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Physical Therapy

Department of Applied Medicine and Rehabilitation

Prepare for a successful career as a Physical Therapist with a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from Indiana State University.

Hear about our DPT program

DPT Program Newsletter

Notice to Applicants

The Application Process through PTCAS for the DPT Program of 2026-2027 will be open June 16, 2025 through October 15, 2025. Please watch this site for more information. We encourage you to look through this website for valuable information on Indiana State’s DPT program, prerequisites, questions, and much more. 

We require applicants to attend one of our Program Preview events. If you are unable to attend in person, contact us for a virtual option. More information and dates to come. 

Please email Admissions at ISU-DPTAdmissions@indstate.edu for more information.

We are happy to do personal tours as well by contacting Admissions at the above email address.

Mission

AMR Department class of 2019

The mission of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program is to provide a supportive, student-focused learning environment that encourages and educates individuals to develop into compassionate, clinically and culturally competent licensed physical therapists who are productive citizens. The physical therapy curriculum will allow opportunities for scholarship, community engagement, and professional service, in addition to in-depth learning in human movement. The program will emphasize ways in which future physical therapists can contribute to the health equity of all, including rural and/or underserved populations.

Admission

We are waiving the required minimum GRE score of 290. However, all applicants are required to submit GRE Scores. We encourage you to review the average scores of previous cohorts to determine competitiveness.

 GPAPre-Req
GPA		GRE (v)GRE (q) IN ResidentISU
Graduate
2022-20233.73.5149151288
2021-20223.73.61491512510
2020-20213.73.6150151193

We recognize that COVID-19 has changed academic plans across the country in ways that are outside of the student’s control. Our program will accept pass/fail grades for Spring 2020 courses with no disadvantage to the applicant. To enable us to make informed admission decisions, we do encourage as much coursework as possible be taken which is traditionally graded(vs. pass/fail); this is especially true of our prerequisites.

​Sixty observation hours are required. Two different clinical settings are required. (See PTCAS for details.)

We require applicants to attend one of our Program Preview events. There will be an in-person Program Preview on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, at 5:30 p.m., and our fall in-person Program Preview will take place on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. For those unable to attend in person, we will have a virtual option on Wednesday, October 8, 2025. The Program Preview will include an overview of our DPT program, a tour of our facilities, and interactive group sessions with faculty members and current DPT students.

Application Deadline - Applications will be closed October 15, 2025 for the DPT class entering Summer of 2026.

  • Please have all GRE scores sent to our NEW program specific code:  1710 - Indiana St U PTCAS
  • The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Indiana State University participates in the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service, known as PTCAS.  
  • Applicants applying to the entry-level physical therapist education program for the 2026 entering class will apply online using the PTCAS application beginning in June, 2025. Learn more at the PTCAS website.
  • Requirements
    • Bachelor's Degree
    • GRE Scores
    • Observation hours
      • Verification of observation hours is required. Applicants are encouraged to have their PT observation hours verified electronically through PTCAS at the time they apply, rather than use a paper form. However, paper forms uploaded as an attachment to the PTCAS application are also accepted.
    • Program Preview Event in place of in-person interviews. 
    • Admission Requirements / Prerequisite Courses
    • For additional information, please contact:

Student Goals
1. Students will practice in an ethical and legal manner utilizing effective oral and written
interdisciplinary communication skills to patients and stakeholders within the profession
including those in rural and underserved areas.
2. Students will demonstrate competent entry-level patient care skills and will be able to critically
reason in examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis and intervention while functioning as
autonomous practitioners.
3. Students will promote health and wellness in their community.
4. Students will demonstrate competence in accessing evidence based literature, appraising the
literature, and implementing it to enhance practice patterns.

DPT Program Outcomes

The DPT program’s current two-year graduation rate is 89 percent. The employment rate for our graduates dating from our inaugural class in 2018 to our Class of 2024 was 100 percent. The program boasts a 100 percent ultimate pass rate on the national licensing exam 6 years in a row.

View additional Program Outcomes data.

 

Accreditation

The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Indiana State University is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; telephone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: https://www.capteonline.org. If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 812-237-4428 or email howell.tapley@indstate.edu

Feedback

* Provide feedback about the ISU DPT Program to Howell Tapley, PT, PhD, OCS, Program Director.