Entry Level Admission to the Physical Therapy Program

Overview of Admissions Process

Students are admitted into the Physical Therapy program on a competitive basis. For a complete discussion of the residency requirements for admissions please refer to the Pre-Physical Therapy Requirements. There are two, separate admissions processes in the Physical Therapy Department:

1. Resident and Non-resident admissions. Open to both residents and nonresidents of North Dakota.

2. WICHE / Alaska Admissions. Only WICHE certified students are eligible for admissions through the WICHE process. The States that currently support physical therapy WICHE students are Wyoming, Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii. Alaska students are currently being offered loan support offered by Alaska. Alaskan students should contact both the UND Physical Therapy Department and the Alaska WICHE office for further information.

Resident and Non-Resident Admissions

Students who are eligible to apply for the professional program must apply to the professional program through the UND Graduate School online admissions process. Applications are available online from November 1 to February 1. The website for the admission forms is:

http://www.und.edu/dept/grad/html/admissionshome.html

• Transcripts. In addition to the application form, official copies of all transcripts must be sent to UND Physical Therapy as part of the application process. The transcripts should include all work through the fall semester of the current year.
• Reference Letters. The individuals you name as references in the online application will be emailed, and they will complete and submit the reference form electronically. If you have a reference person who does not have access to email you may print out a reference form, give it to your reference person and have them mail it to the Physical Therapy Department office. However, we prefer electronic submission of the reference forms.
• Interviews for the applicants are scheduled during the Spring semester. The interview dates and times are established in February. Each applicant is expected to be available for a personal interview. Upon special arrangements, applicants may request an alternate interview date.
• Physical Therapy experience is required by all candidates. The experience may come in the form of observation, volunteer work or work for pay. We recommend that each prospective applicant spend at least 60 hours in a health care setting, 40 hours of which must be in a physical therapy setting under the supervision of a registered physical therapist. The application form contains a section that the prospective student must complete regarding physical therapy experience.
• GRE scores. We do not require GRE scores for admission to our program.

WICHE/Alaska Eligible Student Admissions

Students eligible for admissions under the WICHE/Alaska process complete the same application form as the resident and non-resident students (see above). WICHE/Alaska students interested in applying to the program must go through the following process:

• Interested WICHE applicants must be certified by their respective State. Applicants need to contact their respective WICHE certifying officer for details of the certification process. Alaska students should contact the Physical Therapy Department and the Alaska WICHE office for information.
• Following certification, each WICHE State sends out a list of certified students to the UND Physical Therapy program. Once we receive the list, we send a letter to all the certified students inviting them to apply to the UND Physical Therapy program. Alaska students must contact the Physical Therapy Department directly for an application.
• Students who are interested in applying to the UND Physical Therapy program need to apply to the program through the online application process.
• Once we receive the completed application, transcripts and reference letters we make sure the applicant fulfills all of the course requirements for the program. Students, from each State, are then ranked based on grade point average, references and experience. The UND Physical Therapy Department Chairperson then contacts students with the highest rankings. Arrangements will be made for a personal interview either at UND or by phone.
• Students are selected by the UND Department Chairperson in consultation with the other Physical Therapy faculty. Students who we feel are the most qualified are then offered admission into the program.
• Following admission into the program, the UND Physical Therapy Department faculty and staff work with the student to finalize the transition process and help the student with admissions, registration and housing. Students in need of financial aid are advised to contact the UND Student Financial Aid office at 701-777-3121.

Alaska Students

Although the State of Alaska has not been funding Alaska WICHE students, the UND Physical Therapy Department would like to continue admitting Alaskan students into our program. Alaska students, who would otherwise be WICHE eligible, should contact the UND Physical Therapy Department regarding Alaska student admissions. Alaska WICHE program offers loan support for Alaska students. Eligible students should contact the Alaska WICHE office for details.

Contacting the UND Physical Therapy Department

Students who would like to receive more information about the UND Physical Therapy program are asked to contact:

Dr. Thomas Mohr, Chairman
Dept. of Physical Therapy
School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Room 1510
501 N. Columbia Road,  Stop 9037
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037
tommohr@medicine.nodak.edu
701-777-2831