General Program Description

Students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program must have a broad background of liberal learning together with specified prerequisites in the social sciences and natural sciences. The Program combines this foundation with professional course work and clinical education, leading to the Doctor of Physical Therapy for those who already hold a bachelor’s degree or a dual degree of Bachelor of Arts in Biology/Doctor of Physical Therapy for the freshman-admit or transfer student. In order to graduate, students must demonstrate satisfactory completion of 99 credits in 10 trimesters. The instructional weekends, eight per trimester, include Friday evenings (4:00-10:00 PM), all day Saturday and Sunday (8:00 AM – 6:30 PM). The professional sequence emphasizes a case-based format integrated into a systems approach. Online learning is an integral component and fosters student learning. The environment is created to promote active student-directed involvement as part of the learning experience throughout the professional sequence. Students become consumers of research, as well as researchers. Additionally, students develop a research project, working in small groups, under faculty mentorship. Student group research projects have been invited for and presented at national APTA and Combined Sections Meetings.

Clinical Experiences
Students affiliate at varied settings to provide a wide range of experiences and to provide exposure to clientele across the lifespan. Students participate in a Basic Clinical Affiliation I (full-time 8-week affiliation), three full-time Advanced Affiliation (two full-time 10-week affiliations, one full-time 8-week affiliations). The affiliations are scheduled during the traditional work week.

Faculty
There are 6.4 full-time core faculty who form an excellent synergistic instructional team with varied education, background and content expertise. Adjunct faculty also are included to share their expertise and to enrich the students education. The faculty to student ratio is 1:12. The DPT faculty have presented research at state and national professional conferences and also have records of scholarship through publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Enrollment
Dominican College is an independent higher education institution that offers undergraduate and graduate (master/doctoral) level degrees. There are more than 2,000 students enrolled (part- and full-time) at the college.

Admission
All applicants must complete the following prerequisites prior to admission to the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program: eight credits each in Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Physics, and Chemistry (all sciences must have on-campus labs), as well as six credits in Statistics (Basic and Inferential) and Developmental Psychology respectively. Additionally, applicants must complete a minimum of 60 hours of clinical observation in varied Physical Therapy settings. For information on applying, contact the Physical Therapy Program or log-on to www.dc.edu. Applicants with favorable consideration are invited to participate in the interview process. Each class commences with the Summer Trimester (June thru August).

Outcomes
The 100% of the Program graduates have employment within 6 months of passing the licensure exam; however, many have employment in New York State upon graduation before taking the licensure exam. The 3-year pass rate for students from the class of 2010, 2011 and 2012 was 80.33%. Many of the Dominican DPT alums are teaching in our Program as faculty, guest lecturers, teaching assistants, and clinical instructors.

Tuition, fees and financial aid
Tuition per credit hour: $850 for the 2013-2014 school year. Matriculated graduate students may be eligible for financial aid. The Program participates in the New York City Board of Education Scholarship Program.

Student life
Dominican College is located in Rockland County, New York, approximately seventeen miles north of New York City and three miles north of Bergen County, New Jersey. This convenient suburban location offers easy access to the outstanding cultural and educational resources of the New York City metropolitan area.