Doctor of Physical Therapy

• Outcome 1.1: Core faculty will publish or present one scholarly product every two years in a peer-reviewed venue.
• Outcome 1.2: At least 50 percent of core faculty will be active in clinical practice.
• Outcome 1.3: 100 percent of board-certified faculty will maintain board certification in their areas of specialty. 

Outcome 2.1: 100 percent of core faculty will attend at least one workshop per year related to teaching and learning.

Outcome 3.1: 100 percent of core faculty engage in one leadership, advocacy, service, or mentorship activity per year.

• Outcome 4.1: 50 percent of graduates surveyed report completing at least one leadership, advocacy, and/or service activity per year.
• Outcome 4.2: 100 percent of students complete a minimum of three leadership, advocacy, and/or service activities prior to graduation.

• Outcome 5.1: A minimum of 85 percent of graduates will pass the National Physical Therapy Examination on the first attempt.
• Outcome 5.2: 85 percent of students will pass the final competency exam on the first attempt.
• Outcome 5.3: 90 percent of students will achieve a final mark at or above “entry-level” across all performance criteria components of the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (PT CPI) upon completion of the terminal clinical education experience.

Outcome 6.1: 100 percent of students will achieve a final mark at or above “entry-level” on the PT CPI, items 2 through 4 (i.e., Professional Behavior, Cultural Competence, and Communication) upon completion of the terminal clinical education experience.

• Outcome 7.1: 75 percent of graduates surveyed report “always” or “often” utilizing evidence to optimize patient outcomes.
• Outcome 7.2: 50 percent of students attend at least one local, state, or national conference or continuing education course.

• Outcome 8.1: 75 percent of graduates surveyed report “always” or “often” collaborating with other members of the health-care team to maximize care of a patient/client.
• Outcome 8.2: 100 percent of students will participate in at least one interprofessional education experience.

• Outcome 9.1: The program will host a minimum of two virtual or in-person advisement sessions for potential health-care and/or DPT students.
• Outcome 9.2: The program will participate in a minimum of one career advisement session per year for middle, high school, and/or college students from underrepresented communities.

• Outcome 10.1: The physical therapy education program will hold a minimum of one town hall meeting per year to offer opportunities for stakeholders to provide feedback for program planning and improvement.
• Outcome 10.2: The physical therapy program will plan modifications to improve the program based upon faculty discussion at an annual faculty retreat.

Students must have attained a baccalaureate degree prior to the start of the program and have completed all prerequisite course work within the indicated grade point average (GPA) academic thresholds. ALL prerequisite course work must be completed at an accredited institution no more than five years prior to application to the program. Only official transcripts will be reviewed. The required prerequisites for the program include

• A minimum overall GPA and cumulative science GPA of 3.0 (on a scale of 4.0).
• Successful completion of the following prerequisites with minimum 3.0 GPA:
  • General biology with lab–two semesters or eight credits
  • General chemistry with lab–two semesters or eight credits
  • General physics with lab–two semesters or eight credits
  • Human Anatomy and Physiology with one lab–two semesters or eight credits
  • Behavioral sciences (i.e., psychology or sociology)–two semesters or six credits
  • English composition–one semester or three credits
  • Statistics or above–one semester or three credits

Foreign credit transcripts evaluation should be completed by a NACES member with US equivalency degree and GPA. St. John's students receive a discount from SpanTran.

TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo required for international applicants without a US degree conferral.

• Current certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• Current certification in standard first aid
• Minimum of 100 hours of volunteer or work experience with a physical therapist

Three letters of recommendation from professionals (academic and occupational; at least one of these references must be from a licensed physical therapist).

A written personal statement (500 word minimum) describing why the applicant wishes to become a physical therapist.

The DPT program is a three-calendar year graduate program that begins in June and includes summer study for each year. Students graduate with a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in May of each year. A maximum of 45 students are enrolled in the program each year.

For course descriptions, please see the graduate bulletin.

Students integrate and apply didactic knowledge from the classroom through clinical practice experiences in a variety of settings. Students learn to interact with patients/clients, families, caregivers, and other members of the health-care team under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist.

The clinical education experiences are 34 weeks in total and begin in the second year of the program during the second half of the summer semester. Students are immersed in six weeks of clinical education. The first clinical is followed by three experiences in the third year of the program (i.e., eight weeks, eight weeks, and 12 weeks).

St. John’s has established clinical sites agreements with more than 50 sites that include a variety of practice settings, including medical centers, hospital systems, rehabilitation facilities, private practices, and many more. Each student is provided experiences in a variety of clinical practice settings to ensure and promote entry-level competency as a generalist in physical therapy practice upon graduation. Students will also be provided an opportunity to interface with the Athletic Department at St. John’s.

Below is a list of current clinical affiliations for the program. For a full list of all clinical affiliates for the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, please visit the Clinical Affiliations page.

Students must be able to observe classroom demonstrations, read examinations and written and illustrated material, and view supplemental teaching materials in the classroom, clinic, and on the internet. The student must be able to read and discriminate research evidence and findings on patient examination and diagnostic tests. The student must be able to observe and differentiate facial expressions, signs and symptoms of illness, disability and disease, patient’s body structure and function, and activities and participation in functional activities from both the Gestalt and detailed perspectives.

Students must be able to speak, hear, and observe patients to elicit information, and perceive and communicate clearly and concisely both verbally and nonverbally with patients, families, caregivers, students, faculty, and other members of the health-care team with sensitivity, empathy, and compassion. Students must learn to recognize and respond to emotions of others in a socially appropriate and professional manner. Students must also be able to read and communicate effectively orally, electronically, and in writing to comprehend, analyze, share, and debate large volumes of written material. 

Students must have sufficient sensory and motor ability to see, hear, and feel sensory input and to be able to elicit information from patients, families, caregivers, and members of the health-care team. Students must be able to conduct components of a physical examination and to administer physical therapy interventions to optimize a patient’s movements and function. They must have sufficient strength, muscle tone, coordination, postural control, and endurance to be able to teach and assist patients in performing functional activities. Sensory-motor requirements include teaching exercise, facilitating and providing resistance to movements, lifting, transferring, and assisting patients in performing functional activities, including ambulation on level and unlevel surfaces and up and down from the floor. 

Students must be able to self-reflect and critically assess their thoughts and actions to be an effective physical therapist. They must be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and spatial relationships and apply these skills to patient care. Students must be able to calculate, select, prioritize, plan, analyze, synthesize, and integrate information pertinent to patient care and the practice of physical therapy. They must be able to think critically, develop clinical reasoning and decision-making skills, solve complex patient cases and design evidence-based, effective interventions for patients. They must be able to work effectively, within a reasonable time period in the classroom and clinical setting, individually and in collaboration with students, faculty, patients, families, caregivers, and other members of the health-care team.

Students must have the emotional health to fully use his/her/their intellectual ability. They must consistently behave in a manner consistent with the Core Valuesof St. John’s University, the APTA, and APTA Code of Ethicsduring all interactions and social situations inside and outside of class, including on electronic and social media. They must also behave in a manner that is consistent with the St. John’s University Student Code of Conductthrough embodiment of honesty, integrity, good judgment, and promoting a culture of kindness. Students must be able to sustain effective, collaborative interpersonal relationships with patients, students, faculty, and other members of the health-care team. They must be organized, flexible, and able to meet all didactic and clinical responsibilities in a timely fashion. Students must be able to tolerate emotional and physical stress and still function effectively and they must be receptive and willing to modify their behavior based upon constructive criticism. 

New York State Education Department Office of Professions

For full details on licensure requirements within New York State, please visit http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/pt/ptlic.htm#pt

The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT)

The FSPBT develops, maintains, and administers the NPTE for two reasons:

1) To help ensure that only those individuals who have the requisite knowledge of physical therapy are licensed in the physical therapy field.
2) To help regulatory authorities evaluate candidates and provide standards that are comparable from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Purpose of the NPTE

The examinations are designed to assess your basic entry-level competence after graduation from an accredited program or from an equivalent non-accredited program.

Visit the FSBPT Web site www.fsbpt.org/NPTE  for additional information about these examinations, including examination content outlines, and answers to frequently asked questions.