Health and Exercise Science (BS) and Physical Therapy (DPT) 3+3 Program

Program Requirements

Students in the 3+3 accelerated BS Health and Exercise Science and DPT program will complete two degrees in their six years at Simmons: a Bachelors of Science in Health and Exercise Science after the fourth year and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy after the sixth year. As such, students have two academic homes, both within the School of Sciences and Health Professions (SSHP). For their undergraduate education, students are members of the Health and Exercise Science program, which is housed in the Biology Department. For their graduate work, students who are admitted to this accelerated track and maintain a 3.5 or higher GPA in prerequisite courses are able to  progress to the doctoral Physical Therapy program. All majors are required to have Basic Life Support and First Aid Certifications by March 1 of the senior year.

The suggested sequence is detailed below.

First Year

BIOL 113	General Biology	4
CHEM 111	Principles of General Chemistry	4
	OR
CHEM 113	General & Quantitative Chemistry I	4
	AND
CHEM 112	Principles of Organic Chemistry	4

BIOL 113, CHEM 111, CHEM 113, and CHEM 112 all include labs.

BIOL 113, and STAT 118 or STAT 239: prereq. for BIOL 246.

CHEM 111, CHEM 112: prereq. for BIOL 231.

*Students may complete BIOL 113 to fulfill the Introductory Biology requirement.

*Students may complete CHEM 111 or CHEM 113 to fulfill General Chemistry requirement.

First or Sophomore Year

STAT 118	Introductory Statistics	4
	OR
STAT 239	Regression and Design of Experiments	4
	AND
PSYC 101	Introduction to Psychological Science	4
NUTR 112	Introduction to Nutrition Science	4
EXSC 100	Introduction to Exercise Science	2
EXSC 110	Form and Function in Resistance Exercise	2

Sophomore Year

BIOL 231	Anatomy and Physiology I	4
BIOL 232	Anatomy and Physiology II	4
BIOL 246	Foundations of Exercise and Health	4

All courses include labs.

Junior Year

BIOL 332/EXSC 332	Exercise Physiology	4
EXSC 361	Exercise Assessment & Prescription	4
PHYS 110	Introductory Physics I	4
PHYS 111	Introductory Physics II	4
PSYC 232	Health Psychology	4
	First Aid and CPR/AED Training

PT Observation Hours: 30 hours of observation of a licensed physical therapist must be documented by May 1. See the DPT Handbook for details.

BIOL 332, PHYS 110, EXSC 361 include labs.

BIOL 332: prereq. for EXSC 361.

First Aid Certification offered during EXSC 361 lab.

Fourth Year (First Year DPT Program)

If you progress into the DPT program, to earn the BS in Health and Exercise Science, you can apply the courses in the first year of the DPT program to fulfilling the BS in Health and Exercise Science requirements. The DPT program is 99 credits (including the combined undergraduate 4th Year/Year 1 in the graduate program). The graduate DPT program involves a full-time commitment over a three year period, including summers, beginning in the summer following the third year. Graduation is in May of the fourth (BS degree) and sixth (DPT degree) years. The program affiliates with approximately 300 institutions across the country, offering students a wide variety of clinical settings in which to participate in the practice of physical therapy.

DPT 612	Professional Seminar I	1
DPT 672	Frameworks of Physical Therapy: Musculoskeletal I	7
DPT 613	Professional Seminar II	1
DPT 673	Frameworks of Physical Therapy: Musculoskeletal II	7
DPT 621	Human Anatomy	7
DPT 622	Movement Science I	3
DPT 652	Evidence Informed Practice I	2

DPT 612 and DPT 672: Serve as a replacement for BIOL 370 (Fall).

DPT 613 and DPT 673: Serve as a replacement for BIOL 370 (Spring).

DPT 621 and DPT 622: Serve as a replacement for BIOL 362.

DPT 652: Serves as a replacement for 2nd EXSC elective (1st met by PHYS 110).

Accreditation

The Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Simmons University is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), American Physical Therapy Association, 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]; website: https://www.capteonline.org.