Doctor of Physical Therapy
Mission
Mount Saint Mary's University provides doctoral education to a diverse student body culminating in physical therapists with sound clinical reasoning in a variety of settings who are committed to professional and personal development, social citizenship, and ethical, compassionate care. This post-baccalaureate degree program offers professional education based on a foundation of liberal arts and sciences with a commitment to facilitating lifelong learning in our alumni and faculty.
About the program
Concentration on the basic and clinical sciences is integrated with physical therapy patient/client management principles and procedures. The total educational experience of the student involves life-long learning, and the physical therapy curriculum facilitates this value throughout the student's acquisition of knowledge and development of intellectual skills, professional behaviors, cognitive abilities, and practice competencies. The program design provides early and continual integration of clinical experiences that foster maximum development of the student's clinical thought processes, and provides opportunities for mastery of the personal and skill-based competencies requisite for entry-level practice. The Physical Therapy Department is committed to providing an education that enables graduates to be generalist practitioners of the highest quality. The learning environment nurtures students to become skilled professional practitioners, possessing the skills of clinical reasoning and effective communication. Students experience and discover the personal and service-oriented aspects of health care including:
- An understanding of the holistic nature of health, integrating body, mind, spirit and emotion
- An understanding of human beings and their inherent dignity, diverse cultures, gender identity and ethnicity
- A respect for the role of compassion and communication in health and healing
- A respect for the role of mutual trust and responsibility in patient relationships
- An ethical basis for decision making
As integral members of the health care team, graduates impart their knowledge and skill through competent and compassionate patient care, enlightened education, scholarly activity, quality consultation and a commitment to life-long learning and professional development.
The curriculum design incorporates values, content and process components. In the domain of values, seven values serve as a core for the program and are based on the mission and philosophy of the University and Department. These values are integrity, empathy, social citizenship, inclusivity, knowledge, leadership, and effectiveness.
Seven themes serve as the conceptual framework around which the curriculum is organized:
- Foundational and Basic Sciences
- Medical Sciences
- Critical Thinking/Research
- Patient/Client Management
- Practice Management
- Integration Seminar
- Clinical Experiences.
The program includes a total of 36 weeks of clinical experiences, culminating with two 12 week clinical internships.
Course Highlights
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PT 403 Applied Kinesiology
This course in applied kinesiology utilizes the principles of biomechanics and movement science to study human movements of the lower extremity. The clinically oriented approach taken in this course includes consideration of both functional and dysfunctional movements using a lifespan perspective. Topics include the applied kinesiology of human gait; and analysis of functional activities, including sit to stand, and transitional movements.
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PT 434 Health Systems IV: Law and Policy
The course provides an overview of the history and present structure of the United States health services. The students will gain an understanding of the basic organization and operations of the healthcare system including laws and policies that regulate healthcare practice. Problems and failures of the current healthcare system and alternatives will be discussed. Students will learn to be professional advocates for their patients and their profession.
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PT 466A Therapeutic Exercise
Prescribing therapeutic exercise is within the domain of the physical therapist and utilized in all practice settings to help achieve treatment goals. A well-prescribed exercise addresses mobility, stability, motor control, and whole movement patterns while considering isolated impairments. The purpose of this course is to assist the student in learning how to effectively prescribe therapeutic exercise using a clinical reasoning model.
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Hear from our students
Jornada, Spanish for “a day’s journey,” is a heartwarming initiative, offering a one-day rehabilitation clinic for children with disabilities in underserved areas of Mexico. It’s been an incredible experience learning from the patients, physical therapists, occupational therapists, orthotists, wheelchair specialists, and all the dedicated staff! Witnessing the joy on the kids’ faces as they receive ‘new’ equipment is truly uplifting!
The Midnight Mission was introduced to me during my first year in the DPT program. The patient cases were often complex and had fluctuating access to consistent healthcare resources which posed a significant challenge. Volunteering at the Midnight Mission gave me invaluable exposure to serving vulnerable populations and applying evidence-based practices to individualized care.
Being one of the teaching assistants for anatomy has been a really rewarding experience. I learned a lot about the class of 2027 and a lot about myself too. I enjoyed being able to help the students in this challenging process, where they are slowly discovering just how capable they are and helping them navigate their first semester of PT school.
Curriculum Plan
The curriculum is a sequential 3-year, 9-semester design based on a foundation of hierarchical and adult learning theory.
Academic Calendar
Clinical Placements
Scheduling for clinical experiences is a complex process due to federal and individual state regulations and clinical site availability. This limits the number of states in which 国产传媒 DPT students may complete clinical experiences. States in which we currently have authorization for clinical placements can be found below. This list is subject to change as federal and state regulations are revised. The University is willing to explore states not currently on the list but cannot guarantee clinical placements. The process for clinical education placements can be found in the Department of Physical Therapy鈥檚 policies and procedures.
- Alaska
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Mount Saint Mary鈥檚 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; Email: accreditation@apta.org; Website: . If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 213-477-2600 or email gkonyalian@msmu.edu.
Mount Saint Mary鈥檚 University DPT graduates are eligible to sit for the National Physical Therapy Exam in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Licenses are granted by the licensing authority in individual states and those licensing boards might require an additional exam on laws and regulations specific to that state. Prior to enrollment, prospective students must review the Doctor of Physical Therapy professional licensure webpage. The is the licensing authority for California and requires an exam on the laws and regulations for practice of physical therapy in California. Mount Saint Mary鈥檚 University will assist applicants and students as they determine licensure requirements in other states. Please contact the Director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program by email at dlowe@msmu.edu. Contact information and licensure requirements for the licensing authorities in other jurisdictions can also be found on the .