Admissions Prerequisites

Admission Prerequisites

• Biology with laboratory (8 semester hours/12 quarter hours)
• Chemistry with laboratory (8 semester hours/12 quarter hours)
• General physics with laboratory (8 semester hours/12 quarter hours)
• Human anatomy and physiology with laboratory (8 semester hours/12 quarter hours)
• Statistics (3 semester hours/4 quarter hours)
• Any psychology (3 semester hours/4 quarter hours)
• Abnormal or developmental psychology (3 semester hours/4 quarter hours)
• English composition or writing (3 semester hours/4 quarter hours)

Applicants must complete anatomy and physiology courses within the last eight years, prior to application, or demonstrate ongoing work experiences that have kept this knowledge current (e.g. physical therapist assistant, athletic trainer, etc.).

Introductory-level science courses are not accepted.

Completing Prerequisite Coursework

Courses must be completed before matriculation into the DPT program, but applications will still be accepted as long as courses are in progress or will be completed prior to matriculation. At the time of application submission, prospective students must have at least eight of the 12 required prerequisites complete in order to be considered for admission, as reflected by submitted transcripts. All prerequisite courses will be assessed for fit on a case-by-case basis.

• Complete all required pre-requisite courses with a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) and prerequisite course GPA of 3.00 or greater on a 4.00 scale.
• All prerequisites must be completed with a grade C or better.
• No more than 6 calendar-year 2020 prerequisite course hours can be submitted in pass/fail format; anatomy, physiology, and physics pre-requisite courses must be reported as letter grades.
• If a course is repeated, the repeated course needs to be a grade C or better. The prerequisite and science/math GPAs will be determined using the highest course grade achieved; however, both grades will be calculated into the cumulative overall GPA.
• Credit awarded through AP exams may be used toward direct equivalent prerequisites if the AP credit was accepted by the prospective student’s undergraduate institution.
• All letter-graded prerequisite coursework (with the exception of anatomy and physiology courses) is acceptable, no matter when the coursework was completed.
• Anatomy and physiology prerequisite courses must be taken within eight years of the admissions cycle year (e.g., If applying in 2021, then courses taken since January 2013 will be accepted). If anatomy and physiology courses were taken more than eight years prior to application, demonstrated ongoing work experience(s) that have kept this knowledge current (e.g., physical therapist assistant, athletic trainer, etc.) is required within a waiver application.
• The rigor of the institution will be taken into consideration, and it is recommended that all courses be taken at a four-year accredited institution. However, courses from two-year accredited institutions will be accepted.

General guidelines for Prerequisite Courses

• Introductory-level science courses are not accepted.
• Prerequisite courses taken at institutions other than Bowling Green State University are evaluated through review of course catalog descriptions and/or syllabi to determine appropriateness of course material and level of rigor.
• Quarter System Courses: In MOST instances, completion of three (3) quarters of biology, physics and chemistry are required to fulfill the two-semester requirement. These courses will be reviewed on an individual basis as institutions have different requirements and standards.
• Science prerequisite course descriptions should state that they are “for science or pre-health majors” or be taught in a science department and should contain a lab. 
• Applicants requesting for waivers or exceptions to prerequisite coursework requirements may be granted on a case-by-case basis. Such requests must be made in writing to the director of admissions, and must include the course description/syllabi, the institution at which the applicant took the course, and the grade obtained.
• College Level Entry Program (CLEP) or aptitude tests are not accepted in place of having completed courses with a grade requirement; however higher-level subject matter courses will be considered as pre-requisites on a case-by-case basis.
• Acceptable psychology pre-requisites may include: Introduction or 101, human development, abnormal psych, personality or child psychology.
• Courses should cover developmental theories; lifespan is a plus. If an applicant has more than one psychology course beyond an introductory course, the two courses with the highest grades will be accepted.
• Biomechanics cannot count for the Biology pre-requisite.