Advisors: Eric Belt, Don Fischer, Emily Willaert
The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University offer a pre-professional program in physical therapy. Students complete prerequisite coursework as outlined by the different accredited physical therapy programs. Upon completion of the prerequisite coursework, the student is eligible to apply to colleges and universities offering a clinical doctorate degree in physical therapy. Majors that students frequently pursue along with the pre-physical therapy requirements include biology, exercise and health science, nutrition, and psychology.
Courses commonly required by graduate programs in physical therapy:
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| |
| BIOL 101 | Foundations of Biology | 4 |
| BIOL 201 | Intermediate Cell Biology and Genetics | 4 |
| BIOL 325 | Human Anatomy and Physiology I | 4 |
| BIOL 326 | Human Anatomy and Physiology II | 4 |
CHEM 125
& CHEM 201 | Introduction to Chemical Structure and Properties
and Purification and Separation Lab I | 5 |
CHEM 250
& CHEM 202 | Reactions of Nucleophiles and Electrophiles (Reactivity 1)
and Purification and Chromatography Lab II | 5 |
| MATH 124 | Probability and Statistical Inference | 4 |
| or PSYC 221 | Applied Behavioral Statistics |
| PHYS 105 | Physics for the Life Sciences I | 4 |
| PHYS 106 | Physics for the Life Sciences II | 4 |
| PSYC 111 | Introductory Psychology | 4 |
| PSYC 360 | Developmental Psychology | 4 |
| PSYC 381 | Psychological Disorders | 4 |
| COLG 121 | Medical Terminology | 1 |
Additional courses may be required and the student may need to complete summer coursework in order to complete the graduate school application requirements in four years.
Due to the specific prerequisite courses that each physical therapy school requires, students are strongly encouraged to work closely with the faculty advisor in planning their pre-professional program. Students should meet with the campus advisor early in the fall semester of their first year.
Additional Requirements:
General Education Requirements:
All undergraduate students must complete the requirements of the Integrations Curriculum (IC) which is designed to ensure all of our students receive a liberal arts education. Please review details of the Integrations Curriculum requirements here.
Graduation Requirements:
In addition to the Integrations Curriculum, all undergraduate students must meet the following minimum degree requirements to earn their degree from CSB and SJU.
Credits: 124 total credits, 40 of which must be from upper division coursework
GPA: 2.0 or higher*
Residency: At least 24 of your last 32 credits must be completed at CSB/SJU
Please visit Graduation under the Academic Policies and Regulations portion of the catalog for additional details regarding degree requirements.
* Cumulative GPA as well as major(s)/minor(s) GPA. Please note some majors/minors may require a higher GPA to earn their degree.
