

Graduate Record Examination (GRE scores good for 5 years from date taken)

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Complete at least 40 hours (80 hours is recommended) of volunteer or paid experience in a physical therapy setting in which you have been supervised by a licensed PT. These hours must be completed before your application can be fully evaluated. It is highly recommended that you have a variety of experiences. Some examples include, but are not limited to:

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Complete at least 40 hours (80 hours is recommended) of volunteer or paid PT experience. This must be completed before you can interview. Applicant must have been supervised by a licensed PT. It also helps to have varied experience in at least 3 of the following settings:

· Outpatient and Inpatient Orthopedic Rehabilitation

· Outpatient and Inpatient Neurological Rehabilitation

· Burn Rehabilitation

· Sports Medicine

· Pediatrics

· Geriatrics

· Home Health

· Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation

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Submit three (3) completed recommendation forms. At least one (1) recommendation form must be from a PT that supervised your volunteer or work experience, and two (2) from other persons.

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A Student Profile form must be completed and submitted with your application.

All forms needed with the application can be found on our PT website under Application Process: Forms for Application.

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Once you have completed your application and all documentation has been received by our University's Enrollment Services, your application file will be sent to the Physical Therapy department where it will be reviewed and scored by the PT Admissions Committee. Based on this score, the top 100 applicants will be invited to interview.

IF YOU ARE SELECTED - SECURITY CLEARANCE

On January 1, 2004, a Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) standard became effective that requires criminal background check(s) for security purposes on all employees, staff, and volunteers who supervise care, render treatment, and provide services. Individual institutions have been given the responsibility for mandating this clearance for students. In keeping with this policy, all Department of Physical Therapy students will be required to undergo background check(s) for security clearance in order to matriculate at UTMB and other off-campus clinical training facilities. Students who do not pass the security clearance may be subject to a HOLD on enrollment, rescheduling of training opportunities, or delay of graduation and may in fact impact licensure after graduation. If a question does exist about an issue raised in your background check, it is best identified early. The Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners for the State of Texas will be instrumental in deciding whether an issue raised in the background check will or will not effect an individual’s eligibility for licensure; the earlier this council can work with a student the quicker a decision can be made. (Excerpts from UTMB SOM and SON student policies)