We do provide information sessions for potential applicants who have questions and want to visit the department. RSVP for VCU DPT Prospective Student Information Sessions and select the date that works best for you.

All students in the DPT program will begin classes in early June. We admit only one group of students each academic year. Each class follows a set curriculum.

Our program is a three-year program leading to the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. Students graduate in May of their third year in the program. This is a full-time program with no part-time options.

Our program is only full time. Classes are held during the day.

We accept 54 students into each class.

We accept the most qualified students from all schools.

We do accept out-of-state students. Each class generally has five to 10 out-of-state students.

Limited graduate student housing is available at VCU on a first-come, first-served basis. Most students live in the Fan, West End or Southside areas of Richmond. We provide local housing information to accepted students on notification of acceptance. For more information about housing opportunities at and around VCU, visit Residential Life and Housing or Off-Campus Student Services.

Each student must complete three full time clinical experiences and one 40-hour integrated clinical experience in the spring of the first year. The full time experiences include: one eight-week clinical experience in the summer after the second year, and two twelve-week clinical experiences during the third year. One full-time clinical experience must be completed in outpatient orthopedics and the other must be in an environment working with medically complex patients. Students may choose the setting for the third clinical experience.

All graded course work is calculated in our total and math/science GPAs. Even if a course is repeated for a better grade, both grades will be included in the GPA.

All admission requirements are available in the admissions section under the DPT program.

We do not conduct traditional interviews as part of the decision making process. Select applicants may be asked to provide additional information through oral responses questions.

We use the total GPA, math/science GPA, GRE scores, references, essays, interviews, and life experiences to rank applicants.

The minimum total GPA is 3.0 on a 4.0 scale to be considered for admission to the DPT program.

We require the Graduate Record Examination and it must be taken within the last five years. We use the GRE scores available in the system when we receive your application.

We have no minimum GRE score. However, our program is very competitive and our average incoming student typically scores around the 50th percentile or above for both the verbal and quantitative sections. We select your best verbal and quantitative GRE scores even if they are from two different test dates.

The faculty reviewer will read your total application to get a clear picture of your academic performance over your entire college career.

You may apply if your required prerequisites have not been completed. However, in your application you must document your plan for completion of these prerequisites prior to registration at VCU.

To determine if your coursework will transfer into our program appropriately, please use the VCU Course Equivalency guide on Transfer course equivalents. You can call the VCU Transfer Center for more information about how courses will transfer to VCU if you have additional questions. View our prerequisite course requirements. 

One-quarter hour is equal to 2/3-semester hour.

We do not accept science credits from these departments in our math/science GPA; however, credits from these departments are included in the total GPA.

We generally do not accept anatomy and physiology credits from physical education, health or exercise science, kinesiology, or similar departments if these courses are offered through a science department (e.g. biology) at the college or university. An exercise physiology course is not an acceptable substitute for a human physiology course, taught in the biology department.

We accept credits from community colleges. However, unless you are a second career student returning to college to complete science prerequisites, we prefer to see the science credits taken at a four year university with a full course load. The science classes taken at a community college should transfer into VCU as Biology 151-152, Physics 201-202 and Chemistry 101-102 or higher.

We prefer that biology courses be completed in the last 5 years. Science courses must be completed within the past 10 years. Waivers are granted if the prospective applicant provides evidence that their work or continued education has required them to remain current on this knowledge. Other courses are preferred to have been completed in the last 10 years.

If you have specific questions about a course, please email dptadmissions@vcu.edu and we will advise you on individual courses. We do not review your transcript or plan out what courses you need to take.

An applicant must complete a minimum of 45 hours total of volunteer (or paid) work in two or more clinical settings with a physical therapist. The two practice settings should not both be outpatient orthopedics or sports medicine.

Clinical settings with physical therapists may be found in local hospitals, outpatient clinics, special education in school systems, nursing homes, private practices and home health agencies.

Yes, you can still apply. Just indicate your plan for completion of the hours in your application. If accepted, you will be given a provisional acceptance until you provide documentation of the completed hours.

If these hours as an athletic trainer were spent with a licensed physical therapist, then the work hours may be counted in the required 45 hours. Observation hours may be paid or volunteer.

The current tuition is listed on VCU Student Financial Services - Tuition and Fees. To see current year tuition and fees per semester - Click on Estimate your tuition and fees; choose Graduate and professional studies; choose a semester - select program choose - Graduate Doctoral - Physical Therapy; choose your appropriate residency; full time; submit. Look under tuition and fees, graduate students - MCV Campus. Tuition and fees are set by the VCU Board of Visitors in the spring of each year and thus are subject to change.

For information regarding eligibility for in-state tuition benefits, please see tuition determination and student classification.

Need-based financial aid is awarded by the university's Office of Financial Aid and requires submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The deadline for mailing the FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA is Feb 1st of each year.