Graduate Admission Requirements & Application

Application Process

There are two pathways for admission into the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program:

• SHU Freshman Admission
  • Students who are admitted into the Doctor of Physical Therapy program as incoming Sacred Heart University freshmen.
• Competitive Admission
  • Internal Sacred Heart University applicants (any SHU student other than those offered freshman admission) and external applicants (students who completed their undergraduate degree at another institution).

Application Deadlines

• Sacred Heart University internal students admitted as freshman and applying competitively apply through Sacred Heart University's Graduate Admissions by September 15, 2025.
• External students apply through PTCAS by January 15, 2026.

Admission Requirements

Transcripts

• Official transcripts from all institutions attended; evidence of an earned baccalaureate degree prior to matriculation into the DPT program 

GPA

• 3.2 Overall GPA
• 3.2 Prerequisite GPA with no prerequisite course grade below a “C”. Applicants may retake a maximum of two courses one time each for a grade replacement.

Letters of Recommendation

• Two letters of recommendation (one from a past employer, one from an academic source who can attest to the applicant’s academic performance)

Essay Questions

Briefly describe the types of experiences you have had in physical therapy and/or health care thus far. Include some indication of how extensive (comprehensive) each exposure was and how it contributed to your decision to pursue physical therapy.

• Identify a project you completed that you believe required the most independent learning on your part. The project does not have to be something you did as part of schooling. Briefly describe what the project involved. Identify why you considered the experience to have been “independent” learning. Identify whether you consider the experience to have been successful, including why. Identify one way in which you would change the experience if you had it to do again that would make it a better or more positive learning experience.

Each essay response should be approximately one page, double spaced in length.

Observation Experiences

• Documentation of a minimum of two different observation experiences, 50 contact hours total, either volunteer or paid, in different physical therapy practice settings (e.g., hospital, nursing home, rehabilitation agency, outpatient setting).
  • SHU Internal Applicants should fill out the Observation Form. External Applicants submit through PTCAS.

Interview

• Academically qualified candidates will be invited to a virtual interview.