Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Degree

DPT graduates, May 2007.

Practicing physical therapists can obtain their Doctor of Physical Therapy degree through Northeastern's innovative transitional DPT program. This program is designed for the working professional, using on-line course offerings to provide flexibility and convenience.

The transitional DPT program offers a curriculum that is adaptable and allows students to pursue areas of individual interest. Core topic areas include the following: differential diagnosis and medical screening, pharmacology, nutrition, and motor control. All students will study current evidence with respect to each core topic. Students may take electives across a wide range of areas and are given the opportunity to focus on specific clinical topics such as pediatrics, orthopaedics, geriatrics, or women's health. Students may also choose to focus on education or business. A comprehensive case analysis will be required and will address an issue in clinical investigation, community health, ethics, law, urban health, or another area of interest for the DPT candidate. This combination of areas will provide a unique educational experience that will offer our students opportunities for professional growth while providing the knowledge base required of a doctorally-prepared practitioner.

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) envisions the clinical DPT becoming the terminal degree of the profession by the year 2020. The mission of the transitional DPT program is to graduate doctorally-prepared adult learners, who were previously in possession of a physical therapy license and are practicing clinicians and/or educators. The philosophical model of the department of physical therapy guides the DPT curriculum and fosters an integration of art and science, as well as professional and experiential education. Graduates of the Northeastern University transitional DPT program will be well versed in the physical therapy arena of autonomous practice and direct access.

The transitional DPT program provides practitioners with a degree-based opportunity to acquire new knowledge, skills, and behaviors and to do so with professional colleagues who bring a wealth of experience in the application of the science and art of physical therapy. In this day and age, preparation to be a physical therapist requires an educational experience that is commensurate with doctoral preparation.

The graduates from the transitional DPT program will better facilitate interactions with both medical and academic colleagues on an equal basis as a part of a doctoring profession, being prepared to be an integral element of today's health care and academic teams. The graduate will be an independent thinker able to incorporate research and clinical judgment in the growth of the dynamic profession of physical therapy.