Health Sciences, Pre-Physical Therapy Concentration, B.S.

University General Education Requirements  

Physical therapy (PT) is a profession which develops and utilizes selected knowledge and skills in planning, organizing, and directing programs for the care of individuals whose ability to function is impaired or threatened by disease or injury. Physical therapy deals primarily with those individuals whose potential or actual impairment is related to the neuromusculoskeletal, pulmonary, and cardiovascular systems. It focuses on methods of evaluating the functions of those systems and on the selection of appropriate therapeutic procedures to maintain, improve, or restore these functions. Physical therapy serves a wide population in a variety of settings such as hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, home health agencies, public health agencies, school districts, private practice, and the armed forces. The minimum educational requirement for entry into the profession is an entry level doctorate degree. The College of Health Sciences offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences with a concentration in Pre-Physical Therapy. Following completion of the degree, the student will apply to an entry-level doctoral program in physical therapy at another institution.

Admission Process and Graduation Requirement

The Pre-Physical Therapy program at Chicago State University admits freshmen and transfer students. Applications are accepted and reviewed throughout the year. Students must complete all university admission requirements and successfully complete the required university placement examinations in English, reading, and mathematics. A student who has completed a total of 70 credit hours, must attain a GPA of 3.0 or better to be able to graduate from the program. Students are required to successfully complete 120 credit hours of coursework and to have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better in their CSU coursework to graduate from the Pre-Physical Therapy program. Students will be required to change their concentration if they fail to attain the GPA benchmark. Any course with a grade of D or lower must be repeated.