Pre-Physical Therapy
The educational requirements for admission to a physical therapy program vary from
school to school. Many programs require a BS degree; some will accept applicants after two
or three years of undergraduate education. The following courses are those required by the
University of Nebraska Medical Center's Division of Physical Therapy Education for
admission to their program. These courses also meet the requirements for entry into the
Creighton University Program in Physical Therapy.
Students pursuing a pre-physical therapy program are expected to also pursue a college
major***.
Competition for places in professional schools of physical therapy is very fierce
and admission cannot be assured.
- A. Requirements
- Take all of the following:
- BIOL 225, Anatomy and Physiology - 4 hours (Prereq:
CHEM 145 or CHEM 150 or CHEM 160; three years of high school science including biology and
a minimum score of 20 on the ACT or equivalent or a college science course)
- BIOL 226, Anatomy and Physiology - 4 hours
- BIOL 325, Medical Terminology - 1 hour
- CHEM 160GS, General Chemistry - 3 hours (see prerequisites)
- CHEM 160LGS, General Chemistry Laboratory - 1 hour
- CHEM 161GS, General Chemistry - 3 hours
- CHEM 161LGS, General Chemistry Laboratory - 1 hour
- PHYS 205GS, General Physics - 5 hours
- PHYS 206GS, General Physics - 5 hours
- STAT 241, Elementary Statistics - 3 hours
- ENG 101GS, Expository Writing I - 3 hours
- ENG 102GS, Expository Writing II - 3 hours
- PSY 203GS, General Psychology - 3 hours
- PSY 230GS, Human Development - 3 hours
- PSY 231, Abnormal Behavior and Society - 3 hours
- PE 461, Physiology of Exercise - 3 hours
- Take 2 of the following:
- BIOL 103GS, General Biology - 4 hours
BIOL 107GS, General Zoology - 4 hours (Prereq: three
years of high school science including biology and chemistry and a minimum score of 20 on
the ACT or equivalent or a college science course)
- BIOL 309, Cellular Biology - 4 hours (Prereq: 8 hours
of college Biology; CHEM 161GS, CHEM 161LGS, and CHEM 250;
or CHEM 360)
- BIOL 360, Genetics - 4 hours
- BIOL 450, Molecular Biology I - 4 hours (Prereq: BIOL 309, BIOL 360 and CHEM 351)
- No more than ONE from:
BIOL 211, Human Microbiology - 4 hours
BIOL 400, Microbiology - 4 hours (Prereq: at least 8
hours of Biology)
- Take one of the following*:
- MATH 103, Plane Trigonometry - 3 hours
- MATH 123**, Applied Calculus I - 3 hours
*Students with insufficient preparation to enter the mathematics program at this level
will be required to take MATH 102.
**Students with sufficient preparation may enter the mathematics program at MATH 123.
- B. Electives (to total at least 64 hours)
- Courses in sociology, anthropology, history, political science, literature, fine arts,
speech, philosophy are appropriate.
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores must be presented.
- C. Strongly recommended:
- FCSC 110GS, Introduction to Nutrition - 3 hours
- PHIL 120GS, Introduction to Ethics - 3 hours
- PE 360, Human Anatomy and Kinesiology - 4 hours
- PE 460, Gross Anatomy of Movement - 3 hours (Prereq: PE 360, BIOL 225)
- CHEM 250, Elementary Organic Chemistry - 5 hours
- CHEM 351, Biochemistry - 4 hours (Prereq: CHEM 161GS, CHEM 161LGS; CHEM 250; or CHEM
361GS, CHEM 361LGS)
- One of the following:
- CSIS 108GS, Computers in Society - 3 hours
- BMIS 182, Business Computer Applications - 3 hours
Students applying to Schools of Physical Therapy outside Nebraska should check with
these schools to ensure that other requirements are fulfilled.
***Students pursuing a program of study in pre-physical therapy are
expected to choose a major so that they can be working towards a baccalaureate degree
concurrently with the pre-physical therapy program. This requires a major/minor
combination or a comprehensive major as well as completion of the UNK general studies
requirements and other degree requirements as set forth in the college catalog. (Students
who are accepted into physical therapy school prior to completing a baccalaureate degree
at UNK may be eligible to receive a BS degree in Health Science if
they have completed all General Studies requirements and have at
least 90 semester hours completed in pre-PT studies.
16 May 2005
