Why the change to DPT education?
The faculty of the University of Kentucky program has decided to make the transition from the professional (entry-level) Master of Science in Physical Therapy (MSPT) to the professional (entry-level) DPT for several reasons: 1) the DPT is an appropriate degree for the work required; 2) there is a greater scope, rigor, depth, breadth, and length of this high-quality program; 3) it is expected the program will be better positioned to successfully recruit the most qualified applicants in a highly competitive applicant marketplace; and 4) this transition is perceived to be in the best interests of tomorrow’s practitioner. We see future physical therapists as practitioners with responsibility to examine and treat patients who have been either referred by a physician or self-referred. This will mean that the physical therapist must have higher level skills earlier in their careers to be able to accurately determine the problem, recognize if it is within the scope of practice of a physical th
