Samuel Merritt University

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION (2009-10)

Janessa Reinblatt
Assistant Director of Admission
Samuel Merritt University
Office of Admission
370 Hawthorne Avenue
Oakland, California 94609
Phone: 510-869-1571
Phone (alternate number):
Email: jreinblatt@samuelmerritt.edu
Website: http://www.samuelmerritt.edu/physical_therapy/requirements

APPLICATION DEADLINE for 2010 ENTERING CLASS

PTCAS Application Deadline	Monday, November 2, 2009
Deadline Type	FIRM Deadline
Application Close Date (for soft deadlines only)
Program Has Rolling Admissions Process?	No
Important Dates (if any): Interview notifications will be sent in late December 2009. Interviews will be held in late January 2010.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

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

Supplemental APPLICATION required?	NO
Supplemental MATERIALS required?	NO
If yes, list of items	.
Supplemental FEE required?	NO
If yes, amount	$
Supplemental deadline(s) YYYY-MM-DD	.
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
For more information about course prerequisites, visit the program Web site: http://www.samuelmerritt.edu/physical_therapy/requirements

Course Prerequisite Name or Subject Area	Req, Rec, Crq*	SEM hrs	QTR hrs	Lab Required (Y/N)	Additional Program Information
English Composition	REQ	3	.	NA	.
General Psychology	REQ	3	.	NA	.
Statistics	REQ	3	.	NA	.
Social Science Elective	REQ	3	.	NA	Any additional course in sociology, psychology, anthropology or ethnic studies
General Biology	REQ	8	.	YES	.
General Chemistry	REQ	8	.	YES	.
General Physics	REQ	8	.	YES	.
Human Anatomy	REQ	3	.	NO	.
Human Physiology	REQ	3	.	NO	.
Exercise Physiology	REQ	3	.	NO	.

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

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

Is the GRE required?	Required
Program’s GRE College Code	# 3358
Last acceptable GRE test date – YYYY-MM-DD (if applicable)	2009-10-15
Oldest GRE score considered – YYYY-MM-DD (if applicable)	2004-10-15

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	450	520
Verbal Percentile
Quantitative	500	650
Quantitative Percentile
Analytical Writing
Analytical Writing Percentile
Composite (verbal & quantitative)
Composite Percentile
Additional information about program’s GRE requirements	Verbal and Quantitative GRE scores must be available to report to PTCAS by the application deadline of October 15.

References

Number of references required by program: 2 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: Two letters of reference are required; one from a faculty member that addresses your academic preparedness for a DPT program and the other from a physical therapist who has supervised you in a clinical environment (inpatient or outpatient).

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 required - a licensed PT must verify hours with signed form
Total Number of PT Hours REQUIRED	40
Total Number of PT Hours RECOMMENDED	.
DEADLINE for Completion of All PT Hours YYYY-MM-DD	2010-05-31
PAID Experience	Accepted
VOLUNTEER Experience	Accepted
INPATIENT Experience	Required
OUTPATIENT Experience	Not Accepted
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
Overall Cumulative GPA	2.80	3.30
Program-specific Prerequisite	2.60	3.30
Additional information about program’s GPA requirements (if any)	All grades earned will be included in the overall GPA calculation. If a course is repeated, both the initial and repeat grade will be included in the overall GPA calculation. Courses satisfying a prerequisite requirement may be repeated once if the initial grade earned is a C+ or below. If a prerequisite course is repeated, the new grade will be used in the prerequisite GPA calculation if available at the time of application.

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.

What are your goals for your professional career as a doctor of physical therapy and how do you see Samuel Merritt University preparing you to meet those goals?

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	2010-08-30
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	36
Anticipated Size of Next Entering Class	32
Percent of IN-STATE students enrolled in most recent entering class	82%
Percent of WICHE students enrolled in most recent entering class (if applicable)	.
Percent of OUT-OF-STATE (non-resident) students enrolled in most recent entering class	18%
Percent of CANADIAN students enrolled in most recent entering class	.
Percent of INTERNATIONAL (non-U.S/non-Canadian) students enrolled in most recent entering class	.
Additional information about the class profile	.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The entry-level, DPT program is designed around several important approaches to learning so that 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 the 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.

There are many distinguishing features of the DPT program at Samuel Merritt University.

You will have outstanding clinical education experiences. As a DPT student, you will have 42 weeks of full-time, clinical experiences. Clinical experiences start in the second semester and are interwoven throughout the curriculum, culminating in a six-month internship, one of the only such internships in the United States. For the past three years, 50/60% of our interns received a stipend during their internship.
You will work with excellent faculty to become a physical therapist who provides the best care possible to your patients. Students are introduced to evidence-based practice in their first semester in the program and these skills are developed and reinforced in all courses. During the six month internship, you will select a patient, and under the guidance of your clinical instructor and academic faculty, complete a case-study report in a format suitable for publication. Each year, graduates present their case reports at major State and National conferences.
Faculty who excel both in the classroom and in the clinical setting and who are dedicated to work with you to pursue your goal to become a Physical Therapist.

[Page revised on 10/19/2009]