General Program Description

Texas Woman’s University is a public, coeducational institution. While TWU’s main campus is in Denton, Texas, the School of Physical Therapy is housed on two campuses, Dallas and Houston. For inquiries regarding admission, phone 940-898-2460. The program director may be contacted at the Dallas campus, at 214 689-7700; fax 214-689-7703. Students complete the entire professional doctor of physical therapy (entry-level) program on one of these two campuses. The program is full time and 8 semesters in length. Professional students begin in late August. Applicants may specify which location, Dallas or Houston, they prefer. In addition to the professional doctor of physical therapy program, the School of Physical Therapy offers a post-professional DPT program and a PhD program with a major in physical therapy for licensed physical therapists.

Clinical Experiences
Clinical experiences are integrated with the didactic course work during the first year of study. During the remainder of the program, three full-time clinical experiences (6-7 weeks in length) and one 12-week internship are scheduled. These internships provide students with a broad range of experiences in a variety of physical therapy practice settings. The School of Physical Therapy has over 500 clinical sites that are located in 34 states from which students choose their clinical experiences and internships.

Faculty
Each campus has sufficient faculty to teach the entire curriculum. Their individual biographies are presented on the School web site at www.twu.edu/pt. Most of the faculty hold post-professional doctoral degrees, several are certified as clinical specialists, and many are engaged in clinical practice. The faculty members are actively engaged in research. They regularly publish in peer-reviewed journals and present their findings at national and state professional meetings. The faculty-to-student ratio averages 1:15 for all programs combined and approximately 1:12 for the professional (entry-level) program.

Enrollment
The university enrollment is over 13,000 students with approximately 900 Dallas students and 1,200 Houston students. The School of Physical Therapy total enrollment averages 300 students (professional and post-professional). The professional doctoral (entry-level) program admits 100 students each year with half assigned to Dallas and the other half assigned to Houston.

Admission
Applications are accepted until November 1st of the year preceding admission. Students are accepted throughout the year for each campus until all open positions are filled. A bachelor’s degree must be completed prior to enrollment with the exception of students enrolled in TWU’s human biology, kinesiology or psychology degree programs. Applicants must submit scores for the GRE exam. An expected minimum grade point average (GPA) for admission is 3.0 in the last 60 hours. Prerequisites include two semesters of anatomy and physiology; two semesters each of psychology, chemistry, and physics; one semester of college algebra; and competency in medical terminology. Exercise physiology, statistics, advanced physiology and neuroanatomy/physiology are strongly recommended. Recommendation forms from two physical therapists at two different facilities where the applicant has worked or volunteered for at least 40 hours each plus one additional recommendation are required. Notices of admission are sent as applications are reviewed. Approximately one third of the qualified applicants were admitted to the program in 2014.

Outcomes
Approximately 93% of admitted students graduate from the program (3-year average); 98% of the graduates passed the licensure exam (3-year average); and 100% of those program graduates responding to surveys are employed (3-year average).

Tuition, fees and financial aid
The cost for tuition and fees for the entire program is approximately $31,000 for Texas residents and $66,000 for nonresidents. Financial aid is available to students in the program. Several competitive scholarships are available before and after acceptance. March 1st of each year is the typical deadline for financial aid and early scholarships. For specific information, contact the Office of Financial Aid at 940/898-3050.

Student life
Ample off-campus housing is available close to both locations, with prices starting from $650 per month. Neither campus offers on-campus housing. The Houston Center is located in the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical and medical education center in the country. The Dallas Center is currently located adjacent to Parkland and Children’s Hospitals and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Each campus offers varied clinical experiences in a culturally diverse, large metropolitan area.