Doctor of Physical Therapy

Welcome to the DPT Program at SMU

Our entry-level DPT program is designed so graduates excel in serving patients and clients as generalist physical therapists capable of autonomous practice in the health care system. During our 34-month program students progressively build clinical reasoning skills with increasingly complex patient problems through a series of academic and clinical courses that are closely integrated in a uniquely designed curriculum. Click here to read more about our philosophy of education and department mission.

Admission

View details about our Admissions Procedures & Admission Requirements

Application Deadline: October 1

Why Choose Samuel Merritt University for your DPT?

More clinical education experiences than the national average. Ten months of full-time clinical experiences totaling 1680 hours, compared to the national average of 1208 hours. Clinical experiences start in the second semester and are interwoven throughout the curriculum, culminating in the first six-month internship offered by any program in the United States.
Graduates' success on the physical therapy licensure exam. Our first-time pass rate on the national physical therapy licensure examination ranged from 91%-100% in the last five years, compared to the national average of 78-92%, and was 100% in five of the nine graduating classes, including the first DPT class in 2005.
Small class sizes with faculty support. We enroll approximately 38 students each fall and have 9 full-time faculty members. In clinical lab courses there is one faculty member for 10-12 students and in anatomy lab courses have one faculty member for 15-20 students. Case studies courses have one faculty member for 8 students.
Click here to read more about our vision of DPT education

SMU Doctor of Physical Therapy Outcomes

SMU DPT Graduation Rate* 2012 is not yet available, in 2011 it was 90.1% (versus 89.2% 2011 national average)
SMU 1st Time Physical Therapy Examination Pass Rate 2012 was 93% (versus 89.2% 2011 national average; 2012 national average not yet available)
Overall SMU Physical Therapy Examination Pass Rate 2011 was 100%
97% of SMU DPT Graduates are employed as Physical Therapists within 6 months of graduation

*Graduation rate is the percentage of students admitted to the DPT program who completed the program within 150% of the time normally expected for completion. This is the definition used by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education.

Cost and Value of your SMU DPT Education

Most students will have a choice about what physical therapy program to attend for their doctoral degree. Many things should be considered when making that choice such as quality of instruction, philosophy of program, geographical location, licensure outcomes and certainly cost. We have provided some detailed information about both value and cost of attendance at Samuel Merritt University. We would encourage each of you to ask these same questions at the other schools you are considering.
Click here for more information about the cost and value of your DPT education at SMU

Accreditation

The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Samuel Merritt University is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314; telephone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: http://www.capteonline.org.