General Program Description

In Marquette’s Jesuit tradition of education, its Board of Trustees approved a DPT curriculum that is designed to develop the student completely as a person and as a professional. A foundation of courses in the humanities and sciences challenges the students’ personally by focusing not only on the intellect, but also upon the character of the student. The DPT program leads to the completion of two degrees: a bachelor’s degree in the academic area of choice, and the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. During the first 3 years of the program, students take the prerequisites and satisfy the requirements of their chosen undergraduate major. Exercise Science and Athletic Training are undergraduate degree choices within the College of Health Sciences. There are opportunities for fitness certification in the Exercise Science major. The last 3 years include the professional course work and clinical experiences. The DPT program provides the students with examples of evidence based or best practice models to achieve desired outcomes and clinical training necessary to allow the student to practice in a variety of settings. Graduates of the DPT program are exposed to all aspects of physical therapy today and students will have the opportunity to pursue special interests in athletic training/sports, neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, pediatrics, cardiopulmonary/fitness/wellness/geriatric/generalist, integumentary, management or Spanish. The program has a faculty comprised of both proficient teachers and productive scholars who have a commitment to excellence in education and have demonstrated professionalism in all areas of teaching research and service. The program is committed to cultural diversity and holds state and federal grants to support recruitment and retention of minority and disadvantaged students. Currently 20% of the physical therapy student body is from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Clinical Experiences
The second year of the DPT program’s professional phase has two integrated clinical experiences 4 weeks and 10 weeks in length. Each student has an experience in a general hospital setting and in a rehabilitation center, outpatient clinic, or geriatric setting. The last semester (18 weeks in spring) of the third year of the professional phase is devoted to general clinical experiences, and specialty experiences such as pediatrics, sports physical therapy, etc. depending on the specialty track chosen by the student. Marquette has over 300 clinical sites all across the country including sites in Puerto Rico, Florida, California, Arizona, Oregon and Washington as well as many in Wisconsin and Illinois.

Faculty
There are 12 full-time and 25 part- time faculty members. Of the full-time faculty 45% hold post-professional doctoral degrees, 16% are certified as clinical specialists, and five are engaged in clinical practice. Over the past 3 years, the faculty has averaged 13 publications in peer-reviewed journals. The faculty to student ratio is 1:15

Enrollment
Total enrollment at the University is approximately 11,500, equally divided between men and women. The physical therapy program enrolls approx. 62 new freshmen direct entry students out of an applicant pool of over 1500. The physical therapy program at Marquette has two windows of admission to the professional phase either by direct freshman admission or by transfer into the professional phase. See admissions.

Admission
For the class of 2014 we received 1696 freshmen applications. Average ACT score for the class of 2014 was 31. Avg SAT 1354. Class rank in the 95.1%ile. The program is dedicated to increasing minority and/or disadvantaged students who can be enrolled through our federally funded Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP). Students accepted in their freshman year will complete a bachelor’s degree or provide evidence that a bachelor’s degree will be earned before completing the professional phase of the program. Prerequisites include a liberal arts core in the chosen undergraduate major, 3 credits each in biology and statistics; 8 credits each in physics and chemistry (w/labs); and a 1 credit Introduction to Physical Therapy course. (3 credits in Cognitive and Motor learning is recommended, but not required.) The deadline for freshman admission is December 1. There has historically been several spaces for internal transfer students to enter the professional phase of the program, but the number is dependent on the size of the remaining freshmen class. External applicants are considered as space is available. Please see http://www.marquette.edu/chs/pt/ for complete information. Marquette uses the online PTCAS for all transfer applications. Sixty-five percent of qualified freshmen are admitted to the program. Zero-two percent of the external transfer student applicants to the professional phase were selected. (3-year average) (Introduction to Physical Therapy course waived for accepted transfer students.) Transfer students will need 12 credits of social sciences and/or humanities in addition to the 23 prerequisite credits.

Outcomes
96% of admitted students graduate from the program (3-year average);100% of graduates from the class of 2012 have passed the national licensure exam and the ultimate 3 year pass rate for 2010, 2011, and 2012 is 100%. First time pass rate for the class of 2014 was 98.31%

Tuition, fees and financial aid
The 2014-15 cost for tuition is $38,220 per year. Two physical therapy endowed scholarships are available. A listing of institutions offering scholarships is available

Student life
Marquette University is a Jesuit institution located near the business and cultural center of a metropolitan area with a population in excess of one million. Major airlines and Amtrak serve the city. Intercollegiate athletic programs include both NCAA Division I teams and many club sports. Milwaukee is well known for its park system, ethnic restaurants, events, and year-round recreational offerings.