Earn your Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree in Just Six Years

Earning a degree in physical therapy will prepare you to work with patients from infancy to adulthood and in settings that range from hospitals to schools, nursing homes to athletic venues, or outpatient clinics to patient’s homes.

LVC’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program is a fast-paced, highly competitive, and greatly respected program. We designed our courses to guide you through your pre-professional phase as an undergraduate physical therapy major and into your professional phase as a doctoral candidate. In six years, we’ll help you tackle everything from prerequisites to clinical rotations. 

We’re proud to be one of the few direct admit, freshmen entry physical therapy colleges in Pennsylvania. that offers high-level career preparation leading to numerous employment opportunities upon graduation. We’ll also help you develop the critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills employers seek because we want you to become leaders in the physical therapy profession, transform the lives of your patients, and enjoy a meaningful life-long career in health care.

Outcomes

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2018 Median Pay for physical therapists was $87,930 per year, the expected Job Outlook through 2026 is for a 28% increase, much faster than the average occupational growth rate of 7 percent.

What Makes Physical Therapy at LVC Special?

• LVC's DPT major is one of the few direct-admit physical therapy programs in Pa.
• Our new, $20 million learning facility, Jeanne and Edward H. Arnold Health Professions Pavilion, is where you’ll learn the intricacies of the human in the cadaver anatomy lab and you’ll perform exercise testing in the Lewis Human Performance Lab.
• You'll be mentored by faculty who have real-world experience in pediatrics, geriatrics, orthopedics, sports medicine, neurology, acute care, and home health physical therapy.
• A rigorous 34-week clinical education arm of the program provides live patient interaction throughout select semesters and during the fifth year summer.
• You will gain experience and serve the community through the student-led C.U.R.E. Clinic, where students schedule and treat uninsured patients from the community entirely free of charge.

Discover Your Degree Pathway

There are three distinct phases for admission to the program:

• Guaranteed Freshman Admission
• Early Professional Admission
• Traditional Graduate Admission

All three phases lead to a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. You’ll help patients in your first professional year of the program.

You can also learn new techniques and update your medical knowledge with our selection of Continuing Education courses.

In-the-Field Training

Physical therapy majors regularly use volunteer labs to practice learning. You’ll gain real-world experience by helping patients with disabilities, neurological disorders, and musculoskeletal injuries, all under the watchful eye of faculty who remain engaged in their own clinical practice. 

These experiences lead to professional opportunities in physical therapy. Take advantage of interprofessional education at the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center by working with medical residents and students from the nursing, physician’s assistant, and pharmacy departments on a variety of real cases. Pursue student-faculty research in speech therapy or the effects of exercise on patients with autism and go on to present and publish your findings to the medical community.

Through a series of integrated clinical experiences, you’ll work with a licensed physical therapist to apply what you learned in the classroom on patients as soon as you enter your first professional year.

You’ll also be required to log 34 weeks of clinical education in a variety of settings and travel off-campus for at least one of your experiences. Some students have traveled as far afield as Alaska or Italy for the clinical experience that best suits their research and career interests. We encourage you to seek out the clinical education placement that will clarify your career goals and put you on the path to success

What You Can Do with an Accelerated Physical Therapy Degree?

Our DPT degree prepares you to enter the field in any number of settings, from public schools to health clinics, research labs, and home healthcare. Recent graduates work as physical therapists in a wide variety of specialties, college physical therapy program adjunct professors, facility directors, and are self-employed throughout the US.

Alumni who respond to our annual surveys boast 100% job offer rates, and more than 97% of graduates have passed the physical therapy board exam on their first attempt in the last three years. In addition to dedicated support for health careers professionals on campus, you’ll be connected to a wide and deeply engaged alumni network of practicing clinicians.