Prerequisites

• Must Be a United States citizen. Service in the U.S. military is not an eligibility requirement for application to the program.
• Must NOT be a graduate of a physical therapy program (U.S. or foreign), regardless of the level of degree conferred.
• Must meet the medical fitness standards for appointment as a Reserve commissioned officer as prescribed by the Department of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Public Health Service.
• Must be less than 46 ½ years of age on the date of appointment. Waivers are required for those over age 40.
• Must possess a baccalaureate degree or be in the final semester prior to receiving a degree with satisfactory completion of the prerequisites listed below. Note: No more than two prerequisite courses may be remaining to complete at the time of the selection board.
• Must complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)including the analytical writing portion. In recent years, applicants selected to attend this program have achieved mean cumulative GRE scores of 1162 with mean verbal scores of 526. Waivers are required for those with cumulative scores of less than 1000 and verbal scores of less than 450.
• Must complete volunteer observation hours in a physical therapy clinic. It is recommended that the applicant complete a minimum of 100 observation hours in a variety of clinical practice settings.

Course Requirements and GPA Calculations for Applicants to the U.S. Army-Baylor University Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy

Please note that if an applicant retakes a course, both grades will be used in calculating their GPA. This applies to computing the overall GPA and required coursework GPA.

Computation of the overall GPA:

All undergraduate coursework is included in the calculation of the overall GPA. Any course that was retaken, but not reflected as dropped or withdrawn on the official transcript, must also be included in the computation of the overall GPA. Courses taken and withdrawn failing, yet not retaken are counted as an "F". Pass/fail courses are not included in the calculation. Prerequisite courses taken at the graduate level are not counted in the overall GPA. Pluses and minuses are not counted (ie. B+ does not = 3.5). In recent years, applicants selected to attend this program have had a mean overall GPA of 3.67 on a four point scale. Waivers are required for those with overall GPAs of less than 3.10.

Computation of the required coursework GPA:

There are eleven required prerequisite courses. ALL prerequisite courses must have been completed within ten years of the initial fall semester of the program (semester that the applicant would be beginning the physical therapy program). All Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Anatomy, and Physiology courses taken by an applicant will be factored into their prerequisite GPA. Non-credit military training will not be counted as prerequisite coursework. Our program does accept CLEP exams or Advanced Placement exams to fulfill prerequisites. Please note that applicants cannot CLEP out of laboratory courses. Quarter hours and class hours that denote single units (i.e. 1.25 or 1.0) must be converted to semester hours. In general, applicants must have three quarter hours of a course to be equivalent to two semester hours. For example, CHEM I/II/III on a quarter system would be equivalent to CHEM I/II on a semester system. In recent years, applicants selected to attend this program have had a mean prerequisite GPA of 3.67 on a four point scale. Waivers are required for those with prerequisite GPAs of less than 3.10.

Required Coursework