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Temple University, situated in historic Philadelphia, is a large, diverse, urban university with a long tradition of physical therapy education. The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, located on Temple University's main campus and is in a state-of-the-art new building with updated lecture and laboratory spaces. The location has all the benefits of Temple's main campus and is only 2 miles away from Temple University Hospital, Shriner's Hospital for Children, the Medical School, Dental School, Pharmacy School and programs in Nursing, Health Information Management, and Occupational Therapy, spans a total of 35 months with contemporary coursework combined with integrated part-time clinical experiences over the first 5 semesters. This is followed by 3 full-time clinical experiences that are situated after the majority of the clinical management coursework. Over the course of the entire professional program, students will complete a total of 36 weeks of full-time (40 hours/week) clinical experiences (divided into 3 distinct and separate clinical experiences) within a large nation-wide network of over 350 clinical sites. When not participating in full-time clinical internships, students carry an average of just over 13 credits per semester and can expect to spend approximately 20 hours per week in the classroom, laboratory settings and part-time clinical education experiences. Students also have the opportunity to select from an array of advanced clinical training opportunities through elective courses during their final year of training. These include: Advanced Musculoskeletal Management, Geriatrics, Global Health, Vestibular Disorders, and Research. Students also have the opportunity to become involved in clinical and bench research with our faculty. We are one of approximately 10 programs in the country that offer a stand-alone pain science course that discusses physical therapists roles in treating the chronic pain epidemic and opioid dependent populations. 

The first year of the DPT program begins with courses related to the acquisition of foundational knowledge: anatomy, physiology, teaching and learning, neuroscience, research methods and clinical examination and intervention skills. Throughout the first year, there will be integrated clinical experiences on a part-time basis to allow students to apply their knowledge in an actual clinical setting. Toward the end of the first year, students will begin the clinical management coursework in areas of musculoskeletal, neuromuscular and cardiopulmonary areas of physical therapy. The majority of the second and third curricular years are utilized to acquire knowledge of all the necessary evaluative, assessment, clinical decision making, and intervention skills and techniques required by the entry-level therapist. This is accomplished through classroom work, experiential learning, standardized patients, clinical simulation, and clinical experience. Our goal is to develop therapists who are not only licensed to practice our science but who also become leaders in our profession and exhibit the behavioral characteristics necessary to become an expert clinician and professional: diligence, empathy, kindness, teamwork, professionalism, and caring.

Didactic coursework begins on June 1 of the first year and ends 35 months later with completion of the last clinical internship in early May that coincides with official University graduation. A total of 9 periodic breaks of at least 10 days (several of the breaks exceed 20 days) away from the classroom, lab, and clinic have been built into the curriculum to provide students the opportunity to rest and reflect on their training. A total of 16 full-time faculty members and well over 25 part-time faculty members provide instruction in the academic courses, actively engage in research, and are engaged in clinical practice, academic and professional service. 

We strongly encourage our students to serve marginalized or under-served populations through a variety of volunteer or service opportunities. Examples of volunteer activities our students current participate in include: providing maintenance for a local home for unwed, pregnant, and homeless women; teaching rowing to persons with developmental and physical disabilities; Habitat for Humanity; Martin Luther King Day of Service; and, providing physical therapy services to the under-served individuals of Guatemala. Additionally, Temple DPT students have initiated a service opportunity in the form of a pro-bono physical therapy center located on the Health Science Campus. The North Broad PT Center is located on the health campus and serves the community members that are uninsured, under-insured with a variety of physical therapy related services. The North Broad PT Center includes several other health disciplines including pharmacy, nursing, occupational therapy, speech and many more. The North Broad PT Center allows current DPT students the first-hand opportunity to provide care to several individuals with the guidance of a licensed physical therapist. Additionally, many of our students are involved at some level with the American Physical Therapy Association.

Research opportunities exist as a laboratory volunteer or work-study student. Most faculty members maintain an active research agenda and welcome the involvement of DPT students. Current research topics include: virtual reality, outcome measures, concussion, fall prevention in adults and children, balance reactions in children and adults with cerebral palsy, vestibular disorders, musculoskeletal treatment options including manual therapy, and primary care physical therapy.Temple University offers a dual DPT/PhD in Neuromotor Science which may be of interest for DPT students that have a long-term goal of performing research or joining an academic faculty. 

Please review our website: https://cph.temple.edu/pt/degrees-offered/doctor-physical-therapy-dpt for further information. Please contact us at DPTadmissions@temple.edu with any questions or needs. 

The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Temple University requires all applicants to complete and submit the PTCAS application and official GRE scores. Applications will not be reviewed unless all three parts or the application are submitted.

Temple University offers a dual DPT/PhD in Neuromotor Science.  Any interested applicants should contact the program for additional information dptadmissions@temple.edu.

We follow the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT) traffic rules regarding deposits. Deposits are not mandatory until January 15th annually; however, they are encouraged to fully secure a seat in the DPT program.

Deposits are non-refundable.

One of the missions of Temple University is diversity and we strongly welcome applications from persons of diverse ethnic, socio-economic, religious and cultural backgrounds.  Temple DPT does not give preference to Temple University undergraduate applicants or Pennsylvania residents in the admission's process.