Doctor of Physical Therapy

ASU’s Physical Therapy Department provides opportunities for interactive learning in our systems-based curriculum focused on primary body systems (cardiopulmonary, integumentary, musculoskeletal and neurosensory). The experienced professional faculty provide an exceptional blend of educational, clinical and research expertise for students desiring a career in physical therapy.

About the Program

ASU’s Physical Therapy Department offers a fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Education (CAPTE), contemporary, 36-month entry-level graduate professional program leading to the Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.). Students begin their lock step, sequenced professional course of study in their first summer term to complete the full-time curricular course of study. Up to 26 individuals will be recommended to the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research for admission into the D.P.T. program. The program offers several opportunities rarely found elsewhere in other Texas physical therapy programs:

• An unparalleled Carr Academic Graduate Scholarship Program offering a distinctive scholarship opportunity to highly qualified students to earn their D.P.T. degree with most tuition paid.
• 1:7.8 Faculty-to-student ratio.
• 100 percent licensure pass rate for the DPT program 2012-2017 or 99.2 percent licensure pass rate and 100 percent employment rate of all licensed graduates seeking employment (calculation based on average since program inception, graduates of 2002-2017).
• An affordable program in the state of Texas.
• Clinical integration begins early in the curriculum.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Angelo State University is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: http://www.capteonline.org

If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 325-942-2545 or email physical.therapy@angelo.edu.  

The ASU Physical Therapy Department was granted full accreditation by the CAPTE on October 30, 2002. The accredited program was initially for a Master of Physical Therapy, but has since converted to a Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.), which gained final approval through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on January 29, 2009. The first D.P.T. class matriculated in the summer of 2009 with the first graduation on May 12, 2012. Current accreditation is in place until June 30, 2028. 

Facilities

The Physical Therapy Department houses state-of-the-art facilities. This includes five skills laboratories available for manual therapy, orthopedic and wound care instruction, electrotherapy, gait analysis, and neuroscience. Four dedicated faculty/student research labs: a fine motor motion analysis lab, a gross motor motion analysis lab, a human performance lab, and a motor control lab are designed to support student experiences and faculty/student research. A diabetes research lab has also been added with chances for students to work as lab techs under the direction of Dr. Han-Hung “Floyd” Huang. Two multi-purpose classrooms and a human anatomy lab have also been dedicated to our program. The program is housed in a brand new building dedicated to Physical Therapy and surrounding health sciences. 

Program Comparison

Students should be aware that all physical therapist professional education programs in the United States are subject to accreditation “standards that assure quality and continuous improvement in the entry-level preparation of physical therapists, and reflect the evolving nature of education, research, and practice.” While the Education Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) recognizes that there are proprietary organizations that rank physical therapist education programs, the profession encourages prospective students to provide their own comparisons through careful examination of information on program and APTA websites, and visits to the campuses to talk with enrolled students and program faculty.

Program Mission

The mission of the physical therapy program at Angelo State University is to prepare competent practitioners, to contribute to the knowledge of the field, and provide valuable service to meet the needs of the community.

Curricular of the Department of Physical Therapy

The profession of physical therapy is an integral and essential part of the healthcare delivery system. The quality of care provided by physical therapists, to a broad spectrum of citizens of all ages and backgrounds in a variety of practice environments, has been a catalyst for the profession’s expanding role.

The primary purpose of physical therapy is to promote, restore and maintain optimal human function. Physical therapists, as autonomous health care providers, will collaborate with other providers in the system to examine, intervene and prevent human movement dysfunction.

The Department of Physical Therapy at Angelo State University recognizes its responsibilities as part of a teaching, research, and service institution. The challenge of discovering new knowledge complements the opportunity faculty have to prepare students who will provide compassionate and efficacious and defensible examinations, interventions and referrals to the residents of the region, state and nation. Collectively and individually, the faculty will make contributions to the scholarship, teaching and service roles that professional education at the graduate level requires.