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Review DPT admission requirements. Once you’re ready, apply to the DPT program through the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS).

Become a Leader in the Growing Field of Physical Therapy

Learn to diagnose and treat movement dysfunction to help people live healthier lives.

As the only Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree program offered at a public institution of higher education in Massachusetts, our UMass Lowell DPT program offers educational training excellence at half the cost of our private higher education peers. Embedded in UMass Lowell, a research-intensive institution recognized in 2024 as the #1 public university in Massachusetts, our program offers small class sizes that facilitate close collaborations with faculty and students, excellent clinical education experiences, and faculty mentored research opportunities.

Our graduates are tomorrow's leaders in healthcare, who practice inter-professionally in hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation centers, outpatient and private practice clinics, schools, long-term care and skilled nursing facilities, community and home health agencies, corporate sites, sports medicine and performance clinics, and across branches of the U.S. Department of Defense and first responders. Many graduates work also in prevention and wellness services, clinical research, and healthcare leadership positions.

High Pass Rates

Graduates from the DPT Program at UMass Lowell consistently pass the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) on their first try at rates higher than the national average of 84%. These NPTE pass rates are also amongst the highest in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Get ready for an exciting career as a physical therapist. UMass Lowell's fully accredited Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program requires a baccalaureate degree for admission and a three-year full-time commitment, including each summer. Matriculation begins the summer immediately subsequent to acceptance. The UMass Lowell DPT program does not offer deferred acceptance.

Application Deadline

ApplicationDocuments Application Documents

Note: The DPT Program at UMass Lowell participates in the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service, known as PTCAS. Applicants applying to the DPT Program for the November 1, 2024 deadline will apply online using the PTCAS application. PTCAS charges an application fee, which they sometimes refer to as a supplemental fee.

PTCAS Apply Online

For additional information regarding DPT admission requirements, please contact:

Keith Hallbourg, Graduate Admissions Coordinator
Call 978-934-4402 or email: keith_hallbourg@uml.edu.

The UMass Lowell Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program prepares students to diagnose and treat movement dysfunction to help people live healthier lives. Supporting the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) core values as demonstrated throughout the curriculum, our program aligns with the vision of the APTA to transform society by optimizing movement to improve the human experience. 

The curriculum includes 95 credits of coursework that incorporate integrated clinical experiences and 34 weeks of full-time clinical education experience. It provides a comprehensive foundation in evidence-based physical therapy practice, with emphasis placed on the development of clinical decision-making and critical inquiry skills across the curriculum. Methods of instruction include classroom lecture and discussion, small group/problem-based learning, and skill development during laboratory and clinical experiences, including observed structured clinical examinations (OSCE). By being embedded in the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, our DPT program also incorporates a variety of interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities throughout the curriculum.

  1. View the DPT Degree Pathway (curriculum)
  2. View the Program Outcomes
  3. View the course descriptions in the Academic Catalog

Clinical education is embedded into a variety of experiences in the UMass Lowell Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program.

Integrated Clinical Experiences

Year 1 - Starting right away, students begin spending time in clinical settings via Integrated Clinical Experiences in our on-campus pro-bono Physical Therapy Clinic

Year 2 - Students take a leadership role in the pro-bono Physical Therapy Clinic peer-mentoring other year one students. Additional Integrated Clinical Experiences are also incorporated into year two coursework at local clinic sites.

Clinical Education Experiences

Students also complete three full-time immersive clinical education experiences, of 10, 12, and 12 weeks duration respectively, for a total of 34 weeks. In these clinical experiences, students gain experience with diverse patient populations across the lifespan in a variety of practice settings that span the continuum of care, including acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient neurological, orthopedic, and sports medicine, as well as other more specialized settings (e.g., pediatric, geriatric, women's health, and home care). All clinical sites have a history of high-quality training student physical therapists. While most clinical sites are based in the New England area, we have established clinical affiliations with more than 500 sites across the United States.

Community involvement is an integral component of the mission of the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program of preparing clinicians to practice in today's complex healthcare environment. The program has community-based outreach relationships with many organizations in the region to facilitate rehabilitation, disease/injury prevention, wellness enhancement in the community. Additionally, the Department of Physical Therapy and Kinesiology is committed to providing community access to interprofessional educational programs that promote clinical expertise among practicing clinicians in the region and the nation.

Department-sponsored annual events include:

Service Learning

Service learning is a teaching and learning method that upholds a commitment to appreciating the assets of and serving the needs to a community partner while enhancing student learning and academic rigor through the practice of intentional reflective thinking and responsible civic action. Service Learning in Physical Therapy is a capstone course that facilitates these methods within the DPT Program. This course brings services to the community with special interest in working within underserved communities. Students use experiential learning to complement and enrich traditional didactic classroom activities and pedagogies, and will have opportunities to learn about particular populations and social issues within the community. The courses also provides students with an opportunity to design and implement educational and training programs in an effort to meet the needs of the populations in that community. As such, students work collaboratively with diverse populations to strengthen the listening and communication skills that are essential to a practicing physical therapist.

Organizations

The DPT Program has been, and/or is currently, involved with the following local organizations:

  • Anne Sullivan Center
  • Chelmsford Community Center
  • Chelmsford Senior Center
  • D'Youville Rehabilitation
  • Elder Services of Merrimack Valley, Lawrence
  • Emerson Hospital, Westford
  • Hanscom Military and Airforce Base
  • HEAD Start Program, Lowell
  • Ironstone Farm
  • Life Links
  • Littleton Council on Aging
  • Lowell Community Health Center
  • Lowell Council on Aging
  • Lowell Middlesex Charter School
  • Northeast Rehab
  • Newbury Court Parkinsons Rock Steady Program
  • UMass Lowell Recreation Center
  • UMass Lowell Club Sports Teams
  • Winchester Hospital/Orthopaedics Plus, Woburn
  • Women's Health Awareness with Pelvic Floor PTs
  • YMCA of Lowell
  • YMCA of Nashua

acapt-logo

The Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program is also a member of the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy.

  • David Cornell, DPT, Ph.D.
    Associate Professor with Tenure; Interim Director, DPT Program; Assistant Director, Health Assessment Laboratory (HAL)
    Physical Therapy and Kinesiology

    Sports Medicine; Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention; Health, Fitness, & Performance Enhancement

  • Kyle Coffey, PT, DPT, ACSM-EP
    ES Program Director, Associate Teaching Professor, Pre-Health Advisor
    Physical Therapy and Kinesiology, SCORE

    Exercise Physiology; Strength & Conditioning; Exercise Prescription and Programming; Orthopedic Physical Therapy; Clinical Application of Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) Therapy

  • Michele Fox
    Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Associate Program Director, Director of Clinical Education, Associate Teaching Professor
    Physical Therapy and Kinesiology

    Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy, Clinical Education, Psychosocial Aspects of Health Care, Generational Differences in Academia.

  • Lynne Gauthier
    Associate Professor, UMOVE Center Researcher
    Physical Therapy and Kinesiology, Health Assessment Laboratory (HAL), UMOVE

    Neurorehabilitation, Gaming for Telerehabilitation, Motion capture outside of laboratory settings, Neuroimaging, Neurocapacity and Behavior Change

  • Rebecca Glass, PT, DPT, SFG, CPPC
    Clinical Education Coordinator, Adjunct Faculty
    Physical Therapy & Kinesiology

    Women's / Pelvic Health, specifically serving the prenatal & postnatal population; strength and conditioning, inpatient rehab & acute care

  • Keith Hallbourg
    Clinical Professor, Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Admissions Coordinator
    Physical Therapy and Kinesiology

    Functional Mobility, Patient Safety, Clinical Documentation and Professional Communication

  • Julie Keysor, Ph.D., PT
    Chair, Professor
    Physical Therapy and Kinesiology

    Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation Science, Health Behavior and Behavior Change, Adherence, Disability Prevention and Treatment, Work Disability Prevention, Technology (digital health monitoring, virtual reality, and augmented reality).

  • Erika Lewis, PT, Ed.D., MS, CHT
    Associate Professor
    Physical Therapy and Kinesiology

    Physical Therapist, Certified Hand Therapist. Hand and Upper Extremity Examination, Treatment, and Orthosis Fabrication. Orthopedic Physical Therapy Examination and Therapeutic Exercise in Lower Extremity and Upper Extremity.

  • Margaret (Maggie) O'Neil, MSPT, Ph.D., MPH
    Associate Professor
    Physical Therapy & Kinesiology, Health Assessment Laboratory (HAL)

    Pediatric rehabilitation; cerebral palsy; physical activity measures and intervention; custom virtual reality games

Exercise Science to Doctor of Physical Therapy

Transition seamlessly from the B.S. in Exercise Science (ES) to the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Students who meet the qualifications as incoming first-year students may be notified in their letter of acceptance to the university from Admissions that they have been admitted into the ES to DPT cohort. Students must be enrolled in the Clinical Option to be eligible for this designation and must complete the BS in Exercise Science program with a cumulative Overall GPA of 3.400 (or higher) and a DPT Pre-Requisite Science GPA of 3.400 (or higher) to continue into the graduate DPT program.

Delivering Real-World Experiences

  • Michele Fox
    Master of Physical Therapy, Doctor of Physical Therapy

    Assoc. Teaching Prof. Michele Fox ’94, ’06 of the Department of Physical Therapy and Kinesiology, a double River Hawk, swims competitively and raises money for cancer research.

  • Lou Coiro
    Physical Therapy

    During his long career, Coiro has opened two physical therapy clinics, treated thousands of patients and hired many UMass Lowell students.

  • Haley LaFreniere
    Exercise Physiology, Physical Therapy

    Motivated to help patients regain strength to live their best possible lives, Haley LaFreniere was inspired early on by her mom to pursue a health-related field.

  • Patrice Olivar
    Exercise Physiology & Psychology

    While double-majoring in psychology and exercise physiology, Patrice Faith Olivar has gained both research and practical experience. UMass Lowell has opened more doors than she thought possible.

Accreditation

The Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell has been continuously accredited since 1981 by the: 

Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE)
3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100
Alexandria, VA 22305-3085
Telephone: 703-706-3245
Email: accreditation@apta.org
Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education Website

If you need to contact the program/institution directly, please call: 978-934-5458 or email: david_cornell@uml.edu.

Request More Information

A student presses down on a patient's arms in a UMass Lowell physical therapy clinic.

Physical Therapy Clinic

DPT students gain experience in UMass Lowell Physical Therapy Clinic.

Program Director Contact Information

David J. Cornell, PT, DPT, PhD, FACSM
Director, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
Department of Physical Therapy and Kinesiology
Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences
University of Massachusetts Lowell
113 Wilder Street Lowell, MA 01854
Phone: 978-934-5458
Email: david_cornell@uml.edu