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  25 West Independence Way
  Kingston, RI 02881
  Office:401.874.2976
  Fax: 401.874.4215
  Email: dhillman@uri.edu
  

Description of the the Early Contingent Physical Therapy Option

Overview

This option is available to highly qualified incoming freshmen who wish to major in Kinesiology as a means of going on to a Doctorate of Physical Therapy graduate program (DPT). During Freshman Orientation interested students choose whether or not they wish to be a part of the Early Contingent Physical Therapy Option (ECPT). The benefit of this option is that exceptional students have an opportunity to complete a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy in six years rather than seven. If students are able to meet the rigorous requirements of the ECPT option, they would take the first year courses for the DPT in their 4th year of school at URI. These courses would count as elective courses in the bachelor’s degree. Once students have completed the required number of credits, they will receive their bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. Students would then continue on in the DPT program and work to complete both degrees in six rather than the usual seven years. 

This option will be limited to outstanding students only. Students must meet or surpass yearly requirements to remain in the program:

• Complete the required course sequence and have a 3.2 GPA at the completion of Freshman year (including summer classes).
• Receive a minimum grade of B in BIO 121
• Complete the required course sequence and have a 3.30 GPA at the completion of Sophomore year

Students who successfully meet the above requirements, have taken the GREs, and have completed a minimum of 30 hours observation in a PT setting may apply for early contingency admission to the PT program.  It is important to note that acceptance into the DPT program is not guaranteed, but each student will be considered along with the regular pool of applicants for acceptance into the program.

Students who do not meet the annual requirements or who do meet requirements but are not accepted into the DPT program can complete the undergraduate track in Exercise Science and apply for the DPT program during their senior year.  A four year degree in Exercise Science provides students with the necessary prerequisites to apply for admission to any DPT program following attainment of an undergraduate degree.  Changing from the Early Contingent DPT Admissions track to the Exercise Science track at any point during the undergraduate program will not delay the student’s ability to earn a Bachelor’s degree.

Course Requirements

Core Curriculum Courses (25 credits)

Required of all Kinesiology majors. Courses include Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Foundations of Health and Physiology of Exercise

Specialization Requirements (32 credits)

Courses include Fitness Appraisal and Guidance, Fitness Programs for Individuals with Chronic Disease, Organic Chemistry, Physics and Statistics. 

General Education Requirements (39 credits)

Courses taken to meet university requirements in the areas of English Communications, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Fine Arts/Literature, Foreign Language/Cultural Competence, Letters, and Mathematics.

Specialization Requirements of Year One of Physical Therapy Program (41 credits)**

Courses include Human Anatomy & Histology, Pysiology & Pathophysiology, Human Neuronscience, Biomechanics & Pathokinesiology, and Research Methods.

** 32 credits count toward undergraduate degree and 9 credits toward graduate degree

* Please click on Course Descriptions for detailed information

 

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