Pre-Professional Programs - Physical Therapy

For course descriptions in Physical Therapy, see the 2007-2009 Academic Course Catalog Advisor: Don Fischer 

Our students are highly sought after because of the strong liberal arts education that CSB and SJU provide and because of our strong science programs. 

A curriculum created specifically for you

Saint Benedict's and Saint John's offer a pre-professional program in physical therapy. Our program is not a  specific set of courses, but rather a curriculum specifically created between you and your advisor to help you achieve your goal of gaining acceptance into the graduate program of your choice.

The plan will include not only specific courses, but also volunteer experiences which will help to make you an attractive candidate to the PT programs.

Students complete prerequisite coursework outlined by the various approved schools of physical therapy. Upon completion of the pre-professional course work, the student is eligible to apply to colleges and universities offering a degree in physical therapy. However, students ordinarily complete a bachelor's degree at Saint Benedict's or Saint John's before applying to a physical therapy school.  Students may select any major; physical therapy schools do not prefer one major over another. Most pre-physical therapy students major in biology, psychology or nutrition science.

Due to the specific prerequisite courses which each school of physical therapy requires, students are advised to work closely with the faculty adviser to plan their pre-professional program. Students should meet with the campus adviser early in the fall semester of their first year.

The following courses are identified by the University of Minnesota, Mayo School of Health Related Sciences, the College of St. Scholastica and the College of St. Catherine as part of their required prerequisites:

____ BIOL 121, Cellular Life: Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology(4) NS
____ BIOL 221, Introduction to Organismal Biology (4)
____ CHEM 123, General Chemistry I (4) NS
____ CHEM 234, General Chemistry II (4) (QR)
____ MATH 124, Probability and Statistical Inference (4) MT or
____ PSYC 221, Applied Behavioral Statistics (4)
____ PHYS 105, Physics for the Life Sciences I(4)
____ PHYS 106, Physics for the Life Sciences II(4)
____ PSYC 111, Introductory Psychology(4) SSL
____ BIOL 325 and 326, Human Anatomy and Physiology I, II (4,4)

 

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Course Requirements for Specific Programs

	Courses	University of Minnesota	College of Saint Scholastica	College of Saint Catherine	Mayo School of Health Sciences
Gen Biol w/Lab I	BIOL 121	x		x	x
Gen Biol w/Lab II	BIOL 221	x		x	x
Human Anatomy	BIOL 325	x	x	x	x
Human Physiology	BIOL 326	x	x	x	x
Gen Chem I	CHEM 123	x	x	x	x
Gen Chem II	CHEM 234	x	x	x	x
Gen Physics I	PHYS 105	x	x	x	x
Gen Physics II	PHYS 106	x	x	x	x
Intro of Psychology	PSYC 111	x		x	x
Abnormal Psychology	PSYC 381	x	x		360 or 381
Developmental Psych	PSYC 360		x	x	360 or 381
Statistics	MATH 124/PSYC 221	*PSYC 221	x	x
Calculus	MATH 119/MATH 118	x		x
Medical Terminology	NUTR 120/NRSG 112		x	x
CPR		x

Preferred

In addition the Mayo School of Health Sciences requires one course in sociology, anthropology, philosophy, logic or ethics, speech, death and dying. This requirement may be fulfilled by Senior Seminar.

Additional Requirements:

College of St. Catherine:

1. GRE: Required
2. Minimum GPA: 3.0 (on 4.0 scale)
3. Number of Observation Hours: An applicant must have a minimum of 100 hours of physical therapy or other health-care clinical experience during the three years prior to applying to the DPT program.

University of Minnesota:

1. GRE: Required
2. Minimum GPA: An operational standard GPA for overall grade point average of 3.00 and a 3.00 in the prerequisite coursework are the preferred minimum as indications of probable success in the Program
3. Number of Observation Hours: Completion of at least 100 hours of volunteer or work experience in a physical therapy setting. Exposure to multiple areas of practice in physical therapy, and additional healthcare exposure, is recommended.

Mayo School of Health Sciences:

1. GRE: required, but there is not a minimum score requirement.
2. Minimum GPA: At least a 3.0 cumulative undergraduate grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and a 3.0 or better grade point average in the prerequisite courses.
3. Number of Observation Hours: 100 hours in multiple areas of physical therapy (e.g., hospital setting, rehab unit, nursing home, outpatient facility, sports medicine setting, etc.)
4. Recommended courses: microbiology, histology, embryology, comparative anatomy, and kinesiology would be beneficial for preparation.
5. Other Requirements: Students must have proof of having successfully completed an American Heart Association or American Red Cross approved CPR course within 12 months prior to enrolling in the Program.

College of St. Scholastica:

1. GRE: Required, Preferred scores are 500 in the verbal and quantitative sections and a score of 3.5 in the written analytical section.
2. Minimum GPA: 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
3. Number of Observation Hours:No minimum hour requirement for observation/experience in PT prior to applying. The observation/experience is required be in at least two distinct practice settings that treat different patient populations. A private practice outpatient orthopedic setting is similar to a corporate or hospital system outpatient orthopedic setting so that would only be one experience. Students should pick from a list of experiences, that includes but is not limited to, inpatient acute care, adult neurorehabilitation, pediatric rehabilitation (in hospital, outpatient, or schools), outpatient orthopedic, long term care, etc. On average, students come in with three different setting with two types of experience and an average of 100 hours.
4. Recommended Courses:Kinesiology, Research Methods, Pathophysiology

For a complete list of all the accredited programs in physical therapy, visit the American Physical Therapy Association’s Website.