Entry-level DPT Program

Creighton Preference

The Physical Therapy Admission Committee has a strong preference for Creighton undergraduate students who complete the majority of their undergraduate coursework at Creighton, including all prerequisites. All Creighton undergraduate students who have achieved a minimum overall quality point average (QPA) of 3.25 at the end of the semester in which the student applies will be guaranteed an interview.

Guaranteed Admission Policy

Creighton students who began undergraduate studies prior to and including fall 2007 who meet the following criteria will be guaranteed admission to the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

Each student must:

  1. Be enrolled and complete all pre-physical therapy requirements at Creighton University prior to entry. Courses taken for college credit (e.g., Advanced Placement) prior to high school graduation will not result in ineligibility.
  2. Achieved a minimum cumulative and science prerequisite QPA as outlined below in the baccalaureate and pre-baccalaureate degree track requirements at the end of the semester in which the student applies.
  3. Complete an interview expressing an appropriate rationale and demonstrating interpersonal skills for the study and practice of physical therapy.
  4. Submit an online application, including three satisfactory recommendations (one that must be from a physical therapist) and a personal statement to the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions Admission Office by December 1 of the academic year prior to enrollment in the professional program.
  5. Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores from the general test must be submitted and be competitive with the applicant pool.
  6. Complete at least 60 hours of clinical observation.

Baccalaureate Degree Track

  1. Complete a bachelor degree in any academic area.
  2. Achieve a minimum cumulative QPA of 3.0 and a minimum science prerequisite cumulative QPA of 2.8.

Pre-baccalaureate Degree Tract

  1. Complete a minimum or 90 semester hours prior to matriculation. Students applying to the program who do not hold a bachelor degree must identify their major emphasis of study and satisfactorily complete three upper-level courses (300-level and above) that total nine semester hours, toward that major prior to matriculation.
  2. Achieve a minimum cumulative QPA of 3.25 and a minimum science prerequisite cumulative QPA of 3.0.
  3. Complete a minimum of 14 semester hours each semester. (One semester of no less than 12 semester hours will be allowed.)

Students unable to meet one or more of the above criteria are encouraged to apply for admission through the standard admission procedures.

Entry Level DPT Program Transitional DPT Program

At the Creighton University Medical Center 2006 Commencement, Fr. John P. Schlegel, S.J., Creighton University President stated, "Your professors have challenged you to be leaders in your professions. As a student, you were expected to go beyond the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary. Your patients will expect no less of you. Do not disappoint them. Ethics, service, and excellence: These three words have been consistent across the 127 years of Creighton's existence; they serve as the foundation for what we do today. You will carry these with you; they are marks of a Creighton health care professional."

Julie Ekstrum, DPT, an assistant professor of physical therapy at Creighton University, is now a Certified Clinical Specialist in Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy. Ekstrum will be formally recognized by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) at the Combined Sections Meeting in February 2008.