- A bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a regionally accredited institution may be in progress at the time of application. However, the degree must be awarded prior to matriculation into the Florida Southern College School of Physical Therapy Program.
- Minimum GPA of 3.00 (on 4.00 scale) in the last 60 credit hours of college course work. The average GPA for our accepted students in the last 60 credit hours is a 3.44.
- Minimum GPA of 3.00 (on 4.00 scale) for all prerequisite courses. No more than one "C" grade will be accepted in all of the prerequisite coursework. Please see the Prerequisite GPA section below for additional details. The average GPA for our accepted students for all prerequisite courses is a 3.29.
- A minimum of 25 hours of demonstrable exposure to PT as evidenced by volunteer and/or paid work experience in a PT setting. Please make sure to include the Physical Therapy license number of the Physical Therapist verifying your Observation hours. Please note, we do not accept observation hours verified by a PTA. The median number completed by all PTCAS applicants last year was 362.
- Three letters of recommendation: 1 from a licensed physical therapist (from applicant’s volunteer or work experience in a PT setting); 1 from a college level faculty member who has had you in class or was a program advisor; and 1 from either of the following: a licensed physical therapist or a supervisor/employer.
- The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for admission. Please note, the GRE must be taken within five years prior to the time of application. GRE scores must be received by the application deadline in order for an application to be considered complete. Our program "superscores" the GRE if multiple attempts have been taken.
- An on-campus interview by invitation only.
- If admitted, a background check is required prior to matriculation. Our program participates in the PTCAS Background Check process through Certiphi Screening.
Additional International Requirements
- Official Translated Transcripts With Course By Course Evaluation**
- Bank Letter Verifying Funds of Sponsor***
- Sponsor's Guarantee Form
- Valid Passport
- Official TOEFL/IELTS Score****
** SpanTran (discount available), Academic Evaluation Services, Inc., Josef Silny, or World Education Services or another similar approved transcript evaluation agency.
*** A bank letter is a written statement on bank letterhead and signed by a bank official.
**** Must have completed an English language training program or at least one year at an English speaking institution to waive the TOEFL/IELTS testing requirement.
Application materials should be submitted electronically via PTCAS.
Applicants failing to meet all of these minimum requirements will not be considered for admission to the School of Physical Therapy. Meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee an applicant interview or admission to the program. All applicants and admitted students to the School of Physical Therapy must certify in writing that they are able to perform certain Essential Functions in order to participate and complete program requirements.
Approximately, thirty-six (36) students will be admitted to the School of Physical Therapy each year.
Don't forget to send all GRE results directly to Florida Southern using the GRE Designated Institution (DI) Code 4525.
Prerequisite Requirements
No more than two prerequisite courses may be in progress during the spring semester prior to FSC School of Physical Therapy’s start date. Courses older than ten years will not be accepted.
The program recommends that all prerequisite courses are taken in a face-to-face (F2F) format; however, we will accept online courses. Pass/Fail for prerequisite courses is not accepted.
| Minimum Required Semester Hours |
Prerequisite Courses |
Acceptable Courses |
Florida Southern Course Equivalent |
| 4 Total Semester Hours |
General Biology I with Lab |
Cell Biology or General Biology I |
BIO 1500 – Biology I: Biological Essentials |
| 4 Total Semester Hours |
General Biology II with Lab |
Cell, Embryology, General Biology II, Genetics, Histology, Immunology, Microbiology, Molecular, Zoology, Botany. |
BIO 1600 – Biology II: Biological Diversity |
| 4 Total Semester Hours |
Human Anatomy and Physiology I with Lab OR Human Anatomy with Lab |
Human Anatomy and Physiology I OR Human Anatomy
**Either option MUST be completed in biology, neuroscience, anatomy, or integrated physiology department |
BIO 2215 – Human Anatomy and Physiology I |
| 4 Total Semester Hours |
Human Anatomy and Physiology II with Lab OR Human Physiology with Lab |
Human Anatomy and Physiology II OR Human Physiology
**Either option MUST be completed in biology, neuroscience, anatomy, or integrated physiology department |
BIO 2216 Human Anatomy and Physiology II |
| 4 Total Semester Hours |
General Chemistry I with Lab |
General Chemistry I |
CHE 1111 – Principles of Chemistry I |
| 4 Total Semester Hours |
General Chemistry II with Lab |
General Chemistry II, Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, OR Organic Chemistry |
CHE 1112 – Principles of Chemistry II OR CHE 2221 Organic Chemistry I |
| 4 Semester Hours |
Physics I with Lab |
Physics I |
PHY 2010 – General Physics I (algebra based) and PHY 2051 – General Physics Lab I OR PHY 2110 General Physics I (calculus based) and PHY 2051 General Physics Lab I |
| 4 Semester Hours |
Physics II with Lab |
Physics II |
PHY 2020 – General Physics II (algebra based) and PHY 2052 – General Physics Lab II OR PHY 2120 General Physics II (calculus based) and PHY 2052 General Physics Lab II |
| 3 Semester Hours |
General Psychology |
General Psychology |
PSY 1106 – Psychology and The Social World |
| 3 Semester Hours |
Additional Psychology course |
Abnormal Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Lifespan Development, etc. must be taken in the Psychology department |
PSY 2209 – Developmental Psychology OR refer to current FSC Academic Handbook for other courses in the Psychology department |
| 3 Semester Hours |
Statistics |
Math Statistics, Biostatistics, OR Psychology Statistics – but course must include both descriptive and inferential statistics |
MAT 2022 Elementary Statistics; MAT 2032 Biostatistics; PSY 2210 – Tests and Measurements |
Coursework Petitions
An applicant can petition any of their previous coursework for acceptance to the School of Physical Therapy Admissions Committee utilizing the following procedure:
-
An applicant writes a formal letter to Dr. Tyler Love. The formal letter and any supporting documentation should be submitted as an attachment to an email (tlove@flsouthern.edu).
- Supporting documentation may include items such as course syllabi, course assignments, and letters from the course instructor. The GPA calculation spreadsheet (available via the FSC website) must be included for Last 60 and Prerequisite GPA completed to date.
- Note: Only the formal letter and accompanying attachments will be reviewed. Any requests made in the body of an email will not be considered for review
- The letter and any attachments will be presented to the Admission Committee at the next meeting (meetings typically convene every 2 weeks, however, this depends on the time of year).
- Each letter is reviewed by the Admissions Committee on a case-by-case basis and a decision will be communicated to the applicant via email.
If you have questions about how your individual coursework applies to our policy, please contact us at FSCDPTAdmissions@flsouthern.edu for further review.