Overview
Belmont University's three-year, entry-level program leads to the Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT), which is fast becoming the benchmark entry-level degree of the profession. The American Physical Therapy Association expects that the majority of physical therapy schools will be awarding the entry-level DPT within the next several years. We are proud to be among one of the earlier waves of this trend. Accredited by CAPTE (Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education), we have successfully graduated eight full classes of DPT students, and our ninth DPT class is eagerly preparing to graduate in August 2008.
However, merely awarding the DPT is not enough. The success of any physical therapy program is ultimately measured by the success of its students. As a physical therapy student at Belmont University, we will give you the resources and support you need to become an excellent, marketable clinician. In conjunction with your own knowledge, skills and abilities, you will be prepared to excel and contribute to the future of the profession.
The program is housed on Belmont University's main campus. You will take classes and conduct research in our new, state of the art, 18,000 square foot facility, furnished with physical therapy lab and classroom space and cutting edge equipment. You will also have access to Vanderbilt University's world-class medical library. You will be challenged, but also supported, through a rigorous three-year, doctoral-level curriculum. This curriculum provides the theoretical, clinical and basic science foundation for the critical thinking skills necessary for success in today's dynamic, competitive health care environment. You will participate in varied clinical experiences, 39 weeks total, from more than 400 sites located across the country. You will learn from a highly qualified faculty, who are experienced in a wide range of clinical specialties including orthopedics, sports medicine, pediatrics, neurological and cardiopulmonary physical therapy, and who are dedicated to you and your educational and professional aspirations. Finally, you will build lasting relationships with faculty, staff, and other students, who are bound together by one primary goal, the advancement of the field of physical therapy through our students' success. 
We provide the facilities, curriculum, faculty experience, and clinical education sites offered among the best of first choice PT schools. What makes the School of Physical Therapy at Belmont University such a unique, special place is much more than the degree we offer. It's our people. It's the faculty member who is genuinely glad to help you and who will call you by name not long after the first semester begins. It's the student research group that works late into the night asking, and answering, those important questions that will end up furthering the profession. It's the clinical educator who may well comment on the great job you are doing and how well Belmont must have prepared you for the clinic. What makes PT education at Belmont University such a unique experience? It's you.
