Membership & Leadership Practice Professional Development Education Programs Advocacy Reimbursement Research Publications Tools & Resources	Home Samuel Merritt University (A4, D6, F1, PR) Last Updated by Program: 07/08/2008 Address:   Department of Physical Therapy Samuel Merritt University 450 30th Street Oakland, CA 94609 Phone:   (510)869-6241 Fax:   (510)869-6282 Admissions/Student Inquiry Phone:   (510)869-6576 Financial Aid Phone:   (510)869-6131 Web Address:   http://www.samuelmerritt.edu/ Program E-mail:   jreinblatt@samuelmerritt.edu PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Terrence M Nordstrom, PT, EdD Chair    INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION:   Accreditor:   Western Association of Schools and Colleges/Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities   Carnegie Classification:   Special Focus Institutions--Other health professions schools PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM ACCREDITATION:   Date of Initial Accreditation:   Master's degree, October 1992 (no longer offered); DPT degree, April, 2002   Current Accreditation Status:   Accreditation   Next Visit   2017   Five Year History:   Accreditation DEGREE CONFERRED: Doctor of Physical Therapy GENERAL PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The entry-level, doctor of physical therapy program is designed around several important approaches to learning so that the graduates excel in serving patients and clients as practitioners capable of autonomous decisions as part of a health care team. Courses are designed to progressively build critical thinking, clinical decision-making and clinical reasoning skills with increasingly complex patient problems. Courses that focus on learning the practice of physical therapy are closely integrated with the basic sciences such as anatomy, kinesiology, and biomechanics. Pharmacology, imaging and the medical management of patients are simultaneously covered in concert with the clinical courses. Physical therapy services through the lifespan, from pediatrics through geriatrics, are interwoven in the clinical courses and there are additional, specific courses that address the needs of these special populations served by physical therapists. There are clinical case study courses in small-group seminar format that also synchronize with the other courses each semester. Students have part-time clinical experiences under the mentorship of physical therapists during which they are able to see patients who have problems similar to those being covered in the classroom. Students see patients who have neuromuscular problems under faculty supervision in a free outpatient clinic during two semesters. Two full-time clinical experiences are interspersed after key semesters so that classroom learning is reinforced with clinical experience. The importance of communication and relationship between the PT and patients in a culturally diverse environment and the multiple roles of physical therapists in the health care system are addressed throughout the program. Students begin the 33-month, full-time program each fall. The final six months of the program are spent on a full-time clinical experience.   CLINICAL EXPERIENCES: There are a total of 42 weeks of full time clinical experiences in the program. Students spend 1/2 day per week in clinical experiences in local clinical facilities during three didactic semesters, starting in the second semester. There are two full-time eight-week experiences interspersed in the curriculum, one following the majority of the musculoskeletal content in the fall and the other following the majority of the neuromuscular and pediatric content in the summer. Students begin a 6-month, full-time internship in January after the last academic semester. Nearly two-thirds of students on these internships receive a stipend. There is no tuition charged during the internship, and students progress from student to a mentored staff clinician role. Clinical experiences and internships are available throughout the United States, with the highest concentration in northern California.   FACULTY: There are eight full-time and 20 part-time faculty. Two other full-time College faculty teach in the DPT program. Of these full-time faculty members, five hold post-professional doctoral degrees, four are enrolled in post-professional doctoral programs, three are board certified clinical specialists, and one is a graduate of a post-professional residency program. All part-time faculty members are practicing clinicians, three are board certified clinical specialists and two are graduates of post-professional residency programs. Over the past 3 years, the faculty has averaged five publications in peer-reviewed journals. The full-time faculty to student ratio is 1:12. The faculty student ratio in clinical lab courses is 1:10 and in anatomy lab it is 1:16.   ENROLLMENT: The college enrolls over 1,200 students. The Department of Physical Therapy enrolls 32 students each fall into the DPT program.   ADMISSION: The application deadline for the physical therapy program is October 15 of each year. Samuel Merritt College participates in the Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS). Applicants must have completed their bachelor's degree and all prerequisites prior to enrollment in the program. Prerequisites include: 3 semester hours each of English composition, general psychology, statistics, exercise physiology, and a psychology or social science elective; 8 semester hours each of chemistry, physics and general biology (w/labs); 3 semester hours each of human anatomy and human physiology. Experience in a physical therapy in-patient setting is also required. Minimum verbal GRE is 450, minimum quantitative GRE is 500, minimum cumulative GPA is 2.8 in last 60 semester units and minimum science GPA is 2.6. Selected, qualified applicants are invited to interview and an on-site interview is required for admission. There were 180 applicants for fall 2007 and 152 met pre-requisite requirements. The class admitted in the fall of 2007 had an average verbal GRE score of 480 and an average quantitative GRE score of 611, with a cumulative GPA of 3.39 and science GPA of 3.06. 50% of qualified applicants are offered admission to the program (3-year average).   OUTCOMES: 84% of admitted students graduate from the program (3-year average from 2005-2007). 100% of graduates pass the PT licensure exam and first time pass rates were 100% in 2005, 94% in 2006, and 88% in 2007 (national averages were 84%, 87% and 88% respectively). 100% of graduates find employment within six months of graduation.   TUITION, FEES AND FINANCIAL AID: For a student admitted the 2007-8 academic year, the tuition is $30,545 per year for the first two years and $10,182 for the 3rd year. The tuition rate stays the same throughout a student’s matriculation; there are not annual increases. There are one-time fees of $821 during the program and a $1,500 matriculation fee during the 6 months internship. For specific information, contact the Office of Financial Aid, Samuel Merritt College, 450 30th Street, Oakland, CA, 94609. The phone number for inquiries is 510/869-6131. Samuel Merritt College’s loan default rate is <1%, far below the national average.   STUDENT LIFE: Samuel Merritt College specializes in the health sciences, offering entry-level programs at the doctoral level in podiatry and physical therapy, masters programs in occupational therapy, physician assistant and nursing and an undergraduate nursing program. The student body is representative of the diversity of the San Francisco Bay Area. The college is located on the Alta-Bates Summit Medical Center complex near downtown Oakland. The College has residential housing with numerous other options for housing nearby. The College's metropolitan setting in the center of the diverse, temperate San Francisco Bay Area offers students a broad range of recreational, social, and social activities. There is easy access to mountains and the ocean, in nearby regional, state and national parks. Students at the College have the opportunity to contribute to the community through volunteer service activities. The College is easily accessible on public transportation via Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). Attention Program Directors, corrections to program data should be directed to the Accreditation Department at Accreditation@apta.org or 1-800-999-2782 x3245.
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