Program Overview

Introduction to the Pre-Physical Therapy Path

The Pre-Physical Therapy Path is designed to prepare students for a career in physical therapy. This program is tailored to help students successfully apply to physical therapy graduate schools.

Academics

The Pre-Physical Therapy Path is available to students of several majors. If you are a biomedical sciences major, you will take all the important prerequisite classes for physical therapy programs as part of your major. For students of other majors, the following classes are required:

• General Biology (BIO101, 4 credits with lab)
• Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II (BIO326 and BIO327, 8 credits with lab)
• General Genetics (BIO305, 4 credits with lab)
• General Chemistry I and II (CHE111 and CHE112, 8 credits with lab)
• Physics for Life Sciences I and II (PHY103 and PHY104, 8 credits with lab) or General Physics (PHY111 and PHY112, 8 credits with lab)
• General Psychology (PSY101, 3 credits)
  • Other courses in psychology and sociology, depending on the program

The Honors Program

The Honors Program at SUNY Plattsburgh is an important way to demonstrate academic excellence. Students are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity if possible.

Healthcare Experience

Most physical therapy schools expect applicants to have between 50 hours of experience shadowing a physical therapist. Through an affiliation with Meadowbrook Healthcare, a rehabilitation facility, students can gain the necessary experience.

Applying to Physical Therapy School

Application to physical therapy schools is through the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) system. Most program deadlines are in the fall for the following year. The PTCAS system processes applications, which can take up to five weeks, and then submits them to the selected schools. It is essential to submit the PTCAS application and arrange for materials to arrive at PTCAS by the program's deadline. Many schools have rolling admissions, accepting qualified candidates as their applications become complete, including Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores.

Recent Graduate Success

Recent graduates, such as Cassandra Ashline, Class of 2022, who earned a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences at SUNY Plattsburgh, have gone on to attend prestigious institutions like SUNY Buffalo.