Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Blended

Physical Therapy

Bowling Green State University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program is Ohio’s first and only public, accelerated, hybrid (online and in-person) DPT program.

In this blended learning program, you’ll earn your Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in seven semesters. After passing the NPTE licensure exam, you will emerge as a clinician with a strong foundation in clinical reasoning and evidence-based practice and be a valuable contributor to the interprofessional health care team.

BGSU offers a holistic approach to admissions and recruitment, reducing barriers to the physical therapy profession. Because of this approach, the GRE is not currently an admission requirement, and no interview is required. We value diversity in our student body, and our faculty support every student’s academic and career success. Our accelerated, hybrid-delivered DPT model means our graduates can enter the workforce and earn an income sooner than students in a traditional three-year DPT program.

The mission of BGSU’s DPT program is to develop Doctors of Physical Therapy who create positive change in the lives of their patients and communities. We achieve this by teaching competence, innovation, application, research, inclusion and collaboration.

Our faculty, all renowned members of the physical therapy profession with a commitment to the education of the next generation of physical therapy professionals, have passionately and ardently created an intensive curriculum designed to challenge and empower BGSU DPT students.

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Accreditation

Additional Resources

DPT Informational Webinars

Learn about our seven-semester, accelerated, hybrid-delivered curriculum, as well as admissions requirements and accreditation standards for our program via one of our free monthly webinars from 6:30-7:30 p.m. EDT/EST. Find upcoming dates on the registration page.

Register‌ for an Informational Webinar

Our Delivery Model: Accelerated + Hybrid

Accelerated Defined

This approach allows completion of the DPT degree requirements in seven semesters (versus the traditional three years, nine semesters) while meeting the established timing and content standards set by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).

Hybrid Defined

BGSU DPT students experience the benefit of living anywhere in the country while still being a part of the BGSU community. The accelerated, hybrid DPT program infuses contemporary learning technologies and experiences into modern professional training for aspiring physical therapists. By combining the best practices of distance learning with live, face-to-face immersive lab experiential sessions, the student is prepared to grow through clinical experiences both in their respective community as well as at nationally recognized centers of health care.

How Hybrid?
Students will come to campus to learn psychomotor skills in lab immersions, four times (two weeks each) the first year while concurrently engaging with faculty and classmates in virtual synchronous and asynchronous course activities. During the second-year students begin to participate in clinical education internship experiences and come to campus for four lab immersions. See our sample academic calendar. This learning style is highly collaborative, engaging, and rigorous; the accelerated, hybrid curriculum requires the student to be a self-starter, highly organized, motivated and open to learning in new ways.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Belonging

BGSU School of Physical and Occupational Therapy is committed to establishing and supporting a diverse community of students, educators, and staff to meet needs of the physical therapist workforce and patients they serve. We value all dimensions of diversity. We respect the values, beliefs, and opinions of all community members. We believe that a diverse learning community is a stronger community for the public good.

BGSU DPT and the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy recognize and support a very broad definition of diversity: Diversity can include, but is not limited to; race and ethnicity, culture, religious background, geography (rural, urban, regional), gender identity, sexual orientation, physical abilities, neurodivergence, backgrounds and experiences, age/generation, veteran status, and family structures.

Our program is committed to addressing health disparities and social determinants of health. All BGSU DPT students will do at least one clinical education experience in a medically underserved area of the United States. Health disparities or social determinants of health can refer to but are not limited to-- a type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, educational, and/or, environmental disadvantage.

Career Outlook

BGSU DPT graduates will have the opportunity to practice across a spectrum of settings: outpatient clinics, hospitals, critical care units, people’s homes, schools, sports and fitness facilities and workplaces, to name a few.

The physical therapy profession is set to grow 18% from 2019- 2029, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics – much faster than the average of 3% for all careers. An aging population and sedentary lifestyles are creating extra demand for qualified physical therapists. The median salary in the United States for a licensed physical therapist is $85,000. Salary and demand vary based on degree, location, position, years of experience and setting. Licensed physical therapists may choose to pursue a residency or fellowship program to enhance their knowledge and practice in a specialty practice area.

Career paths

Neurological physical therapist
Pediatric physical therapist
Private practice PT
Home services
Geriatric PT
Sports medicine
Women’s health
Cardiac rehabilitation

Quick Facts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

View Average Salaries

Curriculum

Our body-systems aligned DPT curriculum is delivered across seven semesters, 108 weeks over 28 months using an accelerated, hybrid learning delivery model.

Approximately half of BGSU DPT’s curriculum is delivered online, with the remaining taking place in face-to-face lab immersion sessions and clinical education settings. Online instruction includes asynchronous multi-media content review, assignments and assessment learning activities combined with synchronous online classes and faculty office hours. Attendance is required at all online weekly sync sessions and face-to-face lab immersions. Given the 60+ hours/week demand of the graduate DPT accelerated delivery model, the program strongly discourages concurrent work beyond 10-12 hours/week.

Sample courses

Clinical Neuroscience for the PT
Pharmacology for the PT
Movement Science
Therapeutic Interventions
Musculoskeletal Practice
Mindful Patient Management

More Information

The Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) is a service of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). PTCAS allows applicants to use a single application and one set of materials to apply to multiple DPT programs.

Learn more about pursuing your doctor of physical therapy at BGSU

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The Doctorate of Physical Therapy program is part of the BGSU Graduate College and BGSU College of Health and Human Services

Accreditation | Professional Licensure

Bowling Green State University has obtained approval from the Ohio Department of Higher Education and regionally through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) to offer the DPT degree.

Effective May 10, 2022, the Bowling Green State University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 419-216-0002 or email dpt-admissions@bgsu.edu. Candidate for Accreditation is an accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status does not assure that the program will be granted Initial Accreditation.

Candidate for Accreditation is an accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status does not assure that the program will be granted Initial Accreditation.

Candidacy is considered to be an accredited status, as such the credits and degree earned from a program with Candidacy status are considered, by CAPTE, to be from an accredited program. Therefore, students in the charter (first) class should be eligible to take the licensure exam even if CAPTE withholds accreditation at the end of the candidacy period. That said, it is up to each state licensing agency, not CAPTE, to determine who is eligible for licensure. Information on licensing requirements should be directed to the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT; www.fsbpt.org) or specific state boards (a list of state boards and contact information is available on FSBPT's website.

For more information about CAPTE standards, decisions and the accreditation process as it relates to developing programs in the pre-accreditation/candidacy status phase, please refer to the CAPTE Rules of Practice and Procedures, Sections 13.4.B and 13.4.C, re: Status of Enrolled Students (in the event of an adverse action).

National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) information for prospective students

Below is the U.S. Dept of Education (USDE) rule change which allows students enrolled in institutions with Candidate for Accreditation or "pre-accreditation" status to sit for the licensure exam immediately upon graduation. Further, because of this rule change, initial accreditation status is no longer required to sit for the exam. Additionally, cohort number two (2025 graduating class) may complete the program and take the exam if initial accreditation is not granted, due to the reconsideration and appeal processes (a year-long process).

From US Department of Education. Effective July 01, 2020: "All credits and degrees earned and issued by an institution or program holding pre-accreditation from a nationally recognized agency are considered by the Secretary to be from an accredited institution or program."

From CAPTE Changes in the Rules. April 2020. "Per USDE regulations, all credits and degrees earned and issued by a program holding candidacy are considered to be from an accredited program."

Updated: 09/24/2024 08:37AM