Pre-Physical Therapy
Physical therapy includes evaluation of muscle function, joint flexibility, patterns of movement, and endurance. Physical therapists work in a variety of settings including hospitals, nursing homes, private offices, rehabilitation centers, sports medicine clinics, and research programs.
NOTE: George Fox University will begin our own Physical Therapy program in September 2012 and will be accepting applications beginning in the fall of 2011.
You can find additional information at the American Physical Therapy Association website.
In order to meet American Physical Therapy Association accreditation standards, all Physical therapy educational programs are required to lead to a doctorate degree (a few schools still have a master’s program). The master’s degree is being replaced with the doctorate. Therefore, students seeking admission to a Physical therapy educational program need to complete a bachelor’s degree in any field, plus include the following prerequisite coursework:
This information is provided for informational purposes. It is essential that students check the programs at the school you are interested in for current prerequisites as these are constantly changing.
Biology – One year General biology
BIOL 211 General Biology 4, BIOL 212 General Biology 4
BIOL 331Human Anatomy and Physiology 4, BIOL 332 Human Anatomy and Physiology4
OR
BIOL 330 Advanced Physiology 4
BIOL 440 Advanced Human Anatomy 4
Chemistry – One-year general and one-year organic chemistry
CHEM 211 General Chemistry 4, CHEM 212 General Chemistry 4
CHE 321 Organic Chemistry 4, CHEM 322 Organic Chemistry
Strongly recommended:
CHEM 341 Biochemistry 4
Physics – one year general Physics (algebra or calculus based)
PHYS 201 General Physics 4, PHYS 202 General Physics 4 OR
PHYS 221 General Physics w/ Calculus 4, PHYS 222 General Physics w Calculus 4
Mathematics - 3 hours
MATH 240 Statistical Procedures 3
Psychology - 6 hours
PSYC 150 General Psychology 3
PSYC 420 Abnormal Psychology 3
English And Writing - 8 hours
1-2 Lower division courses AND
1-2 Upper division courses
A combination of writing intensive coursework offered outside of an English department may be considered.
Humanities - 6 hours
2 courses taken from the following areas: Fine Arts, Humanities, History, Philosophy, Religion, Music, Foreign Language, and English (in addition to English prerequisite).
Social Sciences - 6 hours
2 courses taken from the following areas: (in addition to Psychology prerequisite) Sociology, Psychology, Political Science, Economics, History, and Anthropology. At least 3 semester hours must be outside of Psychology.
Recommended Additional Coursework
Pharmacology, Medical Terminology, Spanish, Abnormal Psychology, Development Psychology, Aging and Disabilities, Public Health, Technical Writing, or Communications.
Also required: 100 hours of observation experience
GRE required for some programs