General Program Description
The curriculum leading to the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree is designed as a 4+3 curriculum (four years of pre-requisite study culminating in a bachelor’s degree plus three years of professional coursework). A clinical doctorate degree is awarded after 36 months of full-time study. The final 30 weeks of the DPT curriculum is devoted to full-time clinical internships.
Clinical Experiences
Clinical experiences for the doctoral program total 43 weeks of clinical experiences dispersed throughout the program and 30 weeks of full-time clinical internships in the final spring and summer semesters.
Faculty
There are 15 full-time faculty members. Eleven of the full-time faculty hold doctoral degrees, eight are certified as clinical specialists, and ten are engaged in clinical practice. Faculty are engaged in research and publication in several areas, including adaptation of the musculoskeletal system to exercise, restoration of locomotion following spinal cord injury, strength and conditioning, balance and falls in the elderly, spasticity management, and hippotherapy.The faculty-to-student ratio is 1:11.
Enrollment
Fifty-six students are accepted into the professional phase of the DPT curriculum each year.
Admission
To be considered for admission, candidates must meet the departmental requirements of 3 semester hours of statistics, 1 hour of medical terminology, 6 semester hours of psychology; 8 semester hours each of chemistry and physics; and 15 semester hours of biological sciences (4 hours general biology, 8 hours of human anatomy and human physiology, and 3 hours of upper division animal-based biology) and hold a baccalaureate degree. Contact the department for additional information regarding specific grade point average, required observation hours, and Graduate Record Examination score requirements.
Outcomes
98% of admitted students graduate from the program (3-year average). 100% of graduates surveyed were employed 6 months following graduation. Passage rate on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) is 100% (all takers; 3-year average).
Tuition, fees and financial aid
Total approximate cost for tuition and fees for the DPT degree is $42,000 (not including room and board). Institutional, federal, and state funding is available to all students on the basis of need and availability.
Student life
The student body is composed of a diverse cultural mix of 11,000 students. Thirty-five percent of the student body is housed on campus. Intercollegiate athletics include baseball, softball, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer , and track/cross country. The campus is located in central Arkansas in the foothills of the Ozarks. More than 90 student organizations are available, providing numerous social and cultural opportunities.