Pre-Physical Therapy

Pre-Professional Programs at UT Tyler

Overview

Physical therapists work with patients who have lost certain physical abilities through injury or illness to relieve their pain, help them regain physical strength, help them recover the use of an afflicted limb, or relearn how to perform the activities of daily living. They confer with the patient's physician prior to initiating treatment and evaluation.

Evaluating a patient's physical ability through testing, which includes range-of-motion tests, manual-muscle tests, gait and functional analysis and other diagnostic tools, helps the therapist establish a program for the patient, teach the patient the techniques they need to use, and monitor their progress. Physical therapists work in rehabilitation, community health, industry, sports, research, education and administration. They also perform patient evaluations.

In Texas, physical therapists must receive a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited university and then enroll in a doctor of physical therapy (entry-level DPT) program. There are no bachelor's degree programs for physical therapists in the state.

The state of Texas requires that all physical therapists hold at least a master's degree or doctoral DPT degree from an accredited physical therapy program and pass a national exam administered by the Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examine.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the annual average salary of a physical therapist in Texas (2011 data) is $74,500.

Related career fields include physical therapy assistant/aide and occupational therapist.

Texas Physical Therapy Programs

• Angelo State University
• Hardin-Simmons University
• Texas State University
• Texas Woman's University
• University of Texas at El Paso
• University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio
• University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

For more information or questions concerning courses at UT Tyler that will fulfill physical therapy school prerequisites please contact:

Dr. Rachel Mason
Chief Health Professions Advisor & JAMP Faculty Director
Associate Professor of Chemistry & Assistant Chair
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
The University of Texas at Tyler
3900 University Blvd
Tyler, Texas 75799
Office: RBS 3002
Phone: 903.565.5641

Marti Halbrook, MS
Assistant Director, of Academy of Future Health Professionals
The University of Texas at Tyler
3900 University Blvd
Tyler, Texas 75799
Office CAS 132
Phone: 903.566.7193