Physical Therapy Program Information
Prerequisite Course Work
Applicants must complete the following prerequisites with a GPA of 3.0 in each category. Applicants with more than 4 or 5 required courses that will be in progress during the spring semester may not be considered for admission. Prerequisite course work in anatomy and physiology must be completed within the last 7 years. Prerequisite course work that is 10 years or older may not be acceptable for admission unless approved by the Admissions Committee prior to application. Correspondence and/or independent study courses will not be accepted in the lab courses (e.g. biology, exercise phys, chemistry. and physics).
A total of twelve courses serve as the prerequisites for application to the ISU P.T. Program. The courses are divided into 6 categories. One course may NOT be used to meet more than one prerequisite.
ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY (3 courses)
Courses 1 & 2. Anatomy and Physiology each with laboratory (vertebrate or human). 2 semesters
or 2-3 quarters.
This course must have been completed within the last 7 years.
Please Note: human anatomy and physiology courses MUST be listed in Biology , Zoology, Anatomy or Physiology Departments for fulfillment of this requirement.
Course 3. Exercise Physiology (2 or 3 credits; laboratory recommended but not required)
CHEMISTRY (2 courses)
Courses 4 & 5. Introductory Chemistry with laboratory
Must be courses for science majors. 2 semesters/2-3 quarters.
(A more recently completed chemistry course at upper division or graduate level with laboratory may also meet this requirement.)
PHYSICS (2 courses)
Courses 6 & 7. Introductory Physics with laboratory
Must be courses for science majors. 2 semesters/2-3 quarters.
(A more recently completed physics course at upper division or graduate level with laboratory may also meet this requirement.)
Correspondence and/or independent study courses will be accepted in the following courses:
MATH (1 course)
Course 8. Statistics (3 or more units)
Please Note: research methods or tests & measurements courses will not meet this requirement.
PSYCHOLOGY and SOCIOLOGY or ANTHROPOLOGY or HEALTH SCIENCE (3 courses - 3 units each)
Course 9. Introductory Psychology
Please Note: More recent upper division psychology courses may be accepted.
Course 10. Sociology or Anthropology or Health Science or Psychology
This course must be relevant to health care, rural societies, cultural diversity, aging, health care administration, abnormal psychology or epidemiology. (Please Note: Marriage/Family, religion or history courses will not meet this requirement.)
Course 11. Normal Human Development (3 or more units). This course is usually found in Psychology courses.
Medical Terminology (1 course - 1 or more units)
Course 12. Medical Terminology Course.
This can be a for credit college course, or correspondence, web-based, online or self-study course as long as there is verification of completion.
Note: Web based courses may be accepted for some non-lab based requirements and must be verified by appropriate academic transcript and syllabi.
A Technical Writing course is strongly recomended.
Note:
As part of your Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy program, you will be placed in several off-campus sites for clinical training. You will be required to successfully complete a series of immunizations, drug testing and a criminal background check prior to entering the program. Once the acceptance form is received you will be sent a list of these immunizations.
Conviction of a felony or other serious offense will likely result in denial of placement for the clinical assignment, and consequently affect your standing in the program.
If you have any questions about whether your criminal history, if any, will prevent or restrict your ability to obtain a license in this field, you should discuss this with the appropriate licensing agency or board.