Physical Therapy Admission Requirements

INTERESTED IN THE DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM?
PLEASE BE OUR GUEST FOR CLASS AND LUNCH!

You are cordially invited to sit in on a physical therapy class with our current students and be our guest for lunch. This is an excellent opportunity to meet currently enrolled students and PT faculty.

Available Sessions:
Session 1
Date: Monday, November 16
Time: 12 pm - 2:30 pm

Session 2
Date:  Tuesday, November 17
Time:  10:30 am - 1 pm

Space is limited. Please RSVP to Janessa Reinblatt at jreinblatt@samuelmerritt.edu .  Please indicate which session you are choosing. A confirmation email will be sent to you with additional details.

Virtual Drop In Counseling Now Available!

Virtual drop in counseling is available Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (all programs except DPM) and Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (DPM only).  Click for more information on Virtual drop in counseling.

Applying for Admission

The DPT program at Samuel Merritt University participates in the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS).

Applications for each fall admission cycle are available on the PTCAS website beginning July 15th. Please be advised that applications will only be accepted through PTCAS and the deadline for applications is October 15th. Instructions for submitting an application are available on the PTCAS website, http://www.ptcas.org/.

Notifications regarding interviews (on-campus and required) are sent in late December and interviews are held in January.  

Minimum criteria for admission include:

• Completion of baccalaureate and all prerequisites, from an accredited institution, by the end of spring term before entry
• Minimum cumulative GPA: 2.80
• Minimum prerequisite GPA: 2.60
• Minimum GRE verbal score of 450 and minimum GRE quantitative score of 500. The GRE must be taken prior to the October 15^th application deadline. Unofficial verbal and quantitative GRE scores need to be reported on the PTCAS application. An official score report must be sent directly to Samuel Merritt University. Please see http://www.ets.org/ for more information on registering for the GRE; the institution code for Samuel Merritt University is 3358.
• Supplemental Essay; in addition to the standard PTCAS essay questions, we require a custom essay. The PTCAS application will automatically prompt you to respond to our custom essay once you designate Samuel Merritt University on your application. Applications without the custom essay will be considered incomplete. 
• Inpatient Experience: a minimum of forty (40) hours of volunteer or paid experience in an inpatient physical therapy setting is required. The PTCAS Physical Therapy Observation Hours Verification Form must be signed by the physical therapist who supervised you and submitted through PTCAS.
• Two letters of reference; one from a professor (science or non-science) who can address your academic preparedness for a DPT program and one from a physical therapist who has supervised you in a clinical environment (inpatient or outpatient). Letters of reference are submitted through PTCAS.
• TOEFL (U.S. citizens or international students) - The need for TOEFL will be assessed based on information provided by applicants on the application for admission; if required, a score of 100 must be achieved and official score results must be provided.

Prerequisites

All prerequisites must be completed with a grade of "C-" or better by the end of Spring term before entry: