Physical Therapy

Do you want to work in a field with great career potential, help patients, and work a 9-5 job? If you want to work with patients who need help overcoming physical injuries or disabilities, then physical therapy may be the career for you. Physical therapists (PTs) assist patients in a wide range of activities from teaching patients how to walk again after head-injuries to helping athletes improve their physical performance on the playing field. PTs also teach patients various therapeutic exercises and activities that strengthen muscles, improve mobility, and relieve pain. Their patients include accident victims and clients with such conditions as amputations, stroke, vertigo, low back pain, sports injuries, arthritis, heart disease, fractures, head injuries, and cerebral palsy. PTs work in a variety of healthcare environments, such as hospitals, clinics, physician offices, nursing homes, home health agencies, rehabilitation centers, adult daycare programs, or universities. PTs also work with athletes in various settings.

Degrees
After receiving a degree from Cornell, students enter a doctorate in physical therapy (DPT) program. The trend in the profession is training via a DPT program, but Master's programs are still available at some schools. Depending on your interests, you can seek advanced certification in a clinical specialty, such as orthopaedics, neurology, cardiopulmonary, pediatrics, geriatrics, or sports therapy.

Cornell Courses and Other Requirements
Cornell can help prepare you to be a competitive PT candidate and succeed in PT school. The general coursework prerequisites for physical therapy programs are similar to other pre-health programs, with greater emphasis in human anatomy and physiology. PT programs are highly competitive and have more prerequisites than medical programs! Begin preparing early and work hard in your classes!

1. Courses in biology, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, physics, psychology, statistics, and the social sciences are required. Many students major in Biology and Psychology or Kinesiology.
2. GPA. A competitive GPA is 3.3 or higher. Averages of incoming classes are 3.5 or higher.
3. GRE. A competitive GRE score will have a composite of 1000 or higher.
4. Clinical experience prior to acceptance to the program. Cornell students often meet this requirement through volunteer work, part-time work in a therapy setting, job shadowing, or working as an athletic trainer. The greater variety of the experiences the better.
5. Personal statement and letters of recommendation.
   
   

Required Prerequisites prior to applying are:

*One semester of both anatomy and physiology are required. As this is a two-block series at Cornell, both courses must be taken. However, some KIN courses in physiology will count as the one semester of physiology.
**Organic Chemistry I is a prerequisite to Anatomy and Physiology at Cornell, but is not a prerequisite for DPT programs.
***Two semesters of physics with lab are required for DPT programs. At Cornell, this is a three-block series of physics I, physics II, and physics lab.

Timeline

To learn more about becoming a physical therapist, or search PT schools, go to:
All Allied Health Schools
American Physical Therapy Association