Governors State University

This page is intended for college transfer students and graduates ONLY. High school students MUST contact the institution directly for information about the guaranteed freshman-entry program. Do not apply using PTCAS.

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION (2009-10)

David Diers
Admission Chairperson
Governors State University
Department of Physical Therapy
1 University Parkway
University Park, Illinois 60484-0975
Phone: 708-235-2232
Phone (alternate number): 708-534-7290
Email: d-diers@govst.edu
Website: http://www.govst.edu/chhs/dpt/doctorate/default.aspx?id=5786

APPLICATION DEADLINE for 2010 ENTERING CLASS

PTCAS Application Deadline	Thursday, October 15, 2009
Deadline Type	SOFT Deadline
Application Close Date (for soft deadlines only)	Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Program Has Rolling Admissions Process?	No
Important Dates (if any): Interviews will be held in early December.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

If supplemental materials are required, send items directly to the PT program.

Supplemental APPLICATION required?	NO
Supplemental MATERIALS required?	YES - for selected applicants only
If yes, list of items	Transcripts will be required for applicants accepted to the program.
Supplemental FEE required?	NO
If yes, amount	$
Supplemental deadline(s) YYYY-MM-DD	2010-02-01
Link to supplemental forms or instructions

PROGRAM PREREQUISITES

Course Prerequisites

Must applicants earn a Bachelor's degree prior to enrolling into the PT program? Yes
Link to program’s prerequisite web page: http://www.govst.edu/chhs/dpt/doctorate/default.aspx?id=5786

Course Prerequisite Name or Subject Area	Req, Rec, Crq*	SEM hrs	QTR hrs	Lab Required (Y/N)	Additional clarifying information, if any
Biology	REQ	4	6	YES	Any general biology course with a lab excluding botany, ecology.
Biology	REQ	4	6	YES	Any general biology course with a lab excluding botany, ecology.
Chemistry	REQ	4	6	YES	Chemistry courses must have a lab. "Survey" chemistry courses are not acceptable.
Chemistry	REQ	4	6	YES	Chemistry courses must have a lab. "Survey" chemistry courses are not acceptable.
Biology or Chemstry	REQ	4	6	YES	Any biology course excluding ecology or botany or any chemistry course with a lab.
Anatomy and Physiology	REQ	8	12	YES	1 year of lower division anatomy. May substitute upper division anatomy only course.
Physics	REQ	4	6	YES	One general physics course with topics including mechanics, heat, light or forces, levers and electricity. Must have a lab. Must have at least advanced algebra-trigonometry as a pre-requisite.
Physics	REQ	4	6	YES	One general physics course with topics including mechanics, heat, light or forces, levers and electricity. Must have a lab. Must have at least advanced algebra-trigonometry as a pre-requisite.
Statistics	REQ	3	4.5	NA	Any statistics course which covers descriptives, regressions and ANOVA
Medical Terminology	REQ	1	1.5	NA	Any course which tests medical terminology not cited for other prerequisites.
General Psychology	REQ	3	4.5	NA	Provides a comprehensive overview of psychology. Presents concepts, theories, and data from various subfields in psychology including sensation-perception, learning, memory, personality, abnormal, social, developmental and physiological.
Abnormal Psychology	REQ	3	4.5	NA	The primary goal of this course is to familiarize the student with basic principles, concepts, and research in abnormal psychology. The topic will be addressed with a scientific approach in order to further develop the student's capacity to evaluate and think critically. All of the major categories of adult psychopathology will be covered, including anxiety disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders, substance use disorders, schizophrenia, and sexual disorders. There will also be some coverage of childhood disorders. In addition to focusing on understanding the symptoms and causes of these disorders, there will be some coverage of the major treatment approaches as well.
Developmental Psychology	REQ	3	4.5	NA	Study the neurological, physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development of humans from conception through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Emphasizes normal development stages and patterns of adjustment to differing lifetime demands. The theories and principles of human development are examined in light of contemporary research.
Orientation to Physical Therapy	REQ	2	3	NA	.

* “Req” = required course; “Rec” = recommended course; “Crq” = conditionally required course

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

Is the GRE required?	Required
Program’s GRE College Code	# 1263
Last acceptable GRE test date – YYYY-MM-DD (if applicable)
Oldest GRE score considered – YYYY-MM-DD (if applicable)

GRE table below may contain blank fields if program data is not available or applicable.

GRE Section	Minimum GRE Score	Average GRE Score for Accepted Students
Verbal
Verbal Percentile
Quantitative
Quantitative Percentile
Analytical Writing
Analytical Writing Percentile
Composite (verbal & quantitative)	800	1070
Composite Percentile
Additional information about program’s GRE requirements

References

Number of references required by program: 3 References

EVALUATOR TYPE	Applicant must send one reference from this SPECIFIC type of evaluator	Applicant must send a reference from one or more evaluators in this category to fulfill program's requirements	Evaluator Type ACCEPTED	Evaluator Type NOT Accepted
Physical Therapist-1			X
Physical Therapist-2				X
Professor in Major			X
Professor			X
Academic	X
Supervisor/Employer	X
Teaching Assistant				X
PTA				X
Pre-PT Advisor			X
Politician/Elected Official			X
Health Care Professional	X
Friend				X
Family Member				X
Co-worker			X
Clergy			X
OTHER			X

Additional information about program’s reference requirements:

PT Observation Hours

Enter your PT observation hours on your PTCAS application. Print the PT Observation Hours form from the PTCAS application or use online PT Hours signature process, if the program requires you to have your hours verified by a physical therapist. Send signed forms to PTCAS.

PT HOURS	PROGRAM REQUIREMENT
Description of Program’s PT Hours Requirement	PT hours are NOT required or considered
Total Number of PT Hours REQUIRED
Total Number of PT Hours RECOMMENDED
DEADLINE for Completion of All PT Hours YYYY-MM-DD
PAID Experience
VOLUNTEER Experience
INPATIENT Experience
OUTPATIENT Experience
Additional information about program’s PT hours requirement

GPA Requirement

GPAs will be blank if program data is not available or applicable.

GPA	Minimum GPA	Average GPA for Accepted Students
Overall Undergraduate Cumulative		3.35
Program-specific Prerequisite		3.40
Additional information about program’s GPA requirements (if any)

Program Essay Instructions

Some PTCAS programs require applicants to respond to a custom essay question in addition to the standard PTCAS essay question. The PTCAS application will automatically prompt you to respond to the custom essays for your designated programs. The custom essay question for this program is below.

(NONE)

FOREIGN APPLICANTS AND TRANSCRIPTS

The program’s foreign (international) transcript policies do NOT apply to study abroad coursework that is itemized on a U.S. college or university transcript. Study abroad is processed in the same way as U.S. coursework.

Program’s citizenship requirements (individuals listed may be eligible for admission)	U.S. citizens U.S. permanent residents Canadian citizens Foreign (non-U.S.) citizens with a visa Foreign (non-U.S.) citizens
Program requires non-native speakers to submit TOEFL scores?	Yes
Program policy for submission of non-U.S. (foreign/international) coursework	Send foreign transcript evaluation to PTCAS (recommended)
Program policy for CANADIAN coursework	Send foreign evaluation for CANADIAN coursework to PTCAS
Additional information about program’s policy on foreign coursework

PROGRAM INFORMATION

PT Degree Offered	Program culminates in a doctoral (DPT) degree.
PT Program Start Date(s) For Entering Class YYYY-MM-DD	2010-05-03
Dual-degree programs offered in conjunction with the PT degree (if any)
Institution's religious affiliation (if any)

Profile of Most Recent Entering Class

Items will be blank if program data is not available or applicable.

Size of Most Recent Entering Class	30
Anticipated Size of Next Entering Class	30
Percent of IN-STATE students in most recent entering class	90%
Percent of WICHE students in most recent entering class (if applicable)
Percent of OUT-OF-STATE (non-resident) students in most recent entering class	10%
Percent of CANADIAN students in most recent entering class
Percent of INTERNATIONAL (non-U.S/non-Canadian) students in most recent entering class
Additional information about the class profile	Program gives preference to applicants whose permanant residence is Illinois.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The University academic year is divided into three 15-week trimesters. The program runs eight and one half consecutive trimesters, or 34 months with the first term of the program beginning with the Summer trimester. The graduate completes a minimum of 120 credit hours. The first year focuses largely on the foundational sciences of human anatomy, physiology of disease, and biomechanics/kinesiology. Course work in patient care is also introduced during the first year. During the last five weeks of the third trimester students participate in a five-week clinical experience. An increased emphasis on clinical sciences occurs during the second year. During the last half of the sixth, part of the seventh and eighth trimesters the student participates in the four full time clinical experiences,each 7 or 8 weeks in length, and applied research and elective courses. Students must complete a Clinical Case Research Project prior to graduation from the program.

CLINICAL EXPERIENCES: The students have a total of 34 weeks of full-time clinical experiences. The first full-time clinical experience is a 5-week clinical practicum that occurs at the end of the third trimester during the second summer term. The remaining 28 weeks of full-time clinical experiences consist of four clinical internships of 7 or 8 weeks each. The first two clinical internships run consecutively beginning after the completion of 4 weeks of classes during the sixth trimester. The final two clinical internships can be scheduled together at one setting and occur during the final trimester of the program. Every student is required to have a clinical experience in an orthopedic setting, a neurological setting, an inpatient setting, and an outpatient setting. The program has contracts with more than 150 different clinical settings.

FACULTY: There are 8.5 full-time and 5 part-time faculty members. Of the full-time faculty, 89% hold post-professional doctoral degrees and two are certified as clinical specialists; one each in geriatric physical therapy and sports physical therapy. Over the past 3 years, the faculty has averaged 1:5.5 publications in peer-reviewed journals. The faculty to student ratio is 1:6.7.

ENROLLMENT: There are approximately 3,000 undergraduate students and 3,000 graduate students enrolled at Governors State University. The Department of Physical Therapy admits new students into the Program during the Spring/Summer Trimester. The Program has a maximum capacity of 30 students per class.