Nannette Hyland, P.T., Ph.D., Program Director
nhyland@mercy.edu
914-674-7828
Physical therapy is a dynamic profession with an established theoretical and scientific base and widespread clinical applications in the restoration, maintenance, and promotion of optimal physical function. Physical therapists are health care professionals who help individuals maintain, restore, and improve movement, activity, and functioning, thereby enabling optimal performance and enhancing health, well-being, and quality of life. Their services prevent, minimize, or eliminate impairments of body functions and structures, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. Physical therapy is provided for individuals of all ages who have or may develop impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions related to (1) conditions of the musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and/or integumentary systems or (2) the negative effects attributable to unique personal and environmental factors as they relate to human performance.
Physical therapists play vital roles in today’s health care environment and are recognized as essential providers of rehabilitation and habilitation, performance enhancement, and prevention and risk-reduction services. Physical therapists also play important roles both in developing standards for physical therapist practice and in developing health care policy to ensure availability, accessibility, and optimal provision of physical therapy.
As clinicians, physical therapists engage in an examination process that includes taking the history including a review of systems, conducting a systems review, and performing tests and measures to identify potential and existing problems. To establish diagnoses, prognoses, and plans of care, physical therapists perform evaluations, synthesizing the examination data and determining whether the problems to be addressed are within the scope of physical therapist practice or whether a referral to another health care provider is indicated. Based on their judgments about diagnoses and prognoses and based on individual goals, physical therapists provide interventions (the interactions and procedures used in managing and instructing patients or clients), conduct reexaminations, modify interventions as necessary to achieve goals and outcomes, and develop and implement plans for conclusion of care. Introduction to the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice. Guide to Physical Therapist Practice 3.0. Alexandria, VA: American Physical Therapy Association; 2014. Available at: http://guidetoptpractice.apta.org/. Accessed [Dec 16, 2016].
Objectives
The Physical Therapy Program at Mercy College is an accredited 3 + 3.5 full-time weekend program designed to prepare graduates to practice with entry-level proficiency and to obtain licensure in Physical Therapy; graduates of the program are granted a dual B.S. in Health Science/Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT). Students must hold a bachelor’s degree and the prerequisite courses to begin the Physical Therapy curriculum if accepted.
The curriculum is based on a developmental, life span model that considers the unique needs of each individual. The program is dedicated to the promotion of high standards of physical therapy practice, education, collaboration and research in accordance with guidelines established by the American Physical Therapy Association.
The Physical Therapy Program encourages the motivated, self-directed student to use critical thinking and problem solving skills to integrate theoretical knowledge with clinical and research applications. Collaboratively, the faculty and students strive to develop and implement progressive learning methods to respond to the changing needs of the health care profession as it strives to better serve the community.
The Physical Therapy Program is committed to developing skills and competencies needed by future professionals. Its dedicated faculty has both academic and clinical experience to instill in students a spirit of inquiry, and to provide them with high quality clinical educational experiences.
Program Mission
Transform our students into professionals through unique learning experiences that will enable:
- Optimal movement for health;
- Appreciation of diverse backgrounds;
- Skill to collaborate in promoting health across the lifespan;
- Application of evidence in patient centered care;
- Humanism in teaching, learning, and care giving.
Program Goals
- Students are expected to master entry-level proficiencies in physical therapy knowledge and practice skills with individuals of all ages.
- Students are expected to display professional behaviors, cultural competence, ethical values and a commitment to remain current with professional knowledge and practice.
- Students are expected to demonstrate competency in applying methods of scientific inquiry and/or evidence-based learning to guide clinical/professional/scientific decision making within the physical therapy profession.
- Students are expected to analyze the implications of social, political, demographic and economic trends on physical therapy practice.
Course Load
The Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree is a full-time weekend program that takes approximately three years and four months to complete. The student is required to take eight to twelve credits per trimester. Course work may be completed in 10 trimesters.
Program Requirements
Students are required to complete a minimum of 90 credits to be considered for acceptance. These credits must include the 60 credits of required general education courses, a minor concentration (15 credits of upper level coursework), and the prerequisites for Physical Therapy.
Students who have successfully completed at least eight prerequisite courses listed below with a minimum prerequisite and cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 are eligible to apply to the program. All prerequisite courses must be successfully completed prior to entry into the Physical Therapy Program. No more than one prerequisite s cience courses can be taken during the summer before entering the program.
Volunteer or work-related experience in physical therapy is required. A maximum of thirty students will be accepted into each class.
Please note that no more than 75 credits can be accepted from a two-year college. Students with foreign credentials and whose first language is not English are required to complete six credits of college-level English composition to satisfy the dual degree requirements and complete the TOEFL (as per College policy). Those who already hold a B.A./B.S. degree are only required to complete the prerequisite courses and the Physical Therapy curriculum. After successful completion of the program coursework, students will be awarded a Bachelor of Science in Health Science and a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.
Students accepted to begin the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program in 2019 must hold a bachelor’s degree and the prerequisite courses to begin the Doctor of Physical Therapy curriculum.
Physical Therapy Undergraduate Prerequisites
Anatomy and Physiology I and II |
4 credits each |
Biology I and II |
4 credits each |
Chemistry I and II |
4 credits each |
Physics I and II |
4 credits each |
Developmental Psychology |
3 credits |
Statistics |
3 credits |
All science coursework needs to have a lab component. Online science labs are not accepted.
NOTE: No student will be admitted into a prerequisite science course if that student does not qualify to take ENGL 111 at the same time. Courses taken elsewhere will be evaluated for equivalency and transfer credit by the Admissions Department.
The grades of any repeated prerequisite courses taken within the last five years will be averaged together when computing the prerequisite GPA. Students currently repeating a prerequisite course will have the standing grade for that course included in their admission GPA until the new grade is averaged with the existing grade. All prerequisite courses must be completed with grades of C or better prior to entry into the program. A prerequisite GPA of 3.0 or higher is required (consisting of the eight most recent prerequisite science courses.
Program Admission Requirements
General information regarding eligibility for the Graduate Program in Physical Therapy may be obtained from the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) at www.ptcas.org. Information may also be obtained by contacting the Physical Therapy Program Office at 914-674-7828.
The following is required of all applicants (all documentation must be received by PTCAS no later than January 15th):
- Completion of an application packet on PTCAS (www.ptcas.org). Candidates with GPA of 3.6 or higher can submit applications by October 15 for consideration for early decision.
- Have a minimum science prerequisite GPA of 3.0, which includes the eight most recent science prerequisite courses.
- Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0. * Applicant’s whose cumulative GPA is < 3.0 will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
- Official Transcripts of all colleges attended sent to PTCAS (baccalaureate degree transcript if achieved). Students who have studied at institutions of higher education in other countries must submit official translations as part of the admissions submission to PTCAS. Only WES evaluations are accepted by PTCAS.
- GRE scores sent to PTCAS. The Mercy College GRE Physical Therapy Code is 0656. This is different than Mercy College’s general GRE code. Mercy’s required minimum for the GRE analytical writing section is a 3.0.
- Volunteer/work experience forms demonstrating at least eighty hours of volunteer or work-related experience. The volunteer hours must be in a minimum of two different settings.
- Two references on the Mercy College Physical Therapy Recommendation Form (one letter should be from a registered physical therapist or a work supervisor and one letter should be from an instructor of a prerequisite course). The recommendations should give evidence of academic and professional qualifications for graduate study, and should be no more than one year old.
- Students with foreign credentials and whose first language is not English are required to complete six credits of college-level English composition to satisfy the dual degree requirements and complete the TOEFL (as per college policy).
- On site Interview
Admission Procedure
- All candidates for the Graduate Program in Physical Therapy must file an application with PTCAS at www.ptcas.org. Completed applications have to be submitted to PTCAS no later than January 15th. The program begins in September. A complete PTCAS application includes: graduate application form, application fee, official transcripts of all colleges attended, GRE official score, essay, letters of recommendation and work experience forms.
- Please refer to the graduate admissions requirements for additional information regarding immunization and international students.
- Selected applicants will be invited to interview with representatives of the Graduate Program Admissions Committee.
- Candidates will be notified about Admission decisions by the end of March for entry to the Physical Therapy Program for the following fall.
- Offers of admission are extended only for the academic year stated. Students accepted into the program will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit of $500.00 at the time of acceptance, which will be applied to the fall tuition payment.
- Applicants can only apply to the program three times.
Program Design
The professional program in Physical Therapy is a full-time weekend program that takes approximately three years, four months to complete. The program is divided into ten trimesters of academic work. Classes are generally held on nine to 12 weekends within the fall, spring and summer semesters, between the hours of 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Students are required to take a minimum of six credits each semester. Since the program involves a full-time graduate course load, it is recommended that students work for no more than thirty hours per week.
Practical skills are developed through four full-time eight-week clinical education assignments. Basic Clinical Education is completed between the second and third years, and Advanced Clinical Education I, II and III are taken at the completion of the third year. All clinical education requirements must be successfully completed within 24 months of the didactic coursework. The professional program contains a total of 96 credits.
NOTE: While attempts are made to address students’ needs, optimal Clinical Education assignments may be a distance from students’ homes, thus requiring significant travel or the need for housing accommodations. Students are responsible for the cost of travel and accommodations.
Degree Requirements
Requirements for the Doctor of Physical Therapy include:
Professional Courses |
84 credits |
Clinical Education |
12 credits |
Total |
96 credits |