The UW Board of Regents last month approved the medical school Department of Rehabilitation Medicine’s request to modify and replace the existing Master of Physical Therapy degree program with the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT). The change culminates nearly two years of work under the leadership of Associate Professor Mark Guthrie, head of the Division of Physical Therapy.

More than a third of the 200 physical therapy programs in the United States are already at the doctoral level, with another third committed to making the transition. The move to the DPT has been fueled by the increasing complexity of health care. These changes brought about requirements for more and higher-level coursework, as well as longer clinical internships in physical therapy.

The UW’s DPT program consists of 150 course credits and is 11 quarters long. Entrance to the program is very competitive and requires a bachelor’s degree, numerous prerequisite courses, and many hours of experience in the field. The job market is very good, however, because of severe shortages of physical therapists across the country.

In addition to offering a DPT degree, the physical therapy teaching program has changed from a state-supported program to one that is self-sustaining.

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