Physical Therapy at Clarkson

St. Lawrence & Clarkson Form Partnership For Degree In Physical Therapy

CANTON - St. Lawrence University graduates interested in a health care career will have further options, with the announcement of a new articulation agreement with Clarkson University's graduate doctor of physical therapy program.

Space for two qualified St. Lawrence graduates will be reserved each year in Clarkson's Doctor of Physical Therapy program, which takes three years to complete. Candidates participate in four separate clinical internships through Clarkson's program, which currently has a 100 percent placement rate for graduates.

To qualify, St. Lawrence graduates must complete a series of required courses, and meet a number of other requirements.

The two institutions also have an agreement for St. Lawrence graduates to enter Clarkson's graduate physician assistant program. Earlier this year, St. Lawrence formed a partnership with New York University's College of Nursing allowing qualified graduates to enter programs for a second bachelor's degree or master's degree in nursing.

Additional medical profession options at St. Lawrence include its Early Assurance Program with the College of Medicine of the SUNY Upstate Medical University at Syracuse; an Early Assurance Program at the SUNY Buffalo School of Dentistry; and a pre-college matriculation early assurance program with SUNY Upstate Medical University (College of Medicine) for students interested in rural medicine.

Graduate Professional (DPT) Program

A place will be reserved in the Clarkson University DPT Program for two Saint Lawrence University students, provided they meet the following standards:

A baccalaureate (undergraduate) degree prior to matriculation in the graduate physical therapy professional curriculum.

        An overall grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.0 during undergraduate study.

        Completion of all prerequisite courses with a 3.20 average and with no grade below a 2.00 in any   

         prerequisite course.

        50 verified hours of observation or volunteer experience in health care activities, of which 35 must

        be in a physical therapy practice.

  Two letters of recommendation, one of which must be the letter from the SLU Health Careers Committee.

  Interview with Clarkson PT faculty. The Clarkson faculty will be invited to participate in the SLU

  Health Careers Committee but a separate interview may also be required.

St. Lawrence University students who have met all the standards must complete the application process by 10/05 of the year prior to potential admission to the program to be offered a reserved place in the graduate physical therapy professional program.

All applications to the DPT program must be submitted using the Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) (www.ptcas.org). 

SPECIFIC PREREQUISITE Course Requirements

The prerequisite courses that must be completed at St. Lawrence are:

Biology: Biology 250 – Introduction to Cell Biology and either Biology 341 - Anatomy and Physiology I with lab

   or Biology 351 - Anatomy and Physiology II with lab

Chemistry: 2 semesters - Chemistry 103 and 104 – General Chemistry with lab 

Math: One semester of Mathematics 134, 135 or 136                             

Physics:  2 semesters - Physics 103-104 or Physics 151-152 with lab                   

Psychology: 1 semester -Psychology 100 or 101 Introductory Psychology – with or without lab

Psychology: 1 semester – Psychology 207 Developmental Psychology

Math: 1 semester – Mathematics 113 – Applied Statistics

Health Care: - 2 classes that are relevant to health care like Sociology 275 – Medical Sociology or

Biology 412 - Cross Cultural Perspectives of Healing or similar classes. As an alternative, students

can cross register for PT 104 and PT 304 at Clarkson.