Pre-Physical Therapy Area of Emphasis (3 or 4 years)

Overview of Physical Therapy as a Career

There is a physical therapy school located at WVU. Only 26-28 students are admitted to this program each year, so competition is very stiff. A GPA of 3.6 and high professional exam scores are required for admission. Students are required to have an appropriate undergraduate degree in order to be admitted to the Master of Physical Therapy degree program. Contact WVU for degree requirements.

Marshall University's College of Health Professions will be offer a DPT in the near future. Please check the College of Health Professions for more information.

See the Occupational Outlook Handbook: Physical Therapy

Courses

Principles of Biology I and II (BSC 120 and 121)

Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy (BSC 310) or Human Anatomy (BSC 227) Note: BSC 227 does not count toward a Biological Science degree.

Animal Physiology (BSC 422) or Human Physiology (BSC 228) Note: BSC 228 does not count toward a Biological Science degree.

Principles of Chemistry I and II and Labs (CHM 211, 212, 217, and 218)

College Algebra (MTH 130 or 127) and Trigonometry (MTH 122) [Requirement may also be met by Pre-Calculus (MTH 132), Applied Calculus (MTH 140), or Calculus (MTH 229)]

Introductory Statistics (MTH 225)

General Physics I and II and labs (PHY 201, 202, 203 and 204)

English Composition I and II (ENG 101 and 102)

Medical Terminology (AH 151)

General Psychology (PSY 201)

Child Development (PSY 311)

Recommended Electives

No specific courses.

Other Courses

12 hours from Art, English Literature, Languages, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies or Speech (must be distributed in at least three fields); 6 hours from Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology

Other Requirements

60 hours of clinical volunteer or work experience in a physical therapy setting is required for admission.

Biology
Biomedical Sciences
Cellular/Molecular Biology
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Microbiology

Biochemistry
Chemistry
Forensic Chemistry

Physics

Professional Exam

Generally, the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required but the entrance exam requirement may vary among institutions.

The GRE is a three hour computer-based general test is composed of verbal reasoning (30 minutes consisting of 30 questions), quantitative reasoning (45 minutes consisting of 28 questions), and analytical writing sections. The analytical writing section is always first and is split between an issue task and argument task. For the issue task, two topics will be presented and you will choose one. The argument task does not present a choice of topics; instead, one topic will be presented. In addition, one unidentified un-scored section may be included, and this section can appear in any position in the test after the analytical writing section. Questions in the un-scored section are being tested for possible use in future tests, and answers will not count toward your scores. The verbal and quantitative sections may appear in any order. Treat each section presented during your test as if it counts.

The approximate cost is $140.00. Additional fees such as late registration, change of testing site, or rescheduling fees can be included in the total cost.

Three scores are reported on the General Test:

1. Verbal Reasoning score reported on a 200-800 score scale, in 10-point increments.
2. Quantitative Reasoning score reported on a 200-800 score scale, in 10-point increment.
3. Analytical Writing score reported on a 0-6 score scale, in half-point increments. 

Official scores will be sent to you and the professional schools you designated within 10 to 15 days after you take the test. Any section in which you answer no questions at all will be reported as a no score (NS).

For the most current information, review the GRE web site.

Links to Professional Schools