Doctor of Physical Therapy preparing to launch at Kean

By Gabrielle Gale Prendatt-Carter | Posted on November 19, 2015

Kean University will launch its new Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) at the Nathan Weiss Graduate College in June 2016.

The DPT program is Kean University’s fourth doctoral program and the first to consider entry-level qualified candidates. In addition to this, applicants will also be considered if they have earned a bachelor’s degree. According to Shannon Nicole Clifford, Ph.D., executive director of Kean’s new School of Physical Therapy, “new industry standards require physical therapists to have a clinical doctorate degree.”

Rochelle Hendricks, New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education, gave final approval to the DPT program on November 2, 2015. Following this decision, an application for candidacy will be submitted to the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapist Education.

In order to best prepare students for the field of physical therapy, the DPT program’s curriculum will consist of both a classroom setting and hands on experience. Due to a dire need for physical therapists in the state of New Jersey, Kean University will provide
the resources needed to produce physical therapy professionals.

“New practitioners are needed to care for aging baby boomers as well as in the growing field of pediatric physical therapy,” said Clifford.

Prospective students for the DPT program will begin enrollment during Summer Session I in 2016 in Kean’s new state-of-the-art academic and research building on North Avenue.

“In New Jersey, too many students interested in careers in physical therapy are traveling out of state for their education,” said Kean University President Dawood Farahi. “These students can now remain in state and receive a world-class education at Kean University.”

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