The University of South Dakota

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)

Tamara Olson
Senior Secretary
University of South Dakota
The University of South Dakota
Doctor of Physical Therapy Department
414 E. Clark Street
Vermillion, South Dakota 57069
Phone: 605-677-5000
Phone (alternate number): 605-677-5915
Email: Tamara.Olson@usd.edu
Website: http://www.usd.edu/med/pt/prereqs.cfm

APPLICATION DEADLINE for 2010 ENTERING CLASS

PTCAS Application Deadline	Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Deadline Type	FIRM Deadline
Application Close Date (for soft deadlines only)
Program Has Rolling Admissions Process?	No
Important Dates (if any): Early admission deadline is September 15, 2009.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

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

Supplemental APPLICATION required?	YES
Supplemental MATERIALS required?	YES
If yes, list of items	One official transcript and GRE scores.
Supplemental FEE required?	YES
If yes, amount	$35
Supplemental deadline(s) YYYY-MM-DD	2009-12-15
Link to supplemental forms or instructions	http://www.usd.edu/health-sciences/physical-therapy/application-instructions.cfm

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.usd.edu/med/pt/prereqs.cfm

Course Prerequisite Name or Subject Area	Req, Rec, Crq*	SEM hrs	QTR hrs	Lab Required (Y/N)	Additional Program Information
Biology	REQ	8	.	YES	Biology for majors
Chemistry	REQ	8	.	YES	.
Physics	REQ	8	.	YES	.
Human Anatomy	REQ	3	.	NO	Or a combined Human Anatomy/Physiology course with a minimum of 6 credit hours with lab over 2 semesters.
Human Physiology	REQ	3	.	YES	Or a combined Human Anatomy/Physiology course with a minimum of 6 credit hours with lab over 2 semesters.
Statistics	REQ	3	.	NO	.
General Psychology	REQ	3	.	NO	.
Developmental Psychology	REQ	3	.	NO	Call the department if not offered at your college/university.
Abnormal Psychology	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	# R6881
Last acceptable GRE test date – YYYY-MM-DD (if applicable)	2009-12-15
Oldest GRE score considered – YYYY-MM-DD (if applicable)	2004-12-15

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	.	434
Verbal Percentile	.	.
Quantitative	.	622
Quantitative Percentile	.	.
Analytical Writing	.	3.92
Analytical Writing Percentile	.	.
Composite (verbal & quantitative)	.	1056
Composite Percentile	.	.
Additional information about program’s GRE requirements	For early admissions applicants minimum GRE (combined verbal and quantitative) is 1000. General applicants have no minimum GRE requirement.

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: At least one reference must be from a physical therapist. It is recommended that the other two be from an instructor/professor, employer/supervisor, or a second physical therapist.

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 - no verification by a physical therapist
Total Number of PT Hours REQUIRED	50
Total Number of PT Hours RECOMMENDED
DEADLINE for Completion of All PT Hours YYYY-MM-DD
PAID Experience	Accepted
VOLUNTEER Experience	Accepted
INPATIENT Experience	Accepted
OUTPATIENT Experience	Accepted
Additional information about program’s PT hours requirement	PT obersvation hours due on application deadline. Applicants are encouraged to observe in a variety of settings with particular attention to rural settings.

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	3.00	3.71
Program-specific Prerequisite	3.00	3.70
Additional information about program’s GPA requirements (if any)	For early admission applicants minimum overall GPA and prerequisite GPA are 3.50.

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 Other non-citizens (e.g., refugees)
Program requires non-native speakers to submit TOEFL scores?	Yes
Program policy for submission of non-U.S. (foreign/international) coursework	Send an original foreign transcript directly to the PT program.
Program policy for CANADIAN coursework	Send original CANADIAN transcript directly to program
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	2010-07-26
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	26
Anticipated Size of Next Entering Class	26
Percent of IN-STATE students in most recent entering class	69%
Percent of WICHE students in most recent entering class (if applicable)	.
Percent of OUT-OF-STATE (non-resident) students in most recent entering class	31%
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 DESCRIPTION

The University of South Dakota offers a full-time 3-year DPT program with competitive tuition rates. Our program is designed to prepare general practitioners for physical therapy practice in rural settings. We are pleased to provide a small class size with a 3:1 student to faculty ratio. Our students participate in 38 weeks of full-time clinical education experiences in 5 different settings as well as a 1 week clinical experience during the first year and several 1 day clinical experiences during the second year of the program. We are proud to have excellent graduation rates, first time passage rates on the National Physical Therapy Exam, and post graduation employment rates. Please visit our website for more information on our program.

[Page revised on October 9, 2009]