- The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has set a course towards practice without referral of a physician (direct access).
- Direct access involves both legislative and reimbursement authority from third party payers to practice without a doctor's referral. The DPT will allow APTA to argue for direct access more effectively.
- DPT is a clinical doctorate like that in dentistry (D.D.S.), podiatry (D.P.M.), osteopathy (D.O.), pharmacy (Pharm.D.), clinical psychology (Psych.D.), and medical doctor (M.D.).
- DPT is not a research Ph.D. Thus, no doctoral dissertation is required.
- All of the top ranked programs are at the DPT level, 206 out of 213 accredited programs nationally are at the DPT level, and the remaining 7 MS/MPT programs intend to convert. (11/10)
- With direct entry as a freshman, Marquette's DPT is 6 years including 2 summers.
- Marquette freshman admission students earn a bachelor's degree of choice and DPT in the 6 year time frame, with guaranteed admission to the professional phase as long as minimum standards met.
- At Marquette, there is a great diversity of undergraduate majors that may be chosen (Athletic Training, Biomedical Sciences, Business, Exercise Physiology, Spanish, and many other majors offer some additional marketability, dual certification, or dual skills in the 6 years.
- Marquette has both internal and external transfer windows for approximately 15 students.
- For entry as a transfer student with an undergraduate degree, Marquette's DPT is 3 years including 2 summers.
- Marquette's tuition for the professional phase (Yrs 4-6) is lower than the national private school average for DPT programs.
- Marquette's DPT program offers specialty areas of emphasis in sports medicine, orthopedics, neurological, pediatrics, cardiopulmonary, geriatrics, integumentary, Spanish, and management.
