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Oct 31, 2025
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2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Post-Baccalaureate Physical Therapy Program
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 Return to: Programs of Study
Rockhurst University’s Department of Physical Therapy Education is committed to preparing competent, caring professionals who can help optimize movement and improve the life experiences for persons whose abilities are threatened or impaired due to developmental deficits, aging, physical illness or injury. Emphasizing an dintegrating critical thinking, problem solving and professionalism throughout the curriculum, the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program prepares a student for licensure as a physical therapist and enhances the student’s ability to clinically reason in a complex and changing health care system.
The Rockhurst DPT program is designed as an entry-level doctoral degree program. A new class of 48 students enters the program every June. The program includes eight semesters of coursework, including 34 weeks of field work experience over two and a half years. Students participate in a wide variety of learning experiences, including lectures, discussions, hands-on laboratories, service projects, independent study, group projects, research, integrated patient/client experiences an dlcinical internships.
Students can apply for entry into the DPT program upon successful completion of the Post-Baccalaureate Physical Therapy Program (PostBacPT).
Post-Baccalaureate students may be awarded Pre-Admission guarantee to the DPT program based on a combination of criteria.
The criteria include:
- a minimum of 3.5 Post-Bac GPA at Rockhurst
- a minimum of 18 credit hours of pre-requisite or approved elective course work completed at Rockhurst. Elective courses are selected with the program advisors Dr. Annie Lee or Dr. Laura Salem, and must be approved by the DPT program director.
- those who are offered Pre-Admission are still required to follow the same application and interview process required for all students, and completion of an application on PTCAS.
- to verify eligibility for Pre-Admission, transcripts for PostBacPT students are checked annually at the end of each academic year.
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Eligibility for acceptance into the Rockhurst PostBac PT Program:
- Completion of a Bachelor’s Degree
- Cumulative undergraduate GPA minimum of 3.0
- Strong interest and motivation for pursuing a career in Physical Therapy
Completion of Pre-Requisite Coursework
Students develop individual course plans along with academic advisors and program directors Dr. Annie Lee and Dr. Laura Salem. Advising meetings take place every semester. Rockhurst summer coursework is available in Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, and Physics. In addition to basic pre-requisite course, students may take additional coursework to enhance their application and preparedness for the DPT program. Program Attributes
- Class sizes of 50
- Personalized advising
- Open door access to professors
- Free tutoring and supplemental instruction
- Pre-Health Canvas page to communicate research, volunteer, and shadowing opportunities
- Princton Review Institutional Partnership with heavily discounted MCAT, DAT, PCAT, and GRE courses
Program Cost
For current cost per credit hour, see “Tuition and Fees” page of the Rockhurst website at www.rockhurst.edu. Contact Information
PostBac PT students will work with a Pre-Health advisor-either Dr. Laura Salem (laura.salem@rockhurst.edu)or Dr. Annie Lee (annie.lee@rockhurst.edu), and consult with members of the Physical Therapy department as they engage in undergraduate level coursework at Rockhurst. Eligibility for Pre-Admission into Rockhurst’s Physical Therapy Program:
- Applicants must complete a minimum of 18 credit hours and two semesters of Post-Baccalaureate coursework at Rockhurst. If the student has less than 18 hours of prerequisites left to complete, and meets the minimum GPA requirements, elective courses may be selected upon advisor and DPT program approval. Students can take pre-requisite coursework to improve their pre-requisite GPA.
- Pre-requisite coursework completed at Rockhurst or another institution must include, for a total of 48 credit hours:
- Minimum verbal GRE score of 150
- A formal interview
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
- Minimum science GPA of 3.5
- Minimum of 32 hours of clinical observation: 16 hours in an acute care setting and 16 hours in another area of physical therapy.
- Annual meeting with a DPT Program representative
- Completion of the application process as required by PTCAS, which includes:
- Submitting three letters of recommendation
- Completing a written essay
- Stubmitting scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
- Completing a personal interview with a member of the PT faculty (interviews are conducted in December)
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