General Program Description

The PTA program consists of 26 hours of general education and 48 credit hours of physical therapists assistant major courses. Courses are scheduled Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and are taught in a modular format where one course is taught at a time. Courses include: Introduction to PTA, Medical Diseases, Kinesiology, Patient Care Procedures, Tests and Measurements, Modalities, Therapeutic Exercise I/II, Rehabilitation, and Clinical Education I/II/III. Upon successful completion of the curriculum, students are eligible to apply for state licensure.

Clinical Experiences
The program curriculum includes three clinical experiences. Clinical experiences consist of one 2-week and two consecutive 6-week experiences.

Faculty
There are six full-time faculty members. The faculty-to-student ratio is 1:8.

Enrollment
The physical therapist assistant program admits 16 students every four months.

Admission
Along with the general admission requirements of the University, all PTA applicants must meet the scoring criteria on the University admissions test. Twenty-six hours of general education courses are required prior to completing the core curriculum and include: English, Speech, Computers, Anatomy and Physiology I&II, College Math, General Psychology and a Humanities course. Students must earn a C or better in all general education courses, a B or better in Anatomy and Physiology I&II, and maintain a general education GPA of 3.0 or above to enter into the core curriculum. In addition, students are required to perform 10 hours of observation in a physical therapy setting prior to commencing the PTA major. A PTA applicant information packet is available from the Admissions Office.

Outcomes
80.6% of admitted students graduate from the program (3-year average 2012 to 2014).

Tuition, fees and financial aid
Tuition for a full-time student with 12 or more credit hours for 2015 is $8028 per semester. Fees include a one-time Application fee of $55, registration fee of $145 and an educational fee of $770. Financial Aid is available for those who qualify and includes grants, loans, scholarships and work-study. Further information is available from the Financial Aid Office

Student life
Keiser University is located in uptown Ft. Lauderdale and is approximately 3 miles from the famed Atlantic beaches. The University building, which houses the PTA Program, encompasses over 100,000 square feet, including an approximately 2000 square foot PTA laboratory. The PTA laboratory contains current state of the art equipment. Students have the opportunity to be involved in the student government association and numerous student social activities. Free tutoring sessions are available for both general education and major courses.