Prospective Students
An athlete with an injury; a senior citizen with arthritis; an infant with a birth defect; an individual recovering from a vascular stroke–a diverse group of people, yet each can benefit in some way from physical therapy. Physical therapists are experts in the function and movement of the human body. The ECU Department of Physical Therapy keeps tuition low so our students have less debt and more employment options when they graduate. Our student pass rates for the national certification exam are consistently among the best in the nation, and 100 percent of our graduates are employed within six months of graduation. Join us to take the next step in helping others to take theirs.
General Admissions Information
**ECU Physical Therapy strongly recommends that you complete your PTCAS application, ECU Graduate School Application, and CASPER test 3-4 weeks before the September 16th deadline.**
Steps to Apply:
- Apply to Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service, known as PTCAS. – All applicants must complete PTCAS as part of their application for the 2023/24 admissions cycle. To complete this application visit APTA Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service | APTA
Application service will open in June, 2024. The deadline to apply is September 16, 2024.
- Register for Acuity Insights Assessments – Comprehensive Admissions Assessments. All applicants must complete Casper as part of their application for the 2024/25 admissions cycle. To complete this assessment visit AcuityInsights.app to create an account and register to complete the following assessments:
Casper: 90-110 minute online, open-response situational judgment test
The last scheduled test date for the Casper Exam is September 17, 2024.
- Apply to East Carolina University Graduate School. All applicants are required to complete the East Caroline Graduate School application as part of their application for the 2023/24 admissions cycle. To complete this assessment visit ECU Graduate School Application
Application service will open in June, 2024. The deadline to apply is September 16, 2024.
Transcripts do not have to be sent to the ECU Graduate School
- NC Residency Determination Number – Applicants who want to be considered as NC In-State applicants.
To complete the determination please visit NC Residency Determination. The deadline is September 16, 2024
Applicants who are offered a face-to-face interview will be held on Friday, November 22, 2024.
General Eligibility Information
Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements for admission:
- Completion of 100 hours of observation hours in a physical therapy setting, a variety of settings is preferred. These hours can be from volunteering, shadowing, paid employment, etc. Please note we do not give “extra credit” for hours above our required minimum.
- Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college/university completed before the start date of the DPT program with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
- Two letters of recommendation completed in PTCAS; one must be completed by a physical therapist who has supervised you in a clinical setting. This is part of the PTCAS application requirements.
- Minimum prerequisite GPA of 3.25 with a grade of ‘C’ or better in each prerequisite course.
5. Applicants should have no more than two prerequisite courses left to complete in the Fall semester of their application year. For more information on our prerequisites please see our course equivalences charts linked above.
- Please email ECUDPT@ecu.edu with any questions.
Prerequisites
Applicants should have no more than two prerequisite courses left to complete in the Fall semester of their application year. This is a firm deadline. No exceptions.
- General chemistry (I & II), 8 semester hours with lab
- General physics (I & II), 8 semester hours with lab
- Biology, 12 semester hours with the lab to include:
- 8 hours of biology with lab and 4 hours of human or mammalian physiology with lab OR
- 4 hours of biology with lab and 8 hours of human physiology and anatomy with lab
- College algebra or higher, 3 semester hours
- Statistics, 3 semester hours
- Psychology, 6 semester hours to include general psychology
- Please consult the course equivalencies chart for prerequisite courses at area colleges and universities
- AP course credits
- AP courses can count for prerequisites if they appear on a transcript, but the courses will not be considered in the GPA calculation.
- One grade replacement per content area (biology, chemistry, physics, math, psychology, and statistics) is allowed.
- Please email ECUDPT@ecu.edu with any questions
NOTE: It is recommended that all biology, chemistry, and physics labs are completed face-to-face/in person.
Transfer Students
The Department of Physical Therapy at East Carolina University does not accept transfers of courses/credits from other DPT programs. Students who have completed coursework in another DPT program should apply through PTCAS as new applicants.
In-State Residency
In-State Residency Tuition at East Carolina University is considerably less expensive for North Carolina residents. The Department of Physical Therapy is not able to make rulings on residency status. The Registrar at East Carolina University makes these decisions. Out-of-state students who wish to become residents of North Carolina should go to the ECU Registrar for details ECU Graduate Student Residency
Admission preference is given to North Carolina residents.
Clinician Affiliations
The Department of Physical Therapy affiliates with approximately 300 hospitals, clinics, and facilities. Most clinical education sites are in North Carolina with about one-third of the facilities outside North Carolina. Students are assigned to four clinical affiliation sites throughout the curriculum for a total of 32 weeks of full-time clinical experience. Entry-level skills and knowledge needed in the general practice of physical therapy are obtained through working in a variety of settings and with patients of all ages and clinical conditions. Students are not permitted to set up their own clinical affiliations but may request to develop new clinical education sites in cooperation with the Director of Clinical Education a minimum of 6 months in advance of placements.
Information Sessions
Interested in learning more about our program? Information sessions will be offered on the last Friday of each month. Sessions will be in person, or you can choose to attend virtual sessions. Please complete the registration form if you are interested in attending.
Registration for Information Session
Tuition and Fees
Scholarship Information
There are several scholarships for physical therapy students in the College of Allied Health Sciences. View CAHS scholarship opportunities.
Additional Funding Options
Additional funding options available to ECU graduate students are available. Please visit the Graduate School website for more information.
Pre-Physical Therapy Club
The main goal of the pre-physical therapy club is to provide students interested in physical therapy with information and advice about the program and give them a better understanding of the physical therapy profession and the ECU DPT program. For more information please visit engage.ecu.edu.