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Admission Requirements

COVID-related admissions information

We are happy to schedule in-person or virtual individual academic advising and department visits. We will also periodically host open house group sessions during the year. To schedule an advising appointment or visit, please email dptadmissions@udayton.edu.


Open house registration

We are aware that many are experiencing difficulty finding observation hours during the pandemic, but we are still encouraging people to seek these opportunities to meet our criteria, if available. Our program currently requires 40 hours of observation, with at least 10 of those hours in an in-patient setting. However, not all of these hours need to be completed before submitting your application. We will continue to monitor the situation and will make adjustments to this requirement, if needed. Please contact us if you have any further questions.


Due to the unique nature of the coronavirus pandemic, we will accept pass/fail credit for any prerequisite courses taken during the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2020 semesters. 


Admission requirements

Applicants to the University of Dayton Doctor of Physical Therapy program are expected to meet all of the following minimum requirements:

  • Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA across all schools attended.
  • Minimum 3.0 GPA for prerequisite science courses.
  • Minimum 3.0 GPA for all general prerequisite courses.
  • Completion of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university prior to the start of the DPT program.
  • Grade of C or better in all prerequisite courses. Grades of C- or lower will not be accepted.
  • Minimum of 64 semester credits and four or more prerequisite science courses with labs must be completed at the time of application.
  • Completion of all prerequisite science courses must be within the past ten years. Science coursework that is older than 10 years will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
  • Advanced Placement (AP) and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credit will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. For consideration, CLEP and AP credit must be indicated on a college transcript with the course number for which credit was received.

Early Assurance academic requirements

For consideration applicants applying under Early Assurance must meet or exceed the following:

  • Minimum 3.3 cumulative GPA across all schools attended.
  • Minimum 3.3 GPA for all prerequisite science courses.
  • A GRE Score is optional. However, if you would like to submit scores, they must be received by the early assurance application deadline. 
  • Completion of Early Assurance school-specific questions.
  • The deadline for application is August 15.

Prerequisite course requirements

Science prerequisites

All sciences must be majors-level courses for science or pre-med majors. All science courses must have been completed within the past 10 years.

  • A two-course sequence in Anatomy & Physiology with lab. OR One course in Anatomy with lab AND one course in Physiology with lab. Each must be at least 4 credit hours. 
  • Two courses of General or Specialized Biology (e.g. Microbiology, Genetics, Vertebrate Zoology, Vertebrate Physiology, Developmental Biology, Pathophysiology or Immunology) with a minimum of one lab. Please note: While some anatomy and physiology courses have a Bio prefix, they cannot be used to fulfill the biology prerequisite. 
  • Full sequence of General Chemistry with labs.
  • Full sequence of General Physics with labs.
General prerequisites
  • General Psychology: General or Introductory Psychology
  • One Course Statistics
Recommended Courses (not required)
  • Exercise Physiology
  • Human Development
Prerequisite retake policy

Applicants must indicate on the PTCAS when a course has been retaken; failure to do so may result in the disqualification of the applicant.

If a course has been retaken, the University of Dayton DPT Program will permit an applicant to substitute the higher grade for a maximum of one (1) science prerequisite course. Science prerequisite courses (with their associated labs) include:

  • Anatomy
  • Physiology
  • General Biology I
  • General Biology II
  • General Chemistry I
  • General Chemistry II
  • General Physics I
  • General Physics II

If more than one course has been retaken, then an average of all attempts will be calculated into the respective GPA.

CONTACT

Department of Physical Therapy

Fitz Hall
300 College Park
Dayton, Ohio 45469 - 2925
937-229-5600
Email
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