What it’s about:

Physical therapists (PTs) are licensed health care professionals who work to prevent, diagnose, and treat conditions that affect a person’s movement and functional independence. Although you have to go to graduate school to earn a degree in physical therapy, a variety of undergraduate majors can prepare you for a professional PT program.

What the study of this major is like:

To become a physical therapist, you must complete the prerequisites in college and then take a full-time, three-year, graduate-level program. Some colleges offer “3 + 3” programs, which enable you to complete both college and graduate work in six years,

Currently, the professional degree in physical therapy is either a master’s degree (M.S.P.T. or M.P.T) or the Doctorate in Physical Therapy (D.P.T.). The D.P.T. emerged in response to a significant shift in the roles and responsibilities of the physical therapist; PT education now requires a depth and breadth like that in other professional health care fields, such as medicine, dentistry, and optometry. A large number of professional programs have either converted to the D.P.T. degree, or have indicated an intention to do so.

Although various undergraduate majors, including biology, psychology, chemistry, or engineering, may help you get into a professional physical therapy program, you must be interested in movement as a primary component of health, and be committed to the study and application of the science of movement in the context of health care. As an undergraduate, you should take courses in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, as well as in quantitative and analytical fields. A broad liberal arts education will help you hone your interpersonal skills, think critically, provide evidence-based care, and learn how to serve diverse populations.

Prerequisite course work for admission to professional programs can include anatomy, kinesiology, athletic training, exercise science, neuropsychology, social psychology, human development, physiology, physical education, and special education. Many graduate PT programs also require computer literacy, certification in CPR, and competence in medical terminology (a knowledge of Latin and Greek roots). May also require a certain number of hours of volunteer clinical experience. You should plan each semester in college to be sure that you fulfill all the requirements for admission to grad school.

What can you look forward to in grad school? Most programs begin with basic science courses such as anatomy (generally dissection-based), neuroscience and motor control, exercise physiology and patho-physiology, and the psychosocial aspects of health and disability. You then apply what you learn to clinical practice, through guided clinical experiences. The core of your curriculum involves studying clinical sciences in neurology, cardiology, pediatrics, and orthopedics and acquiring patient management skills that you can use in diagnosing problems, planning interventions, and assessing results. Your clinical competence will be judged by a variety of clinical internships that you must complete.

Career options and trends:

Clinician; private practitioner; clinical administrator; clinical educator.

Physical therapists work in hospitals, extended-care facilities, home health agencies, public and private schools, industry, programs for people with developmental disabilities, and private clinics.

All states require physical therapists to pass a licensure exam before they can practice, after graduating from an accredited PT educational program. A number of states require continuing education to maintain licensure.

Physical therapy is now about prevention as well as rehabilitation. Clients include individuals in good health, as well as those at acute stages of illness; in schools and fitness facilities as well as in hospitals and nursing homes; and of both young and old ages. Therefore, the job outlook is excellent; health care, health promotion, and prevention opportunities abound.

Source: CollegeBoard 2012 Book of Majors