General Program Description

The UCSF/SFSU Joint Graduate Program in Physical Therapy provides a comprehensive educational foundation to develop and prepare scholarly clinicians, educators, collaborative clinical researchers, administrative managers, and community leaders in Physical Therapy. The University of California San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading medical center with an international reputation. In addition to physical therapy course work, students have the opportunity to observe surgeries, attend grand rounds, and participate in medical specialty clinics. San Francisco State University (SFSU) is a large, diverse, urban comprehensive university offering courses in a broad array of subject areas that can supplement specific physical therapy courses. Students attend classes on both campuses. Students entering the DPT Program complete 36 months of study, and are then eligible to sit for the National Licensing Examination. The Program accepts 28-34 students each year. The curriculum is built on a strong theoretical foundation in basic, medical and applied sciences. Critical thinking and clinical reasoning are woven into all aspects of the program and creative problem-solving skills are developed to work with patients to mitigate disability, optimize function and maintain positive health.

Clinical Experiences
First-year clinical experiences for the DPT include three weeks of part-time clinical observations during the winter quarter. During the second year summer quarter, students complete one 8-week full-time clinical clerkship. In the third year summer quarter, students complete two full-time 8-week clerkships or one full-time 16-week clerkship. The final 8-week clerkship is a full-time, mentored clinical experience in the winter quarter of the third year.

Faculty
There are ten full-time and two part-time academic faculty members. All hold post-professional doctoral degrees. Two of these faculty members and four additional faculty members are engaged in clinical practice within the UCSF Faculty Practice and the Physical Therapy Health and Wellness Center. Faculty members are engaged in research and publish regularly in peer-reviewed journals. Faculty research areas range from basic and applied sciences to qualitative work in social science. Both campuses have excellent labs for research including bench-top neuroscience, biomechanics, balance testing, and motion analysis laboratories. The physical therapists in the faculty practice have specialty certifications in orthopedics, neurorehabilitation, pediatrics, geriatrics or home health.

Enrollment
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has a total student enrollment of 3,642 students, and San Francisco State University (SFSU) has a total student enrollment of 30,000. The physical therapy program has an enrollment of 32-34 students per year. No transfer students are accepted, and preference is given to in-state residents; however, highly qualified out-of-state applicants are encouraged to apply.

Admission
Students are admitted to the DPT program on an annual basis. The application deadline each year is October 1. The DPTSc program application deadline is May 1. All applicants to the entry-level program must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Although any undergraduate major is acceptable, for students in the initial stages of undergraduate preparation, a major in kinesiology or the biological sciences tends to be the most direct route into a physical therapy program. Students must meet the Graduate School Requirements of the University of California and the California State University. More specifically, students must have a baccalaureate GPA of 3.0 and GPA of 3.0 for the last 60 sem/90 qtr units. Applicants must have completed 80% of the prerequisite courses prior to submitting applications. The program requires courses in the basic sciences, behavioral and applied sciences, and recommends highly a few additional courses. The specific requirements can be found at http://www.ptrehab.medschool.ucsf.edu/Education/Admissions.aspx#ar. All applicants must be able to demonstrate some understanding of the work and profession of physical therapy. This is gained through paid or volunteer experience in a variety of physical therapy settings working under the direct supervision of a physical therapist for a minimum of 150 hours. All applicants must have taken the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) including verbal, analytical, and quantitative sections before October 15th of the year prior to intended enrollment. GRE scores may not be more than 5 years old. Applicants must achieve a total score of 1000 for verbal and quantitative sections with a minimum of 450 in verbal section and 4.5 in the analytical writing section. Letters of recommendation are required from three personal references. At least one recommendation must be from a physical therapist.

Outcomes
95% of admitted students graduate from the program; 100% success rate on PT licensing board examination; 100% of the graduates responding to a 3-year survey are employed.

Tuition, fees and financial aid
For a list of all UCSF/SFSU Fees click on the fee link -http://www.ptrehab.medschool.ucsf.edu/Education/Fees.aspx. Fees must be paid in full at the time of registration each quarter or semester. Fees vary by campus and are subject to change without notice. Total fees for each quarter are approximately $7,980 for residents and $13,014 for non-residents. The fees for the three summer sessions are $4,549, $2,744 and $2,744. The fees for non-residents for the three summer sessions are $4,549, $2,744 + $372/unit and $2,744 + $372/unit. In addition to the fees above, students should budget money for housing and meals, textbooks and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous academic and living expenses. The following estimated costs, added to fees listed above, would help approximate the cost of the graduate program in physical therapy. The average room for a studio is $1000 per month. One-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments average $1,100 and $1,650 respectively. Check the UCSF housing website for more options. http://www.campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/housing/ The cost of textbooks, syllabi, and school supplies are estimated to be $2,500 for the professional program. Students apply for financial aid through the UCSF Financial Aid Office only. The office publishes a financial aid brochure that gives detailed information on financial aid. Please contact: University of California at San Francisco, Office of Financial Aid, Box 0246, 200 Millberry Union, San Francisco, CA 94143; 415/476-4181. Students must apply for financial aid each year. UCSF Financial Aid Website http://finaid.ucsf.edu/.

Student life
Both campuses are located in the city of San Francisco with all the city has to offer and are within blocks of Golden Gate Park and Lake Merced. Students are within walking distance of the Pacific Ocean and within day-trip distance to winter and river sports. Both universities provide affordable access to dramatic and visual arts, as well as access to all forms of musical entertainment. Intercollegiate and intramural athletic programs include volleyball, racquetball, swimming and basketball. For more student information check out the UCSF Student website- http://www.ucsf.edu/students/