Web-based
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program
for
Licensed Physical Therapists

College Policies & Procedures for professional graduates
 

The USA Department of Physical Therapy is very pleased to announce a web-based DPT program for licensed physical therapists!  The American Physical Therapy Association refers to this type of program as a transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy (tDPT) program.

Effective April 2008, only MPT graduates from the USA PT Program are eligible for this degree.

The final deadline for application is March 1, 2009

January 6, 2009 
 
Dear USA MPT Graduates, 

As most of you know, our department has been offering a fully web-based transition DPT (tDPT) program since 2006 to prepare students for Vision 2020 of the APTA to be a doctoring profession by 2020.  The faculty in our department fully agree with this vision and have wanted to be a part of this vision not only for our profession but for the graduates of our program and others and were pleased be able to offer the tDPT program.  However, given the decrease in the demand for the program, the decision has been made that the tDPT program will be terminated effective with the admission and completion of one final class starting in the summer of 2009.   It is important to note that a minimum cohort of at least 10 students will be required in order to enroll a new class and the final deadline to apply for this program is March 1, 2009.   

This last group admitted would start classes in the summer of 2009.  If you receive five credits in our portfolio assessment system, you will only be required to take the minimum 20 credit hours of fully web-based coursework in our program.  I hope you will consider applying and join the other graduates of this program who have whole-heartedly felt the knowledge they have gained through this program has significantly enhanced their clinical practice.   Should the required cohort of students not be met, those students who did apply will be notified by April 1and their application and portfolio assessment fees will be refunded.  

The sequence of courses listed below will need to be taken in order to complete our program: 

Summer of 2009
PT 691 Clinical Reasoning (2 chrs)
PT 689 Evidence-based Practice & Library Research Skills(1chrs- pass/fail course)

Fall of 2009
PT 694 Advances in Neuromuscular (2 chrs.)

Summer of 2010
PT 626 Health Promotion (1 chr)
PT 690 Exercise Physiology (1 chr)

http://www.southalabama.edu/alliedhealth/pt/onlinedpt.html 

You can also download the application and review the portfolio contents on this webpage.  Since you are a USA graduate, you do not need to secure any of your transcripts since we already have them.  We will need any transcripts sent to us, though, if you have taken any additional coursework elsewhere since you graduated from our PT Program. 

You may also contact me at jirion@jaguar1.usouthal.edu or (251) 434-3577.   
 
Sincerely, 
 
Jean M. Irion, PT, EdD, SCS, ATC

Licensed Physical Therapists with a Master's Degree in physical therapy from the University of South Alabama can now advance their degree to the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) in a completely web-based curriculum at the University of South Alabama under the guidance of the experienced and encouraging PT faculty. This web-based DPT program for licensed physical therapists represent an alternate means of attaining the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.  Credits from the individual's entry-level Master's physical therapy degree and portfolio credits will count towards the degree. The program can be completed with a minimum of 20 semester hours of online DPT coursework. Application to this web-based program is reserved only for individuals who already possess a license to practice physical therapy in the US and want to advance their entry-level physical therapy degree to the Doctor of Physical Therapy.  This is a process that will update knowledge in the field and advance their clinical decision-making abilities. The web-based program consists of the required online courses in addition to the documentation of required previous entry-level physical therapy degree credit from the University of South Alabama and portfolio analysis to grant credit for professional life-experience and clinical expertise.  This program and its application process are separate from the regular onsite, full-time eight-semester DPT program though both culminate in the same DPT degree.

While the campus-based entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy degree consists of 118 semester credit hours, the “web-based DPT program for licensed Physical Therapists” will consist of 118 hours from:

1. credit from previous physical therapy professional course work taken in our Masters degree physical therapy program;

2. credit for graduate level PT-related courses taken since receiving the entry level Master's degree;

3. credit for professional experience awarded through portfolio review;

4. credit for online physical therapy courses offered through our web-based program. For example, a 2001 MPT graduate from our program with 93 semester credits from the entry-level MPT degree who gained 5 semester credits from portfolio analysis would only need to take 20 semester credits of the web-based curriculum.

The Web-based DPT program is a distance education clinical doctorate program designed for licensed physical therapists to work toward the DPT degree. All courses are delivered via the Internet for convenient, interactive, and independently paced learning that includes significant peer/faculty interaction. Each course web site will contain all course information including all assignments, quizzes and exams.  Course information may also be delivered online in a variety of formats including bulletin boards, posted PowerPoint presentations, online discussions, and e-mail.