Doctor of Physical Therapy
Program Overview
History
The Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). The Master in Physical Therapy program was granted interim accreditation in 1995 and full accreditation in November 2000.
Planning for the Physical Therapy program began in the mid-1970s at The University of Texas at San Antonio where the Program was first housed. The first class of 18 students was admitted in June 1978, under the Chairmanship of Dr. Ray Patterson; they were awarded Bachelor of Science degrees in May 1980. In the same year, the Board of Regents approved funds to renovate space for the medically related allied health programs on the site of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Faculty offices and the teaching laboratory were completed and occupied two years later. The Master of Physical Therapy program was initiated in August 1995.
In May 1998, the Department of Physical Therapy moved into the new Health Professions/Research Building at 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, a few blocks from the main campus of the UT Health Science Center. The building offers state-of-the art technology for classroom and laboratory instruction, as well as the capability to provide distance education to sites throughout South Texas and beyond.
In July 2008, approval was granted to begin the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. The first full DPT class entered in the fall of 2008 while the second and third year students were offered the opportunity to take extra courses and clinical affiliations to earn their Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. The first Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree will be handed out to students in the summer of 2009.
Current
The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is a "3 +3" program. This means that students are eligible to apply to the program after completing three years of college prerequisites before beginning the three-year physical therapy program. A bachelor's degree is not required for entry into the program, but applicants who already have a bachelor's degree may be accepted also.
Students begin the program in the fall semester and take courses through the spring semester. During the first year, students complete courses in research, pathology, physiology, anatomy, kinesiology, neuroscience and clinical foundations. There are no courses scheduled during the first summer of the eight-semester program.
In the second year, students learn specialized treatment techniques and planning. The courses focus on the treatment of people with musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, and/or cardiopulmonary problems. After the second academic year and during the summer, students are assigned to clinics to work with patients. Students work in three different clinic sites for ten weeks at each site. All student work is under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist. The required clinical courses are completed in the fall semester of the third year.
The final semester of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program begins with a four-week clinical selective, specialty clinical rotation. Returning to campus, students take courses in administration, management of the complex patient, and a scientific investigation course where they complete and present a research project.