General Program Description

Students may enter the Husson University Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program in one of two ways, as either an undergraduate student enrolled in a six-year B.S. Kinesiology/DPT Program, or as a graduate student enrolled in the three-year DPT Program. The six-year program is for students entering directly from high school. Courses during the first three years of the program (the pre-professional phase) are in the areas of the humanities and sciences, and fulfill the University’s general education requirements. Transfer students who have not completed a baccalaureate degree may enter into year one or two depending on the number of credits being transferred. Students who enter as undergraduates, successfully complete the first three years, and meet the cumulative GPA progression criteria, enter into the DPT program for their fourth year. They obtain a B.S. in Kinesiology at the successful completion of the fourth year of the program. Students who have earned a bachelor’s degree enter into the last three years of the program (the professional DPT phase) as a graduate student. The three-year DPT program consists of physical therapy courses that prepare the student for clinical practice and licensure. The DPT program begins with a fall semester, continues through two full years, and ends with May commencement at the close of year three. Please visit www.husson.edu/school-of-physical-therapy for more information.

Clinical Experiences
Students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program are required to participate in 32 weeks of unpaid full-time clinical experiences as part of their professional education. Four clinical placement periods are scheduled throughout the 3-year program: an 8-week placement at the end of the first DPT year students is scheduled mid-May to early July. A second 8-week placement is scheduled mid-October to mid-December of the second DPT year. The third 8-week placement is scheduled mid-July to early September before the start of the third DPT year. The last 8-week placement is scheduled mid-January to mid-March of the last DPT year. Generally, the physical therapy program will attempt to place students near their home for the first clinical placement (although this cannot be guaranteed). For the remainder of the clinical placements, students will be required to travel to other locations within or out of state. The program currently has contracts with approximately 200 clinical sites throughout the United States and Canada.

Faculty
The School of Physical Therapy has ten full-time faculty positions and one part-time faculty positions. Nine of the faculty have doctoral degrees; one has a post-professional DPT degree; and, the other offers expertise acquired from advanced master’s degrees. Combined, faculty members have over 200 peer-reviewed publications in nationally and internationally recognized scientific journals. All full-time faculty members are actively engaged in research, and many are reviewers for professional journals. The faculty’s expertise includes Orthopedics, Manual Therapy, Electrical Stimulation of Muscle, Pediatrics, Neurological Rehabilitation, Motor Control and Biomechanics, Adult Learning, and Higher Education Leadership. In the professional phase of the program, the full-time faculty to student ratio averages 1:10.

Enrollment
The University has a total student enrollment of approximately 3500 with about 3000 students enrolled at the Bangor campus. The School of Physical Therapy, located in the College of Health and Education, has an enrollment of approximately 240 students including all undergraduate and graduate students. The College of Health and Education also houses nursing, occupational therapy, education, and counseling programs. The class size in the professional program in physical therapy is usually between 30 to 40 students. Students from throughout the U.S. and foreign countries are encouraged to apply.

Admission
Students enter the 6-year DPT program as freshman or transfer students. Freshman Applicants must have • a combined SAT I scores of 1450 for a combined Math, Verbal, and Writing sections (or ACT equivalent); • a high school average of 85 (3.0) GPA; and, • a minimum of 20 volunteer hours in at least two areas of Physical Therapy. Transfer Student Applicants who have not completed a baccalaureate degree may apply. Undergraduate students may progress without re-application into the 3-year professional phase courses if they have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or greater by the close of the spring semester of the third year; pre-professional students with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 to 3.49 will be competitively considered for progression. Applicants who have earned a Baccalaureate degree may apply for entry to the professional phase (year 4 of the 6-year BS/DPT) of the program through PTCAS, which outlines the admission criteria. The number of available positions is limited and varies from year-to-year. Applicants should apply early since admissions occur on a rolling basis. Applicants must have an undergraduate degree with a GPA of 3.0 or greater and have successfully completed core pre-requisite courses with a minimum grade of C.

Outcomes
Husson’s DPT program (2010 to 2014) has a first-time licensure passrate of 91.5%, an ultimate licensure passrate of 99%, and an employment rate of 100% for all alumni who wish to practice in physical therapy.

Tuition, fees and financial aid
A freshman-entry physical therapy student is classified as an undergraduate student through the fourth year and as a graduate student in the fifth and sixth years. The student who holds a Bachelor’s degree is classified as a graduate student for the three years of the professional phase. Tuition and fees can be found on the Husson website, www.husson.edu. The DPT program consists of 114 course credits; tuition is charged by the credit hour and is higher for the DPT program than for undergraduate courses.

Student life
Campus student activities include something for everyone, from intramural athletics to whitewater rafting, dances, sororities and fraternities. The Student Activities Director could keep you busy every day of the week with everything from comedians to campus play productions and musical groups. Husson has a very active Student Government. Our gymnasium has an Olympic-size pool, and is home to the new Clara Swan Center which houses a fully-equipped, climate-controlled fitness center. The Organization of Physical Therapy Student (OPTS) provides an opportunity for both undergraduate and graduate students to participate in community service and campus projects with other PT students. The highlight of the year is wheelchair basketball, an event featuring the High Rollers from Maine Adaptive Sports. For the outdoor enthusiast, the Outing Club plans trips to nearby Acadia National Park and world famous Sugarloaf Mountain Resort, providing a number of summer and winter activities such as hiking, biking, and skiing to mention only a few.