General Program Description

Within a vibrant academic community, physical therapy students at Puget Sound benefit from small classes and personal relationships with professors, as well as extensive, hands-on clinical experiences and a coordinated curriculum of written and oral communication woven throughout the program. Trained as critical thinkers and compassionate caregivers, students gain valuable experience through meaningful research, innovative programs, and advanced clinical electives. Puget Sound offers physical therapy services to the community in a free clinic where students deliver care mentored by licensed therapists hired from the region Year One Students concentrate on foundational courses, begin to plan research projects, and begin to study elements of clinical management. Year Two Students’ main focus is to learn all aspects of patient examination, assessment, and treatment design, progressively dealing with more complex situations through integrated experiences under close supervision in the on-site clinic. In the summer following the second year, students have their first full-time, off-campus internship experience. Year Three Students apply what they have learned in the program in capstone experiences, take on greater responsibility in the on-site clinic, and study areas of special interest in advanced elective courses. The program completes with two additional off-campus internships. In total students have 36 weeks of off-campus internship practice and the equivalent of six weeks of on-site clinic practice.

Clinical Experiences
Clinical education at the University of Puget Sound consists of two distinct but integrated components: integrated clinical experiences in the on-site clinic and full-time clinical internships. The integrated clinical experiences consist of learning experiences in the on-site physical therapy clinic during the second and third academic years, while the full-time clinical internships take place in contracted (off-site) clinical facilities. Further contributing to our students’ clinical development are advanced elective courses offered in the fall of the third year. These courses combine academic content with clinic experience in specialized areas of PT. Each student completes two such courses. Recent offerings include wheelchair seating, sports medicine, manual therapy, lower extremity biomechanics, and pediatrics. All clinical experiences are supervised by faculty with a wealth of patient-care experience and active practices. Most have board certifications in clinical education as well as in their clinical specialty.

Faculty
We have 8 full time core faculty with an average of 22 years as licensed PTs. There are 7 additional part time adjunct PT faculty who teach core classes. 60% of our full time faculty have PhD or DSc credentials and 50% of our full time faculty are board certified clinical specialists. All faculty teaching clinical content maintain some level of active PT practice.

Enrollment
Total UPS enrollment includes 2,900 undergraduate students and 220 graduate students from 50 states and 13 nations. The physical therapy program has a target enrollment of 108 students with 36 in each class. The class entering in fall 2013 was selected from a qualified pool of 485 applicants.

Admission
Puget Sound uses the PTCAS please see the program page for specifics on admission requirements

Outcomes
Our graduates leave the program clinically ready, independent practitioners and collaborative professionals in the field. Since the program’s founding in 1976, we have had exceptionally high first-attempt passing rates on the professional licensing exam. Program outcomes (averaged over most recent three years): Program Outcomes: Graduation rate for DPT program students (2011-2013): 98% Licensure examination first-time pass rate: 93%; Ultimate pass rate: 100%* Employment rate: 100%** * 2011-2013 average as published by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy ** Based on 3-year post-graduate survey results for DPT Class of 2010 and 6-month post-graduate survey results for DPT Classes of 2011 and 2012. Survey response rates were as follows: 2010: 30 (sent to 36 of 37 graduates) 2011: 21 (sent to 29 of 34 graduates) 2012: 30 (sent to 35 of 36 graduates)

Tuition, fees and financial aid
Please see program web page for current tuition and fee information. Books cost approximately $500 per semester. Off-campus housing varies from $500-$1200 a month depending on type of accommodation. Ten percent of the physical therapy students receive scholarships from the university based on academic credentials. Students can receive WICHE funding from their state. Work-study and teaching assistantships provide some financial assistance. Approximately 50 percent of students successfully compete for scholarships from various sources.

Student life
The University of Puget Sound is located on a 72-acre campus in Tacoma. Tacoma is nestled in the midsection of western Washington, near the southern tip of Puget Sound, 30 minutes south of Seattle. Puget Sound and Commencement Bay provide walking, jogging, or bicycling on a waterfront path, just minutes from the campus. The Cascade Mountain Range lies 1 hour east of Tacoma, affording opportunities for skiing and hiking. Students seeking art, performance, professional sports, and entertainment will find numerous opportunities on campus, in the community, and in Seattle.