Students enter the program during the fall semester (August) and continue through the program for three (3) consecutive years, for a total of nine (9) semesters and graduate in the summer (July) of year three. Each year consists of a summer session and the fall and spring semesters. It is a full-time lock-step graduate program consisting of 114 hours of professional courses, including a research project and four full time clinical internships. The mission of the physical therapy program is to graduate reflective practitioners with unique skills in providing for the differential needs of underserved and nontraditional clients in the Montgomery community, throughout the state of Alabama and nationally. The University will recruit, admit, retain and graduate students dedicated to attaining the knowledge and skills needed to deliver this mission. Students become eligible for the National Licensing Examination after graduation from the physical therapy program. RESEARCH: The program has a variety of research labs available to students: the Laboratory for the Analysis of Human Motion (LAHM), the Laboratory for the Study of Women’s Health and the Exercise Physiology/Cardiopulmonary Lab. Additionally, the program has a 1680 sq. ft. fully equipped clinical laboratory and two therapeutic exercise laboratories that house approximately 30 separate exercise devices including the full line of variable resistance devices from Cybex77, seven speed based devices, numerous free weight stations, a treadmill, a stepper and two exercise cycles.

Clinical Experiences
Students begin their clinical experiences in year one and internships in the second year of study, ending with 16 weeks at the end of the third year, for a total of 38 weeks of clinical internships. Requirements include assignments in an acute care setting, rehabilitation setting, orthopedic and a specialty setting. The program has more than 200 clinical affiliation sites across the United States.

Faculty
There are nine (9) full-time faculty members. Eighty-nine percent (8 of 9) of the faculty hold post- professional doctoral degrees, and four (4) are engaged in clinical practice.

Enrollment
There are approximately 5,125 undergraduate students and 913 graduate students at the university.

Admission
Minimum requirements for admission include: (1) Completion of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited educational institution with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; (2) Completed Physical Therapy application package; (3) A minimum of 80 hours of volunteer or paid service in physical therapy under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist; (4) Completion of required prerequisite courses (60 semester hours) with a C or above; (5) Three letters of recommendation are required; one from a physical therapist documenting applicant’s exposure to a physical therapy clinical setting and the other from an instructor, adviser, or recent employer who can evaluate the applicant’s academic abilities and character; (6) Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores; International students must submit passing scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the Test of Written English (TWE) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE). All exam scores must be received prior to application review; (7) A personal statement demonstrating written communication skills and clarifying interest in pursuing a degree in Physical Therapy; and (8) a TB skin test prior to beginning classes in August. Completion of minimum requirements does not guarantee admission to the physical therapy program. The prerequisite courses required include one (1) semester in each: introduction to statistics, public speaking, human anatomy, human physiology, English writing/composition, pre calculus, math (upper division pre-calculus, calculus or trigonometry), general psychology, developmental psychology and an advanced psychology, sociology; and two (2) semesters in each: chemistry (w/lab), general biology (w/lab) and physics (w/lab). Applications for the program are processed with the final deadline on December 1st.

Outcomes
No outcome information provided by the program.

Tuition, fees and financial aid
For the three-year, 114-credit program as of fall 2014, in-state tuition is $39,102 and out-of-state tuition is $78, 204. Students are required to carry and show proof of personal health insurance prior to clinical assignment. Optional fees include parking ($70/year) and APTA membership ($50/year). On-campus housing for graduate students is limited. The majority of students rent apartments locally, often with a roommate. Clinical expenses vary depending on site. You can anticipate having multiple clinical affiliations away from Montgomery that may result in increased expenses. Scholarships are awarded based on: Financial need, Academic record and Community service. An application is provided to each individual accepted into the program. The Department of Physical Therapy also offers graduate assistantships on a competitive basis. Applications are provided after enrollment in the program. These involve working with a faculty member for up to 40 hours per month.

Student life
Alabama State University strives to provide equal opportunity for all students and to foster an environment conducive to respect and appreciation of racial, ethnics and cultural diversity. The Division of Student Affairs is an integral part of the university and is organized into departments with responsibilities for specific aspects of student life. There are a multitude of activities, programs, resources and facilities at the university that provide students with an opportunity to bridge classroom learning with nontraditional academic experiences. The Department of Physical Therapy host annual events and are organized by the physical therapy students in conjunction with National Physical Therapy Month. These activities include a physical therapy Olympics and a physical therapy health fair. The department also has an organized club, SPTO (Student Physical Therapy Organization) that provides students with the opportunity with similar professional interests to participate as a group in social and community activities. Student representatives are also selected for service on various types of committees at the collegial level. The participation of student representatives provides a means for students to voice their concerns and to take an active role in matters relating to them.