Physical Therapy

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Program Mission

The mission of the program is to provide an innovative career-focused education that nurtures highly skilled Doctor of Physical Therapy. Graduates will excel as leaders in addressing the movement system through the application and integration of habits of the head, heart, hands, and health in evidence-based practice. Students and graduates will join the faculty in community engagement, serving to optimize the health and well-being of all people, with a deep commitment to rural and underserved populations in the local Appalachian region, nationally, and globally.

The physical therapy program has goals related to students, graduates, and faculty that are based on its mission, that reflect contemporary physical therapy education, research, and practice, and that lead to expected program outcomes.

Goals Related to Students

1. Students will be prepared for contemporary entry-level practice as movement system specialists who integrate habits of the head, heart, hands, and health.
2. Students will be prepared for servant leadership integrating habits of the head, heart, and hands to advance positive health practices and well-being of people.

Goals Related to Graduates

1. Graduates will demonstrate competence as movement system specialists who integrate habits of the head, heart and hands, and health in their settings of practice.
2. Graduates will be committed to advancing the profession through participation in physical therapists’ professional organizations and community entities that advance positive health practices and well-being of people.

Goals Related to Faculty

1. The program faculty will demonstrate excellence in delivery of learner-centered physical therapy education in a blended format.
2. The physical therapy program faculty will contribute to the advancement of evidence-based physical therapy education and clinical practice through scientific inquiry, leadership, and service.

Goals Related to the Program

1. The physical therapy program will advance accessibility of physical therapy education for learners from diverse backgrounds through blended delivery of a dynamic integrated case-based curriculum.
2. The physical therapy program faculty, students and graduates will advocate for equitable access to quality physical therapy, with a deep commitment to rural and underserved populations in the local Appalachian region, nationally, and globally.

Admission to the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program- Main Campus

To qualify for the program, you must meet or exceed the following criteria:

1. Earn a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university, with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
2. Successfully complete the following prerequisite courses in biological sciences, physical sciences, behavioral sciences, and statistics. A minimum cumulative GPA for prerequisites of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale is required. In addition, a grade of C or better in each prerequisite course is required. Prerequisite courses must be completed within ten years prior to admission.
   • General Biology 1 and 2 with laboratory (6 semester hours or equivalent)
   • General Chemistry 1 and 2 with laboratory (6 semester hours or equivalent)
   • General Physics 1 and 2 with laboratory (6 semester hours or equivalent)
   • Human Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2 with laboratory (6 semester hours or equivalent)
   • Statistics (3 semester hours or equivalent)
   • General Psychology (3 semester hours or equivalent)
   • A minimum of one 3 semester hour or equivalent writing intensive course in humanities or social sciences

Physical therapy education and practice requires a strong science background. Additional upper-level Biology or Health Science courses (embryology, advanced physiology, genetics, etc.) are recommended.

3. Complete twenty hours (20) of observation or employment in a physical therapy setting under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist and verified by the physical therapist. The purpose of observation hours is to help the applicant develop a basic understanding/knowledge of the PT profession before committing to the rigorous process of obtaining a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. Observation hours may be completed in outpatient and/or inpatient settings.
4. Submit three letters of reference from professionals who are familiar with your personal and professional characteristics and can best address your potential for success in the DPT program. One letter should come from a college/university faculty member or advisor: one from a licensed physical therapist, and one from an employer or an advisor for an organization.
5. Demonstrate English Fluency. All applicants for whom English is not their first language, or those who completed a bachelor’s degree and prerequisites from a college or university in a foreign country, must achieve satisfactory scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or complete an approved English as a Second Language (ESL) course with the past five years.
   
   Any international course work completed must have official transcript evaluations completed and submitted to the University by the evaluation firm. Evaluations MUST include GPA for admission.
   
   ​Approved Evaluation Firms are:
   • World Education Services (WES)
   • Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)
   • International Education Research Foundation (IERF)
   • Educational Perspectives (EP)
   • SpanTran
6. Demonstrate an ability to meet Program Technical Standards
   ​A candidate must have abilities and skills in five areas:
   • observation,
   • communication,
   • motor/psychomotor,
   • cognitive (intellectual, conceptual, integrative, and quantitative), and
   • behavioral and social.

Technological compensation can be made for some limitation in certain of these areas, but a candidate should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner.

Candidates are required to certify that they understand and meet program Technical Standards. Candidates must provide such certification prior to matriculation. Candidates who may not meet the Technical Standards must inform the Director of Admissions, who will then contact the Dean of Students. The Dean of Students, in consultation with the academic dean (and program director), will identify and discuss what accommodations, if any, the College(/Program) would need to make that would allow the candidate to complete the curriculum. The College(/Program) is not able to grant accommodations that alter the educational standards of the curriculum. Students must meet the Technical Standards for the duration of enrollment in their professional program.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy program is a six semester, 24 month, 115 credit hour program. During the first full year of Cumberlands’ DPT program, students will participate in online classes and early integrated clinical experiences and will attend intensive lab immersions held on Cumberlands’ main campus in Williamsburg, Kentucky. During the second year of the program, students will participate in online classes, on-campus lab immersions, and three full-time clinical experiences. Full-time clinical experiences will be held throughout Kentucky and across the United States.

The program has an integrated case-based curricular model and learner-centered approach to prepare physical therapists who integrate mind, heart, and hands, collaborating within healthcare teams, to improve patient/client and community health, with a focus on service for medically underserved and rural populations. The service-oriented program aims to work closely with students to develop clinical experiences in the communities where they live. At University of the Cumberlands, graduate programs in health sciences are designed to prepare professionals to be servant-leaders in their disciplines and communities, linking research with practice and knowledge with ethical decision-making. The DPT degree reflects the university’s commitment to nurturing healthcare professionals with the knowledge, skills, and ethical clarity needed for pragmatic leadership in a complex and dynamic modern world. Moreover, through the focus of the DPT program, Cumberlands has a new means to express and promote Christian values as it seeks to foster humane and altruistic health care for individuals and society.

The technical standards for the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program are listed on the following webpage: Technical Standards - DPT | University of the Cumberlands (ucumberlands.edu)

Accreditation:

Graduation from a physical therapist education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone; 703-706-3245; accreditation@apta.org is necessary for eligibility to sit for the licensure examination, which is required in all states. Effective October 25, 2022, University of the Cumberlands Physical Therapy Program has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 606.539.4251 or email vicki.lafay@ucumberlands.edu. Candidate for Accreditation is an accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status does not assure that the program will be granted Initial Accreditation.

Programs

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program prepares students for an innovative career-focused education that equips students to excel as leaders in addressing the movement system through the application and integration of habits of the head, heart, hands, and health in evidence-based practice. Students and graduates will join the faculty in community engagement, serving to optimize the health and wellbeing of all people, with a deep commitment to rural and underserved populations in the local Appalachian region, nationally, and globally.

• Physical Therapy, DPT

Return to: Graduate Degrees