The Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Russell Sage College participates in the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS). To learn more about the PTCAS application process, visit www.ptcas.org.

The PTCAS application portal is open July–December each year. The specific dates vary from year to year and are determined by PTCAS. The applicant will be responsible for submitting their complete applications to PTCAS. Any materials sent to Russell Sage College will not be able to be forwarded to PTCAS, therefore if an applicant is accepted they will need to submit official copies of their transcripts directly to Russell Sage College as part of their acceptance.

Articulation Applicants
All applicants applying through one of our existing Articulation Agreements will need to apply using PTCAS. Therefore, applicants will not be expected to adhere to the June 1 deadline as previously stated on our website. Please check our Articulation Agreements for specific instructions as they become available.

Admission Requirements

Qualified individuals who possess a baccalaureate degree and who have fulfilled the prerequisites for the Doctorate in Physical Therapy program may apply to Russell Sage College graduate program directly. Students who have not completed all of the prerequisites may be admitted on a provisional basis before completing the prerequisites. Students may complete outstanding prerequisites at Sage or at another institution. In addition to meeting the requirements for admission to Sage Graduate Schools and the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, the successful applicant will demonstrate the following criteria:

  1. Baccalaureate degree earned (or in progress) from an accredited college or university.

  2. Minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 system)

  3. Minimum science grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 system) in the required science courses (Anatomy & Physiology I and II w/labs, Chemistry I and II w/labs, Physics I and II w/labs, and two upper-level courses in Biology w/labs.

  4. Completion of all prerequisite courses for the professional DPT Program with a grade of “C” or better in each required course. Students may be provisionally accepted into the DPT contingent upon successful completion of outstanding prerequisite courses.
    • Anatomy & Physiology I and II w/labs
    • General Chemistry I and II w/labs
    • General Physics I and II w/labs
    • Two Biology courses (upper level) w/labs (may include Cell Bio, Microbiology, Genetics, Biochemistry)
    • Statistics
    • General/Introductory Psychology
  5. Completion of the application process through PTCAS.
    • Fill the PTCAS application out as completely as possible, including your biographical information, as well as work and extracurricular activities.
    • Submit official transcripts of all previous undergraduate or graduate study
    • Provide two letters of recommendation (one must be an academic reference)
    • Submit a personal essay
    • Provide documentation of at least 40 hours of clinical observation under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist before beginning the program (we recommend doing this in at least 2 different settings)
  6. Review, sign, and submit the DPT Academic and Technical Program Standards Statement directly to the DPT Program. The form and related documents are included as links on the right of  this page. Please be sure to use the appropriate form.

Students seeking admission must meet the Doctor of Physical Therapy program and Russell Sage College acceptance criteria. Each candidate application is reviewed, with selection based upon the number of applications, candidate collective qualifications and the number of openings in the program.

Please note that our program begins in May of each year. If a candidate is unable to complete their prerequisite courses and their bachelor degree before starting our program they will not be granted acceptance for that year.

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