Health Professions: Pre-Physical Therapy http://www.career.vt.edu/OHPA
Dr. Judith A. Wubah
Smith Career Center (0128)
231-6241 jawubah@vt.edu
Dr. Jay Williams (HNFE), 323 Wallace jhwms@vt.edu
Pre- PT/OT Coordinator
Be sure to meet with your departmental Academic Advisor on a regular basis in addition to the individuals listed
above.
Office of Health Professions Advising
(OHPA)
MAJORS INFORMATION
Any major is acceptable as long as certain specific admission requirements are met. Students should check specific
school requirements.
Common Majors: Biology (BIOL), Business (BUSI), Human, Nutrition, Food and Exercise (HNFE), and Psychology
(PSYC).
SPECIFIC COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Course Number
BIOL 1005, 1015
BIOL 1006, 1016
OR
BIOL 1105, 1115
BIOL 1106, 1116
CHEM 1035, 1045 (lab)
CHEM 1036, 1046 (lab)
PHYS 2205, 2215
PHYS 2206, 2216
BMSP 2135, 2145
BMSP 2136, 2146
MATH 1015, 1016 or
other calculus sequence
ENGL 1105, 1106
PSYC 2004
STAT 3615
Title
General Biology, General Biology Lab
OR
Principles of Biology, Principles of Biology
Lab
General Chemistry, General Chemistry Lab
Credits
8
8
General Physics, General Physics Lab
OR
PHYS 2305, 2306 Foundations of Physics
Human Anatomy & Physiology
8
Elementary Calculus with Trigonometry
OR
Other calculus sequence
Freshman English
Introductory Psychology
Biological Statistics
6
OTHER COURSES REQUIRED BY SOME SCHOOLS
BCHM
Biochemistry
BIOL
Cell and Molecular Biology
HNFE 3824
Kinesiology
COMM 2004
ENGL 2764
PSYC 3014
SOC
BIOL
Public Speaking
Technical Writing
Abnormal Psychology
Sociology
Pathology (check school for specific course
requirement)
Health Professions: Pre-Physical Therapy
August 2010
Prerequisites
8
Must be taken in
sequence.
MATH 1016
MATH 1205
BIOL 1005,1006 or
BIOL 1105, 1106
6
3
3
Prerequisites
BIOL 1005,1006 or 1105, 1106
CHEM 1016 or 1036
BMSP 2135, 2136
PHYS 2205 or 2305
Sophomore standing
Junior standing
PSYC 2004
rev: JAW
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) or INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) INFORMATION
Please check with the schools of interest for specific information.
COMMUNITY COLLEGE / SUMMER COURSES INFORMATION
It is generally NOT recommended to take these prerequisite courses over the summer. Health professional schools
prefer the courses to be taken at a four-year institution with a normal academic load. Please check the schools of
interest for additional information on their requirements.
GET INVOLVED!! VT Student Organizations, Courses, and Opportunities
Course: UH 2004: Careers in Medicine 1 credit, sophomore or higher (Fall only)
Office of Health Professions Advising http://www.career.vt.edu/OHPA
Physical Therapy Club- http://www.physicaltherapy.org.vt.edu/
INFORMATION SESSIONS
Health Professions Group Information Sessions: Twice per week in the Smith Career Center
Online registration required, there will be specific sessions for Freshmen/Sophomores and Juniors/Seniors. Check
the Office of Health Professions Advising website frequently for dates and times.
APPLICATION & ADMISSION INFORMATION

Admission Test: Graduate Record Examination (GRE) required by most schools. A minimum Verbal and
Quantitative combined score of 1100 is expected. Foreign applicants whose native language is not English must
achieve an acceptable score on TOEFL examination and submit an approved credential report for coursework
completed outside the United States. Current minimal acceptable TOEFL scores are 575 for Paper-Based Test or 89
for Internet-Based Test.

GPA: 3.45 to be competitive. A minimum GPA of 3.0 in math and science pre-requisites is required. The GPA is
calculated several ways; overall, upper-division course GPA, and combined science and math GPA. Students
should check on-line for the mean and range of GPA for their schools of choice

Experience: A minimum of 40 hours of clinical experience (volunteer or paid) in various physical therapy settings
is generally required. Some schools require that the clinical experience be verified with a signed form. Students
should therefore check with the specific program into which they want to matriculate. The Office for Pre-Health
Advising will work collaboratively with students to assist them gain this necessary practical experience. Specific
requirements by each institution can be found at www.apta.org  Education Programs  CAPTE Accredited
Programs Chart of Admission Requirements

Application: Apply through PTCAS - PT Centralized Application Service, an online application process. Not
all professional PT programs participate in PTCAS. Applicants who wish to apply to a NON-participating PTCAS
program must apply directly to the institution using that PT program’s local application. Filling out of the physical
therapy school application through the online service is time consuming thus students should plan accordingly.

Campus Interviews: Conducted by the Health Professions Evaluation Committee in the spring of each academic
year (March - May)

PT School Interview: Some programs have interviews and other do not. Students should check with the specific
program into which they want to matriculate.

Information Tidbits: All Virginia Physical Therapy programs offer the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree.
Most schools now are only offering the DPT program; only 9 schools nationwide offer a Master’s program.
Health Professions: Pre-Physical Therapy
August 2010
rev: JAW
OTHER RESOURCES





Many schools have open houses at some point in the year which is listed on the schools’ website.
www.ExploreHEALTHCareers.org, an exceptional resource for students
National Institutes of Health Career Finder, http://science-education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/feature/index.htm
American Physical Therapy Assoc. http://www.apta.org
Directory of Accredited Physical Therapy Programs: www.apta.org  Education Programs  Student
Resources
Regional Course Requirements by School:
School
Minimum GPA
GRE
Clinical Hours
Hampton
3.0 overall
2.8 science
Required
Scores should reflect 4.0 Analytical
writing; verbal + math > 900
40
Marymount
3.0 overall
3.0 science
Required
Scores not specified
40
Old Dominion
3.0 overall
Required
Scores not specified
80
Shenandoah
Minimum 2.8 for all
prerequisite courses
Required
Scores not specified.
100
Lynchburg
College
Minimum 3.0 overall
Minimum 3.0 science
Required.
Scores not specified
40
George
Washington
Prefers 3.0 overall; not a
set minimum.
Reviews applicant as a “whole” but
prefers GRE of 500 verbal.
Not specified
Howard
3.0 in required
coursework; 3.0 science
GPA. Grade of C or
better in required
courses.
Not required
80; at least 20 in
acute care
Duke
Previous year:
Overall 3.56.; natural
science GPA, 3.47.
Grade of C or better in
prerequisite courses.
Required.
Previous year: verbal, 58.57 percentile;
quantitative, 61.94 percentile; and
writing, 56.31 percentile
Not specified.
Need “adequate
exploration of the
profession”
The Office of Health Professions Advising at Virginia Tech assists students and alumni pursuing a health care career
in medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, chiropractic, occupational therapy, nursing, physician's assistant,
veterinary medicine, or other graduate health professions.
Any student or alumnus/alumna of Virginia Tech, regardless of major, can use the services of OHPA. Although the
majority of health professions students major in a science field, it is not required.
Students should meet with their departmental Academic Advisor on a regular basis to ensure requirements are being met
for graduation. The Office of Health Professions Advising is an important complement to academic advising.
Health Professions: Pre-Physical Therapy
August 2010
rev: JAW