General Program Description

Shenandoah University (SU) is a private, liberal arts institution located in Winchester, Virginia at the northern end of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley approximately 70 miles from the nation’s capital. Beginning in the fall of 2014, the Division of Physical Therapy is expanding to the Northern Virginia Campus in Leesburg, Virginia. Together, these campuses provide an incoming class size of 55 students, 40 seats at the Winchester Campus and 15 seats at the Northern Virginia Campus. The physical therapy program uses the semester system and takes 3 years to complete the requirements for a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. The first 2 years of the curriculum consist of full-time didactic instruction with 1-day per-week spent in the clinic. Class time averages 25 hours per week. No classes are scheduled during the summer between the first and second years. The first full-time clinical affiliation (8 weeks) is scheduled during the summer between the second and third years. Students return to campus during the fall semester of the third year to complete the didactic portion of the curriculum. Spring and summer of the third year are spent in the second and third full-time clinical affiliations (13 weeks each). A thesis is not required, however, all students are required to be involved with research projects (data collection, analysis and dissemination to the faculty and student body) under the mentorship of a faculty member. The physical therapy faculty consists of 10 full-time core members, which will expand to 11 full-time core members including the Northern Virginia Campus starting in the fall of 2014. Completion of a Bachelor’s degree and all prerequisite courses is required for admission. The program is affiliated with two health systems. Currently, the program is affiliated with Winchester Medical and Rehabilitation Center a modern, regional referral center with 400 acute-care beds including all ancillary services, 40 rehabilitation beds and 50 physical therapists. In-patient, outpatient and work hardening programs as well as comprehensive rehabilitation programs, aquatic therapy, and a women’s health clinic offer extensive clinical laboratory and affiliation opportunities. The second affiliation with the INOVA Health System occurs in conjunction with expansion to the Northern Virginia Campus. The INOVA Health System serves over 2 million patients in the Washington DC/Metro area and offers a comprehensive network of inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation and wellness services.

Clinical Experiences
We feel strongly that PT education should include fully integrated patient care experience every semester. Patient care experience occurs in clinical affiliations as well as within classroom experiences. The three part-time clinical affiliations, 1 day per week for 10 weeks, occur during the spring semester of the first year and both semesters of the second year. Clinical facilities for part-time affiliations are located in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and the Washington DC metro area, all within driving distance of Winchester and Leesburg. Three full-time clinical affiliations (one 8 weeks and two 13-weeks) occur in the summer between the second and third years and during the spring and summer of the third year, respectively. The full-time clinical facilities are located throughout the United States and abroad.

Enrollment
Total enrollment at the University is approximately 3,000 students (spring 2013). The University has more than 200 full-time faculty. Currently the physical therapy program accepts 40 students per year for a maximal total of 120 students in the program. With the expansion to the Northern Virginia Campus, the program will accept 55 students per year for a maximum total of 165 students in the program.

Admission
Completion of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and all prerequisite courses is required for admissions. Students with demonstrated excellence in academic performance in high school may apply for the SU Undergraduate Physical Therapy Guaranteed Acceptance Program. In this program, incoming freshman students who meet the criteria are pre-admitted to the DPT program and may matriculate into the DPT program after 3 years of undergraduate study. The program also maintains articulation agreements with several colleges and universities (Bridgewater College, Ferrum College, James Madison University, Shenandoah University, Virginia Tech University and West Virginia Wesleyan College. A number of seats in each incoming class are reserved for qualified students from the respective schools and those students are granted priority admission status for the program. The Physical Therapy and the Athletic Training programs offer a combined dual degree Doctorate in Physical Therapy/Master’s in Athletic Training (DPT/MSAT) to highly qualified applicants. The dual DPT/MSAT degree requires 3.5 years to complete. The program also offers two certificate programs in combination with the DPT degree: Performing Arts Medicine Certificate and Business Essentials Certificate. Additional information about the Guaranteed Acceptance Program to the DPT program for highly qualified high-school students, the Articulation Agreements and the combined degree/certificate programs can be accessed at the Division website (www.su.edu/pt). For all applicants, the program requires 41 credit hours of prerequisite coursework to qualify for admission. Applicants must achieve a GPA of 2.8 or above for all prerequisite courses and for overall undergraduate cumulative GPA. In addition, a C or above (2.0 on 4.0 scale) must be earned for any prerequisite courses to be acceptable toward the application requirement. Science courses must have been completed less than 10 years prior to the time of application. Exceptions are made at the discretion of the PT Admissions Committee. Prerequisite courses include: Biological Sciences (8 credits including laboratory): An 8 credit course sequence that provides an introduction to the chemical basis of life, cell biology, heredity and basic animal anatomy and physiology is acceptable. A two-semester sequence of general biology, zoology or higher-level biology coursework are also acceptable (botany excluded). Human Anatomy and Physiology (8 credits including laboratory): Either separate 4 credit human anatomy and human physiology courses or an introductory course sequence of Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II are acceptable. Psychology/Behavioral (6 credits): 3 credits of general psychology plus 3 credits of a specialty topic such as behavioral, developmental, child, adolescent, experimental or abnormal psychology is required, social science coursework is also acceptable for fulfilling the second psychology requirement. Chemistry (8 credits including laboratory): An 8 credit course sequence that provides a combination of inorganic, organic and biochemistry is required. Physics (8 credits including laboratory): Non-calculus based physics with an emphasis on mechanics, electricity, heat, light and sound is required. Statistics (3 credits): An introduction to statistics course is required. Highly recommended courses include upper division science courses and courses which enhance the applicants knowledge of human interaction, movement and function. Courses in public speaking, exercise physiology, cell biology, histology, calculus, biochemistry, motor learning, biomechanics of human motion, kinesiology, microbiology, pathophysiology, advanced human anatomy and physiology, gerontology, pharmacology, epidemiology, physiological psychology, nutrition, research methodology, immunology, and embryology are recommended. While it is strongly encouraged, all prerequisites need not be completed at the time of application. Other admissions requirements include: 1) Two personal recommendations, one from a licensed, practicing physical therapists who has supervised the applicant in volunteer or work settings and one from a college professor that taught the applicant, preferably a science professor; 2) Completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The program does not have minimum acceptable scores for admission. For non-native speakers of English, TOEFL score must be submitted with the application and 3) Knowledge of the profession as evidenced by a minimum of 40 documented hours (volunteer or paid) of exposure to physical therapy practice under the supervision of a licensed Physical Therapist. Applications are handled through the Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS), with the application cycle opening in annually in July. Deadline for submission of applications to PTCAS is October 1. The program conducts on-site applicant interviews in December as part of the admissions process.

Outcomes
Our students have historically performed extremely well on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). 100% of the graduates from the program (2000-2013) have passed the NPTE exam. We are consistently above the National average for the first time pass rate for the NPTE examination. Our average first time pass rate over the past 3 years (2010-2012) is 93%.

Tuition, fees and financial aid
Tuition for 2013-2014 is $799.00 per graduate credit hour.

Student life
Founded in 1875, Shenandoah University is located in historic Winchester, VA, 72 miles west of Washington, D.C. The main campus of Shenandoah University is near the intersection of Interstate 81 and US 50. The Northern Virginia Campus is located in Leesburg, VA off US Route 7. A low student-faculty ratio allows highly individualized instruction. The University is privately supported and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Shenandoah does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age or physical disability.