Physical Therapy FAQs | Physical Therapy

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Students will matriculate as one class, fostering many close relationships and developing lifelong colleagues. Many classes will take advantage of a team-based, small group learning approach. Lab based courses will have more than one instructor to make the student to faculty ratio as low as 15:1.

The High Point University DPT program implements a Pass, Low Pass, Fail grading system. This system allows students to focus their energy and effort on understanding content as opposed to being forced to employ study strategies, like cramming, that don’t allow for long term retention of material. The pass fail grading system creates a lower stress, more collaborative environment.

Yes! About 40% of HPU DPT students engage voluntarily in research at some point during the curriculum. The program does not require research, but provides significant opportunities in the Human Biomechanics and Physiology Laboratory, the Virtual Reality and Clinical Gait Analysis Laboratory, the Pro Bono Clinic, and in other clinical settings.

The PBC is open 40+ hours a week, one of the only of its kind in the nation. Students are involved throughout their entire second year as an integrated clinical education course. This involves treating patients alongside classmates and licensed physical therapists as well as helping out in the Community Garden and Food Pantry.

Yes! The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at High Point University is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).

One of the foundational principles of our program is that clinical practice is a vital component of a student’s education and that it should happen early and often in the curriculum. Students will have the opportunity to see patients beginning in their 3^rd semester (end of the first year) and every semester thereafter. Students will complete 36 weeks of full-time clinical education experiences in addition to integrated experiences in the Pro Bono Clinic throughout their second year.

HPU DPT fosters exposure to various PT settings. Students are required to complete a full-time clinical experience in at least one specialty area (e.g. acute care, pediatrics, neurology, sports). This policy encourages breadth of experience, but may also allow students to experience depth in their preferred setting, making them more valuable to the facilities in which they are working, more marketable upon graduation, and better able to transition to independent clinician in their first professional position. Early clinical experiences (3 weeks each) will be local, within one-hour of HPU. HPU DPT has established clinical affiliation agreements with nearly 800 clinical sites, throughout the country and internationally.

We have embraced a philosophy of engaging students in professional clinical practice early and often where they can apply evidence, but also learn the creativity and innovation that is a vital part of the art of physical therapy practice. Our curriculum was developed using a “student first” mentality, so we have adopted unique things like a pass/fail grading system designed to reduce stress but not rigor, exposure to interprofessional practice along the entire continuum of care, bountiful opportunities to do research and become movement experts in world class laboratories and classrooms, and selectives designed to allow students to learn more about specialty areas of practice.

Please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions for further information about housing. Most students live off-campus, within a 15-minute drive from campus.

You may notice in the DPT curriculum that each semester has an “Independent Study”. This is not required for students to take, but is our way of allowing students the opportunity to pursue special interests in research, clinical practice, or service. It is an elective course whereby the student can choose to pursue their passions.

Here are a few sites that can be used as a tool while looking into to scholarships and/or grants that are offered for graduate students: