Effective April 26, 2022, Charleston Southern University 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 directly, please call 843-863-7181 or email jthorp@csuniv.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 professional courses. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status does not assure that the program will be granted Initial Accreditation.
Candidacy is considered to be an accredited status, as such the credits and degree earned from a program with Candidacy status are considered, by CAPTE, to be from an accredited program. Therefore, students in the charter (first) class should be eligible to take the licensure exam even if CAPTE withholds accreditation at the end of the candidacy period. That said, it is up to each state licensing agency, not CAPTE, to determine who is eligible for licensure. Information on licensing requirements should be directed to the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT;www.fsbpt.org) or specific state boards (a list of state boards and contact information is available on FSBPT's website.
The Doctor of Physical Therapy program is located in a state-of-the-art Health Science building at Charleston Southern University (CSU) in historic Charleston, South Carolina. Graduates earn a DPT degree in 2.5 years and are eligible to take the National Physical Therapy Examination. Additionally, this is the only school in South Carolina to offer a dual degree option, DPT/MBA. The program utilizes a rolling interview and admissions process to enroll 48 students in a cohort. We encourage you to apply early as this class size will quickly reach capacity. Students who have earned a baccalaureate degree in any field and who meet the prerequisite requirements of the program are eligible to apply for a seat in the program.
The DPT Program is a full-time graduate program, lasting 31 continuous months, consisting of 124 semester credit hours completed over 8 semesters. The curricular course content will be delivered face-to-face using a multi-modal instructional design including lecture, community engagement, case scenarios, applied sciences, digital resources, practical and written exams, written assignments, case-based student presentations, faculty-mentored research, and clinical education. Our program adheres to a spiral teaching model that begins with the instruction of foundational knowledge relevant to PT practice with expansion into experiential learning. Throughout this process, progressively complex clinical topics are introduced through clinically relevant and evidence-based learning activities while foundational knowledge is re-emphasized.
The curriculum also includes integrated and full-time clinical experiences under the direct supervision of a licensed PT. The clinical education component is designed to give students the knowledge, skills, and opportunity to manage patients/clients across the life span and continuum of care. All students will complete three 10-week full-time clinicals associated with inpatient, outpatient, and student's choice.
Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the National Physical Therapy Examination offered through the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. Graduates who pass the NPTE will be able to apply for licensure through the regulatory agency in the state in which they wish to practice as a physical therapist.
If you have any questions about our program or the admissions process, please contact our Admissions Coordinator, Jessica Gosnell, at jgosnell@csuniv.edu.
DPT and MBA in Healthcare Management
The Charleston Southern University Doctor of Physical Therapy program encourages everyone to apply and supports an inclusive admission criterion while we reserve the right to give preference to CSU graduates. Inclusive criteria suggests that we seek applicants from various cultures, with racial and ethnic diversity, first generation college graduates, those with foreign language proficiency, advanced degree, veteran status, and various/diverse religious backgrounds.
www.charlestonsouthern.edu/dpt