Discover your future
at graceland university’s
Doctor of physical
therapy program
Graceland University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program is more than just a degree—it’s the beginning of a career dedicated to leadership, and service. Our accelerated, two-year hybrid program offers the flexibility to learn from anywhere while providing essential hands-on experience. You will travel to our Kansas City-area campus for dynamic, collaborative learning sessions, where you will develop the skills and confidence to become a movement system expert. Join a community where you will belong, thrive, and make a lasting impact on the health of your community.
Foundational
Online classes |
48 weeks
Students will build a strong foundation through an online core curriculum in foundational and clinical sciences, evidence-based practice, and specialty areas.
Intentional
Lab immersions |
14 weeks
The intentional sequence and progression of content within and across the curriculum allows students to apply their knowledge and understanding of foundational concepts to practice-based problems and situations.
Lab immersions are held in person, for 6 – 14 days, during each trimester in the Kansas City area.
Transformational
Clinical education |
32 weeks
The culmination of student learning occurs during their clinical experiences where deep analysis and synthesis of information is constructed in real-life patient interactions and situations. These experiences are led by outstanding Clinical Instructors who are invested in our students learning.
Trailblazing
Online education for 20 years
Fostering
A learning community of belonging
Empowering
Pt students to serve and positively impact society
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Exceptional faculty
Our DPT faculty are from across the country and are experts in the profession as well as hybrid teaching and learning. Equipped with innovative resources, comprehensive support, and a reflective learning community, students are developed into adaptive, collaborative, evidence-informed, and socially responsible clinicians. These skills will be advantageous in the synthesis and application of new information in order to seek solutions to challenges in today’s healthcare environment.
Admissions
Graceland University is looking for both traditional and nontraditional students who demonstrate strong potential to navigate the rigorous accelerated, hybrid model curriculum. Upon graduation, students will be equipped with the skills to serve in the diverse settings of physical therapy practice.
Admission requirements
- Completion of a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution. Admission may be granted pending completion of the degree.
- Minimum cumulative and prerequisite GPA of 3.0 or greater on a 4.0 scale.
- If the Overall Cumulative GPA is below 3.0, an applicant may still be eligible for review if their GPA over the last 60 semester hours/90 quarter hours is 3.4 or above.
- The Admissions Committee will consider GPAs at or just below a 3.0, provided a strong holistic component of the application.
- Grades Below “C-” (1.7) in prerequisite courses will not be accepted. If a prerequisite is repeated, the final grade must be a C or above.
- If a prerequisite course is repeated, the credit hours assigned to the course may be counted only once in fulfilling the required number of hours. The pre-requisite GPA will be determined using the highest course grade achieved; however, both grades will be calculated into the cumulative GPA category.
- For non-U.S. (foreign/international) coursework, it is recommended to send the World Evaluation Services (WES) foreign transcript evaluation to PTCAS for consideration.
- Two references: one from a licensed PT and one from an approved person of the applicant’s choice.
- Completion of a minimum of forty (40) hours of observation, volunteer, or work experience with a licensed physical therapist. There should be a minimum of 20 hours in one practice setting.
- For all applicants for whom English is not their first language, completion of TOEFL, IELTS, or DuoLingo equivalent exams will be required.
- Two personal statements/supplemental essays.
- Completion of an admissions online interview.
- Ability to fulfill the technical standards and essential functions of the DPT program for admission.
- Completion of a criminal background check prior to matriculation.
Accreditation
Effective December 1, 2023, the Graceland University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 816-209-1332 or email dpt-admissions@graceland.edu.
Candidate for Accreditation is an accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status does not assure that the program will be granted Initial Accreditation.
Candidacy is considered to be an accredited status, as such the credits and degree earned from a program with Candidacy status are considered, by CAPTE, to be from an accredited program. Therefore, students in the charter (first) class should be eligible to take the licensure exam even if CAPTE withholds accreditation at the end of the candidacy period. That said, it is up to each state licensing agency, not CAPTE, to determine who is eligible for licensure. Information on licensing requirements should be directed to the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT; www.fsbpt.org) or specific state boards (a list of state boards and contact information is available on FSBPT’s website.