best physical therapy grad programs in DC area?

[Anonymous]

DS is a freshman in college and is interested in becoming a physical therapist - his college does not offer this as a major, although they direct you to the types of classes you will need to get a grad degree in the subject. DS wants to major in "exercise science" although we are encouraging him to pursue chemistry or biology as a major - seems like one of those would provide more job options after graduation, since he financially won't be able to directly pursue a masters in physical therapy after college graduation. DS said his advisor encouraged him to start identifying schools where he would be likely to pursue a masters in physical therapy, since each program has different specific pre-requisites and that way he can tailor his classes within his chosen major to simultaneously complete those pre-requisites (his college does give you guidelines as to the general requirements for a masters in physical therapy). So, I am looking for recommendations as to strong physical therapy graduate programs in the DC/MD/VA areas - we live in MD so ideally he'd do this at a MD state school since presumably those will be the best value. Thank you for any advice!

[Anonymous]

Can't your son ask this question at his college? What college is this? I hear huge helicopter blades here . . .

[Anonymous]

Seriously? My son is 2 months into his college experience - in that short time he hasn't changed much from the person he was last year when I helped him decide on a list of colleges to which to apply. You think I am being a helicopter parent by giving him advice on his major and helping him to think a out what schools have good grad programs? As usual, why click on my thread if you don't have any useful advice.

[Anonymous]

OP, peruse the APTA website and maybe call the APTA afterwards with questions. They are based in Old Town and are very nice and helpfull

[Anonymous]

I was interested in physical therapy a while ago.

What the advisor said is correct where I think most physical therapy programs are masters programs.

For almost all graduate related things, University of Maryland at Baltimore (UMAB not UMBC or Univerity of Baltimore) had a great reputation (but have to add for the money). This includes law, pharmacy and physical therapy.

There were a couple of schools that had a combined BS/masters program in physical therapy but both out of the area. I think one was Baylor in Texas and the other was somewhere in Pennsylvania, maybe closer to the west side.

Again, this was all a while ago. So my memory may be a bit fuzzy on this and may not be remembering things correctly.

[Anonymous]

This should be the link to the UMAB site:

http://pt.umaryland.edu/pros_dpt_admissions.asp

Never mind what I said about Baylor. Looking at the website again, I think I was looking at Baylor because it had a high ranking somewhere and is also associated with the military.

Did a quick search and can't remember what the name of that other program I was looking at was before that was kind of a dual program. Where you get a Bachelors and a Masters. But that's not in the DC area anyways.

Also you're right about being able to get any degree in undergrad and being able to get into a physical therapy program as long as you fulfilled and meet the prereqs for the program.

I knew some people who went back to school after getting their degree to complete the prereqs to get into a physical therapy program. So was something I contemplated doing as well to change my career.

[Anonymous]

I am a native Virginian and wanted to go to grad school for Physical Therapy in Virginai, but I did not get in (17 years ago). I went to a PT school in Pennsylvania.

If you are looking for local (i.e., metro DC/Baltimore area), there is:

Marymount University
George Washington University
Howard University
Shenandoah University
University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB). I believe they even opened a division in the Eastern Shore.

Further away in Virginia, there are programs at VCU, ODU, Hampton Univ, and Radford. The program at Radford is very new. VCU has had an excellent reputation for a long time. Look for an accredited program.

I cannot help with reputations and rankings, as those have changed over the years. There are no longer bachelor degrees in physical therapy. You may find a 5-year program that ends in a Masters or Doctor of Physical Therapy (with a bachelors in something conferred after the fourth year). The profession is striving for the entry-level degree in PT to be the DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) degree by 2020. The DPT is a clinical doctorate, like that of a Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Optometry, Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine, etc. NOT a medical doctorate.

Truthfully, one can major in anything as long as the prerequisites are completed. The pre-reqs are a lot of science classes, so biology or chemistry is often a default. Many of my classmates majored in psychology/social/human services fields, as that is a huge aspect of patient-client care. I was a health-sciences major, and would have gone into public health education or administration or epidemiology if PT did not work out for me. I think I had a bio minor. I figured I could always teach sciences, health and physical edication if I got a teacher's certification.

I hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

I think Marymount has a good program.

http://www.marymount.edu/Academics/Malek-School-of-Health-Professions/Graduate-Programs/Physical-Therapy-(D-P-T-)

[Anonymous]

VCU has one of the more highly ranked programs in the country for physical therapy (10th-15th I believe).

[Anonymous]

OP I just want to chime in - my cousin was determined to be a physio-therapist all through school and at the start of college but he is now a hospital doctor specializing in emergency medicine. It might be worth keeping that possibility open, if you think there are rumblings of interest there.

[Anonymous]

I know two sisters who r doing real well. One went the Howard, and the other went to either UMBC or UMCP.

[Anonymous]

I just ran into a Howard University undergrad who is taking exercise science.

GW has a very strong PT program. Superb.

I think the key here is the part time work done outside the classroom. Does DS work with a sports team or is he a trainer at a gym? These are excellent outlets. They professionalize the interest and demonstrate self-motivation and a true interest in developing the knowledge base.