Doctor of Physical Therapy
Program Overview
Tufts University is excited to offer an innovative Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program uniquely positioned in the Tufts University School of Medicine. Like other Tufts School of Medicine programs, the DPT program is student-centered and focused on academic and clinical excellence. Tufts DPT faculty are nationally recognized educators, clinicians, researchers, and leaders within the physical therapy profession.
Tufts DPT offers an accelerated 2-year blended learning, or hybrid education, model in partnership with Evidence in Motion (EIM). Our evidence-based curriculum gives students, from all over the country, access to an online virtual classroom with best practices for face-to-face live class sessions, and engaging virtual active learning strategies, while the blended immersive laboratory sessions on campus provide the critical hands-on learning. Our accelerated DPT program offers integrated and full-time clinical education experiences to maximize the student's market readiness. Our DPT curriculum includes 67 weeks of educational curriculum spread across six academic semesters, including a service-learning project, and interprofessional learning activities with other Tufts School of Medicine programs. The clinical education training consists of 31 weeks of full-time clinical training in a variety of clinical settings nationwide, including an 8-week integrated clinical experience and a 23-week terminal internship. Tufts DPT program allows the flexibility for students to live anywhere in the country so long as they can travel to Boston for intensive hands-on lab experiences, as required.
Our DPT program is dedicated to developing excellent healthcare professionals who demonstrate core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice to serve and advance the health and well-being of an increasingly diverse population. Tufts DPT graduates will be market-ready physical therapists, demonstrating a blend of skills and perspectives necessary to meet the demands of team-oriented healthcare in the 21st century.
Program Mission
Our program provides educational excellence to a diverse student body within a dynamic and innovative environment. We are committed to developing Doctors of Physical Therapy as professionals who live purposeful lives with a personal commitment to excellence, life-long learning, critical inquiry, and meaningful service to positively impact the human experience and societal health.
Accreditation Status
Graduation from a physical therapist education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; phone; 703-706-3245; accreditation@apta.org is necessary for eligibility to sit for the licensure examination, which is required in all states. Tufts University is seeking accreditation of a new physical therapist education program from CAPTE. The program is planning to submit an Application for Candidacy, which is the formal application required in the pre-accreditation stage, on December 1, 2019. Submission of this document does not assure that the program will be granted Candidate for Accreditation status. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status is required prior to the implementation of the professional/technical phase of the program; therefore, no students may be enrolled in professional/technical courses until Candidate for Accreditation status has been achieved. Further, though the achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status signifies satisfactory progress toward accreditation, it does not assure that the program will be granted accreditation.