Professional Health Care Career Path: Physical Therapy

About this field

This professional health care career path requires an advanced degree beyond the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences.

Physical therapists are healthcare professionals who work with patient populations of all ages to enhance movement and the ability to perform functional activities of daily living. They focus on the restoration, maintenance, and promotion of optimal wellness, physical function, fitness, and quality of life as it relates to movement. In addition, physical therapists prevent the onset and progression of impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities in a variety of settings including hospitals, private practices, outpatient clinics, home health agencies, the workplace, and nursing homes.

Read more about Job Statistics.

Degree Requirement

Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) from a Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) accredited program which requires the student to obtain a bachelor’s degree prior to admissions into a DPT program.

Typical Prerequisites Needed for Admissions to Doctorate in Physical Therapy Program

• 1 year of human anatomy and physiology courses with labs
• 1 year of chemistry courses with labs
• 1 year of physics courses with labs
• 1 general biology course with lab
• 1 statistics course
• 2 psychology courses (general and developmental)

NOTE: Students are strongly encouraged to determine the exact DPT prerequisites for a program by visiting that program’s website. The link provided below shows all accredited physical therapy programs.

Physical Therapy Accredited Programs.

Why choose Health Sciences as a bachelor’s degree?

In addition to offering a strong background in orthopedic assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation, the Health Sciences degree also provides a great degree of flexibility in course options for the student. Courses with content such as musculoskeletal evaluation, therapeutic interventions, kinesiology, and medical disease and illness provide the student with a strong foundation for physical therapy school. The degree offers flexibility by allowing the student to take 9 hours outside of the health science area.  When combined with core requirements, students should be able to meet all the typical prerequisites required of the average physical therapy degree program.