Program Overview

Overview of the PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences

The PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences is an interdisciplinary graduate school program housed within CU Physical Therapy. The program is comprised of core and associated faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students, and research assistants with a broad background, including physical therapy, medicine, psychology, engineering, and public health. The environment is highly collaborative, with strong mentors and state-of-the-art facilities.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must submit the following:

• Online CU Denver|Anschutz Graduate School application
• One official transcript of all academic work completed to date
• A non-refundable application fee
• Three letters of recommendation
• GRE Scores (optional)
• A list of one-to-three faculty members with whom the student is interested in working

Degree Requirements

In addition to the coursework, students must also take:

• 5-8 credits of Specialization Electives
• At least 1 credit of Statistics/Data Management Elective

First Year

The first year of the program includes the following courses:

• RHSC 7000: Foundations in Rehabilitation Science
• RHSC 7001: Rehabilitation Science Seminar
• RHSC 7910: Research Practicum in Rehabilitation Science I
• BIOS 6601 or BIOS 6611: Applied Biostatistics I or Biostatistical Methods I
• RHSC 7002: Professional Skills in Academia
• PHCL 7605 or CLSC 7150: Responsible Conduct of Research or Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research
• RHSC 8990: Doctoral Thesis

Second Year

The second year of the program includes the following courses:

• Specialization Electives
• Statistics/Data Management Elective
• RHSC 8990: Doctoral Thesis

Third Year and Beyond

• RHSC 8990: Doctoral Thesis

Learning Objectives

The goal of the Rehabilitation Science PhD Program is to prepare future generations of researchers to advance the science and practice of physical rehabilitation. Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

1. Critically analyze and integrate research findings from specialized disciplines to address complex problems of physical disablement
2. Design and implement rigorous, innovative, and ethical research that will advance theoretical and/or applied principles of clinical practice in rehabilitation
3. Disseminate findings of original research using standard scientific oral and written formats
4. Compete for funding from national agencies to support interdisciplinary research and educational initiatives in rehabilitation
5. Teach graduate-level courses in a selected area of specialization within the field of rehabilitation
6. Effectively communicate with clinicians, research scientists, and students in the field of rehabilitation and its affiliated disciplines using the common language of disablement
7. Serve in leadership roles for professional activities that will advance the science and practice of rehabilitation medicine

Courses

The program includes the following courses:

• BIOS 6601: Applied Biostatistics I
• BIOS 6602: Applied Biostatistics II
• BIOS 6611: Biostatistical Methods I
• BIOS 6612: Biostatistical Methods II
• CLSC 7150: Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research
• IDPT 7200: Scientific Writing for Doctoral Students
• NRSC 7661: Grant Proposal Writing Workshop
• PHCL 7605: Responsible Conduct of Research
• RHSC 7000: Foundations in Rehabilitation Science
• RHSC 7001: Rehabilitation Science Seminar
• RHSC 7002: Professional Skills in Academia
• RHSC 7910: Research Practicum in Rehabilitation Science I
• RHSC 8990: Doctoral Thesis

Policies

• Research Practicum: Before selecting a thesis advisor, students will complete a research practicum rotation with members of the RHSC Training Faculty in their first two semesters of enrollment.
• For additional policies, please refer to the Graduate School Policies page.