The PDPT program is an entry-level professional doctoral program designed to prepare students to practice as physical therapists.

Yes. The program is accredited by:

Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE)
1111 North Fairfax Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
706-3245
accreditation@apta.org   
website: http://www.capteonline.org 

The Professional Doctor of Physical Therapy Program (DPT) has been accredited since 1996.

The program is 3 years in length. The first 2 years include didactic, classroom-based instruction with integrated clinical experiences (ICE) infused throughout. The third year consists of full-time clinical rotations.

This PDPT program is a full-time, campus-based program located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Students are required to attend classes Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to about 5:00pm.

All applicants must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. Although any undergraduate major is acceptable, a major in kinesiology, exercise science, or the biological sciences tends to be the most direct route into a physical therapy program.

No.  NSU considers all applicants regardless of where they reside, including international.

Yes.  International students must meet all admission criteria.  If international applicants completed their pre-requisites and undergraduate degrees outside of the US, the records must be credentialed for US equivalency before the application can be considered. International transcripts must be evaluated and approved by World Education Services: International Credential Evaluation. For more details visit www.wes.org.

All students must be fluent in spoken and written English and demonstrate proficiency on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

US federal financial aid is not available for international students.

The scores required are 550 on the written examination, 213 on the computer-based examination, or 79 on the Internet-based examination. Students may also submit an IELTS score of 6.0

Students are admitted once per year and classes begin during the summer term. Classes usually start the third or fourth week in May.

Approximately 50 students are admitted each year.

Score on the verbal, quantitative, and writing is a requirement for application.  The average GRE of those accepted is above 50^th percentile. The exam score must be no more than 5 years old and must be received by no later than January 31^st of the entering year.

The minimum GPA requirement is 3.0 for cumulative, science/math, and pre-requisite courses. Competitive students have GPAs above 3.0 in each area. The average cumulative GPA tends to be around 3.4 on a 4.0 scale.

Exercise physiology does not count as biology.

All prerequisite course work, as well as the bachelor’s degree, must be completed by May of the entering admission year.

The PT Admissions counselor, Sylvana Gubiotti, is available to discuss overall requirements and general transcript questions, but cannot review transcripts unless you have applied. Her contact information is cgubiott@nova.edu or (954) 262-1267. 

The committee considers a holistic review of the applicant.  Volunteer work, community service, athletics, military service, research and/or publication experience, certifications and/or unique training (to name a few) are all reviewed and make for a competitive applicant.

Applicants must apply through the Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) online application process at http://www.ptcas.org/home.aspx.  All parts of the application must be completed and the PTCAS service fee must be paid in order for your application to be processed by NSU.  In addition, applicants must complete an NSU specific supplemental application, which requires a $50 application fee. 

The PTCAS application opens on July 15^th and closes on December 15^th. The supplemental application deadline is January 31^st.  The program utilizes a rolling admissions process so applying early is highly recommended.

The Fort Lauderdale PDPT program does not routinely interview applicants, but does reserve the right to request interviews on a case-by-case basis. 

Applications are reviewed by our Admissions Counselor to ensure the application is complete. You will be contacted by the Admissions Counselor if your application is missing any required information. The PT program’s Admissions Committee will then review your application and render a decision. Contact admissions at (954) 262-1267 to monitor the status of your application.  Final admissions decisions are sent to students via email.

There are both in-person and virtual open houses once a month from September to April. Specific dates are available at https://healthsciences.nova.edu/pt/orientation/open_house.  If you are unable to attend an open house, an individual tour may be scheduled by contacting the Admissions Counselor at (954) 262-1267. 

The annual tuition for the current academic year can be found at:  https://healthsciences.nova.edu/pt/dpt/tuition_fees.html. Tuition is charged annually as a flat rate each academic year and is subject to change. Annual tuition includes three semesters per year and does not include university fees or living expenses.  Estimated fees and living expenses can be found at: https://www.nova.edu/publications/pt_brochure/index

The program offers one internal scholarship called the Physical Therapy Chancellor Scholarship (PTCS). Candidates must be currently enrolled or accepted for enrollment in the program, be of good academic standing, demonstrate financial need with a valid FAFSA, demonstrate disadvantaged background, and be a permanent resident of the state of Florida. Consideration will also be given to applicants from families where few or no members have attended college. To apply for this scholarship go to: http://www.nova.edu/financialaid/forms/hpd-chanc-scholarship-app.pdf

In general, working while in the program is not recommended.

There are approximately 1 faculty for every 15 students (1:15 ratio).

NSU does not offer graduate housing.  There are multiple private apartment homes and other communities available for rent within walking distance to the campus. 

A laptop computer (PC or MAC) with current software is required. Due to potential compatibility issues, a tablet is not an acceptable alternative to a laptop. There are some computer labs on campus for student use.

The NSU PT department maintains relationships with a variety of clinical partners to provide quality clinical placements all over the US and internationally. Students are matched to clinical sites that will provide them with the opportunity to treat patients in a supervised setting and practice decision making and physical skills vital to preparing them for entry-level practice. Placements are made based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, geographical preference, academic performance, specialty rotations, and future career goals.  

Integrated Clinical Education, or ICE, are clinical experiences infused into the didactic curriculum. In the NSU program, these experiences are aligned with courses and learning objectives within the curriculum. The goal of ICE is to reinforce knowledge and skills being learned in the classroom setting. Most of the ICE are single-day clinical experiences scheduled throughout each semester, beginning in the second semester. ICE is not the same as clinical observation. The majority of our ICE offers hands-on experience and all experiences are supervised by qualified, licensed physical therapists.

Some experiences occur in our NSU physical therapy clinic, which is a faculty-led practice on NSUs Fort Lauderdale campus. Others take place at hospitals, pediatric facilities, and non-NSU based outpatient facilities.