Physical Therapy, DPT

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

This graduate program is administered by the area of Health Sciences and Wellness in the School of Health Sciences and Wellness .

You must complete all of the required coursework in the DPT for successful completion of the program. Program endorsement is required for registration for the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) licensing examination, and verification of graduation is required for physical therapy licensure in all states.

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION/LICENSURE DISCLOSURE (NC-SARA)

The United States Department of Education requires institutions that provide distance education to disclose information for programs leading to professional certification or licensure about whether each program meets state educational requirements for initial licensure or certification. Specific licensure requirements vary state by state. Requirements typically include earning a degree in physical therapy from a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, passing a national licensing examination, and passing a state jurisprudence assessment.

The UWSP Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, due to its professional accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), prepares graduates to meet the educational eligibility criteria for the national licensing examination which leads to licensure as a physical therapist in any state in the union in the United States including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

The requirements of this program meet Certification/Licensure in the following states/territories:

Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming;

Individual states have additional jurisdictional requirements beyond the NPTE licensing examination. The Jurisdiction Licensure Reference Guide available at: https://www.fsbpt.net/lrg/Home/LicensureByExamRequirement outlines the licensure requirements of each state.

The requirements of this program do not meet Certification/Licensure in the following states:

Not applicable

At the time of review, the following states/territories do not license or regulate Physical Therapy:

Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands

The DPT program required coursework is 112 credits. 81 credits are associated with core instructional courses; 15 credits are associated with the Integrated Clinical Practice sequence which includes clinical lab practice in rehabilitation practices; 16 credits are associated with clinical internships (see Culminating Experiences below).

Required Courses:

DPT 710 - Applied Exercise Physiology Credits: 3
DPT 711 - Functional Human Anatomy Credits: 3
DPT 713 - Clinical Neuroscience Credits: 3
DPT 720 - Clinical Biomechanics I Credits: 4
DPT 721 - Clinical Biomechanics II Credits: 4
DPT 722 - Therapeutic Interventions I Credits: 3
DPT 730 - Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy I Credits: 4
DPT 731 - Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy II Credits: 4
DPT 740 - Movement System Diagnosis I Credits: 3
DPT 741 - Movement System Diagnosis II Credits: 3
DPT 760 - Integrated Clinical Practice I Credits: 3
DPT 761 - Integrated Clinical Practice II Credits: 3
DPT 762 - Integrated Clinical Practice III Credits: 3
DPT 790 - Evidence Based Practice I: Health Promotion Credits: 3
DPT 810 - Pharmacology in Rehabilitation Practice Credits: 3
DPT 822 - Therapeutic Interventions II: Movement Science and Behavior Change Credits: 3
DPT 823 - Therapeutic Interventions III Credits: 3
DPT 830 - Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy III Credits: 3
DPT 840 - Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Credits: 4
DPT 851 - Clinical Neurorehabilitation I Credits: 4
DPT 852 - Clinical Neurorehabilitation II Credits: 4
DPT 860 - Integrated Clinical Practice IV Credits: 3
DPT 861 - Integrated Clinical Practice V Credits: 3
DPT 862 - Integrated Clinical Practice VI Credits: 3
DPT 890 - Evidence Based Practice II: Pain Science Credits: 3
DPT 891 - Effecting Change in Professional Practice Credits: 3
DPT 892 - Clinical Research Credits: 3
DPT 930 - Clinical Practice Management Credits: 2
DPT 960 - Clinical Internship I Credits: 8
DPT 961 - Clinical Internship II Credits: 8
DPT 962 - Licensing Examination Preparation Credits: 1
DPT 990 - Public Health for Rehabilitation Professional Credits: 3
DPT 991 - Capstone Credits: 2

Culminating experiences

Completion of two clinical internships as assigned by the Director of Clinical Education in conjunction with DPT 960 and DPT 961 are required.

You must complete a capstone project associated with DPT 991 and present the project for peer review. The capstone may be a case report, literature review/critically analyzed topic, or other project developed at the discretion of the course instructor and similar to an area of interest by a member of the DPT core faculty.

Accreditation Information

Effective April 26, 2022, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Doctor of Physical Therapy Program has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, VA 22305-3085; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 715-346-4870 or email: dpt@uwsp.edu.

Candidate for Accreditation is an accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status does not assure that the program will be granted Initial Accreditation.

Candidacy is considered to be an accredited status, as such the credits and degree earned from a program with Candidacy status are considered, by CAPTE, to be from an accredited program. Therefore, students in the charter (first) class should be eligible to take the licensure exam even if CAPTE withholds accreditation at the end of the candidacy period. That said, it is up to each state licensing agency, not CAPTE, to determine who is eligible for licensure. Information on licensing requirements should be directed to the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT: www.fsbpt.org) or specific state boards (a list of state boards and contact information is available on FSBPT’s website.