Radford University Entry-level Clinical Doctoral Degree in Physical Therapy
101 Elm Avenue Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital, 8th Floor Roanoke VA 24013 United States

"This page is intended for college transfer students and graduates ONLY. High school students MUST contact the institution directly for information about the guaranteed freshman-entry program. Do not apply using PTCAS."

Program Description

***The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Radford University is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; telephone: 703-706-3245; website: http://www.capteonline.org. If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 540-224-6658 or email DPT@Radford.edu.***

Radford University's Department of Physical Therapy aspires to prepare responsive and engaged professionals who lead by example by providing best-practice care. Our vision parallels APTA's Vision, "Transforming society by optimizing movement to improve the human experience." Physical therapists will be recognized by consumers and other health care professionals as practitioners of choice to whom consumers have direct access for the diagnosis of, interventions for, and prevention of impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities related to movement, function, and health.

Offering the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree is one example of Radford University's commitment to educate highly competent practitioners to serve the needs of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation. This department strives to develop leading practitioners who will improve access and quality of care for aging and underserved populations.

If you are interested in our physical therapy program, we invite you to review the physical therapy prerequisite requirements, curriculum, and clinical education opportunities. Student learning and evidence-based practice are emphasized throughout the DPT curriculum. Faculty research is tangible and supports evidence-based practice by bringing the most current knowledge into the classroom as it evolves.

Radford University features strong partnerships with local and national businesses, hospitals, and public schools to offer a variety of experiential learning experiences. This diversity will prepare our students to provide quality physical therapy care throughout the lifespan of the population and within areas of interest. Radford University interdepartmental associations also provide a multitude of positive on-campus learning opportunities.

Curriculum:

The curriculum for the Physical Therapy Program is designed to foster an intellectual and psychomotor teaching/learning environment that is student-focused. The educational format engages students to develop and perfect decision-making skills, critical thinking, psychomotor skill development, and social skills integration. The curriculum is built on a simple to complex model beginning with the integration of foundational and clinical sciences and progressing to complex and diverse practical learning experiences. Participation and application of current research stimulate practitioners to be current in everyday practice and pursue life-long learning. These activities result in the development of diverse autonomous practitioners with the intellectual awareness, social skills, and psychomotor skills to positively impact their communities and the profession of physical therapy.

The program is designed to prepare students as entry-level, diverse, culturally sensitive autonomous practitioners of physical therapy. A variety of health care institutions, agencies, and practice settings are utilized for clinical educational experiences; both on a local and national level. Clinical Education is an integral component of the student's educational experience.

Mission Statement:

The Mission of the Department of Physical Therapy is to develop culturally sensitive autonomous physical therapy practitioners. These practitioners will serve as advocates by meeting the physical therapy needs of their communities to improve the human experience. The development of autonomous practitioners will be facilitated through an engaging and challenging intellectual and psychomotor teaching/learning environment that is student-focused. Research is considered a vital corollary to the educational process leading to lifelong learning and the creation of new knowledge to meet current and future healthcare needs. 

Program Values:

- The teaching/ learning environment is student-centered. 

- The teaching/ learning environment is intellectually engaging and culturally sensitive. 

- The educational process creates an autonomous physical therapy practitioner. 

- The educational experience creates a lifelong learner. 

Program Principles:

- The learning process is based on an integration of foundational and clinical sciences. 

- Critical reasoning and the use of evidence-based practice are essential elements of the curriculum. 

- Research is a vital corollary to the teaching/ learning process leading to the development of a lifelong learner and the creation of new knowledge.

- Practitioners of physical therapy advocate for the provision of physical therapy services for underserved and underrepresented populations. 

Program Goals:

- Provide inter-professional collaboration opportunities.

- Encourage students to strive to meet the needs of underserved populations.

- Provide a student-focused teaching/learning environment.

- Facilitate the development of practitioners who demonstrate life-long learning.

- Provide an accredited education program in physical therapy that enables graduates to become autonomously licensed practitioners.

Meeting the program's expected performance outcomes reflects the mastery and application of the goals of the physical therapy curriculum. Graduates who have met or exceeded the program's outcome goals will have met the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective requirements of the curriculum. These performance outcomes are entry-level level qualifications for the practice of physical therapy and are required to sit for the national licensure examination in physical therapy.

http://www.radford.edu/content/wchs/home/pt/prospective/admissions.html

General
Program offers a guaranteed freshman admission pathway?
Yes
Dual Degrees
Will the professional (entry-level) PT program offer a satellite or branch campus to applicants during the upcoming admissions cycle?
No
Admission Interviews
Program conducts interviews as part of the admissions process?
Yes
Additional information about interviews

Face-to-face interviews (preferred) are offered at the beginning of November each year.

Deposits
Is a Deposit Required for Accepted Applicants?
Yes
Total cumulative deposit
$500
Additional Information about Deposit
Amount is subject to change.  Applicants that are accepted into the program will be required by pay a $500 non-refundable deposit that will be applied towards the first semester of tuition.
Deposit Refundable?
No
Deposits collected on a rolling basis after offer of admission made?
Yes
Cost
Total Cost of Education for In-State Students
$74025
Total Cost of Education for out of State Students
$134625
Incoming Class Profile
Anticipated Size of the Next Entering Class
30
Size of Most Recent Entering Class
30
% of students from IN-STATE
88%
% of WICHE (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education) students
0%
% of students from OUT-OF-STATE
12%
% of CANADIAN students
0%
% of INTERNATIONAL (non-U.S/non-Canadian) students
0%
Sex
% Male
31%
% Female 
69%
% Declining to State
0%
Race/Ethnicity
% Hispanic 
3%
% American Indian/Alaskan Native
0%
% Asian
6%
% African-American/Black (Non-Hispanic)
0%
% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
% White (Not of Hispanic Origin) 
78%
% Two or More Races 
9%
% Declining to State 
3%
Additional information about the class profile
Each applicant is evaluated on an individual basis.
Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) Status
Program housed at a Minority-Serving Institution No
Contacts