Contact the Office of Graduate Enrollment at gradprograms@messiah.edu or 717.796.5061.
Graduation from a physical therapist education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) is necessary for eligibility to sit for the licensure examination, which is required in all states.
Effective October 31, 2018, Messiah College has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 717-796-1800 ext. 2126 or email Dr. Valerie Olson, DPT Program Director at VOlson@Messiah.edu. Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program is progressing toward accreditation and may matriculate students in professional courses. Candidate for Accreditation is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation.
Messiah's DPT program enrolled its first students in August of 2019. We enroll a new cohort of students every fall.
We accept applications through PTCAS which opens in early July every year. We are a rolling admissions institution and thus you should submit your application materials as early as you can for full consideration.
Students will be notified of their acceptance on a rolling admissions process after interviews.
Students should apply through PTCAS.
No. This is not a transitional program for students who hold a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy or a Master of Physical Therapy degree.
The program consists of 110 credits.
With few exceptions, international students are required to submit official TOEFL or IELTS scores from within the last two years. The minimum acceptable TOEFL score is 80 on the internet based version or 550 on the paper based version. The minimum acceptable IELTS score is 6.5.
Yes, the program requires the following observation hours:
25 hours inpatient/rehab
25 hours outpatient
Common options include inpatient, outpatient and pediatric settings, such as rehabilitation centers, hospitals, outpatient therapy centers, school districts, acute care hospitals, subacute rehabilitation, extended care facilities, nursing homes, free standing PT or hospital outpatient clinic, wellness/prevention/fitness centers, industrial/occupational health facilities or home health agencies.
Yes, three letters of recommendation addressing your professional experience and/or academic performance, excluding relatives, are required (at least one from faculty and at least one from a physical therapist.)
Applicants must demonstrate satisfactory completion of the undergraduate courses listed below. Admission decisions are based on a holistic review of each application; however, performance in these prerequisite courses is a significant factor. Therefore, a grade of “C” or better must be achieved in each course, with a minimum cumulative prerequisite GPA of 3.0.
8 credits of Biology*
8 credits of Anatomy and Physiology*
8 credits of Physics (1 & 2)*
8 credits of Chemistry (1 & 2)*
3 credits of Psychology
3 credits of Statistics/Research Methods**
3 credits of Medical Terminology is preferred
*All sciences must be at least 4 credits and include a lab
**Statistics course should include inferential statistics
The prerequisite courses must be completed within the last ten years, except for Human Anatomy and Physiology which must be completed within the last 5 years.
All prerequisites must be complete before acceptance into the program.
No. All prerequisites must be completed prior to enrolling in the DPT program.
Yes. All prerequisite courses must have been successfully completed with a C or better with an average of 3.0 for the prerequisite courses.
If a student retakes a course, only the highest grade earned will be used in calculating the grade point average.
The DPT program will enroll 36 students every year.
There is one cohort per year.
The current cost of the program can be found here: Graduate Tuition & Aid.
Information about financial aid for graduate students can be found here. For more financial aid information see the following pages from APTA:
Students who enroll in the DPT program will be responsible for securing their own housing. Messiah College does not offer housing for graduate students, but those in the DPT program may be able to share costs by coordinating housing arrangements with fellow students.
Clinical sites are arranged for students by the Director for Clinical Education. Opportunities to complete clinical education experiences will be local, regional and potentially out of state. Students are responsible for providing their own transportation and housing for clinical sites.
The program will be housed at 401 Winding Hill Rd., Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055, a short, four-minute drive from the main campus.
You can learn how to successfully prepare for the NPTE and navigate from student to licensee at the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy website.
Contingency plan should the DPT Program not achieve Accreditation status:
Messiah College is committed to earning CAPTE accreditation for the inaugural Class of 2021 graduation. In the unlikely event that CAPTE accreditation is denied or withheld, resulting in the inaugural cohort of students not graduating from an accredited program; Messiah College will:
- Immediately notify enrolled students of CAPTE’s decision that accreditation is withheld. No new students will be enrolled in the program. Students that are enrolled will be offered the option of completing the current semester’s coursework and remaining in the program until the program is in compliance with all of CAPTE’s Standards and Elements and the decision by CAPTE to deny or withhold accreditation has been removed.
- Provide the support and corresponding actions to gain compliance and pursue CAPTE Accreditation status in a timely manner.
- Assist students to the best of their ability in the process of transferring to another accredited DPT program if the decision to deny accreditation stands.