Doctor of Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy Program Accreditation

All physical therapist education programs in the United States are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone; 703-706-3245; accreditation@apta.org ; website: http://www.capteonline.org. If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 562-575-4604 or email DPTAdmissions@scuhs.edu.

Accreditation Statement per CAPTE:

Graduation from a physical therapist education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone; 703-706-3245; accreditation@apta.org is necessary for eligibility to sit for the licensure examination, which is required in all states. Candidacy is considered to be an accredited status, as such the credits and degree earned from a program with Candidacy status are considered, by CAPTE, to be from an accredited program. Therefore, students in the charter (first) class should be eligible to take the licensure exam even if CAPTE withholds accreditation at the end of the candidacy period. The initial accreditation decision will be determined at CAPTE’s fall meeting in October of 2027. Graduates of the charter class will be eligible to take the National Physical Therapy Examination in January of 2028, the first time that the exam is offered after graduation in December of 2027. That said, it is up to each state licensing agency, not CAPTE, to determine who is eligible for licensure. Information on licensing requirements should be directed to the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT: www.fsbpt.org) or specific state boards (a list of state boards and contact information is available on FSBPT’s website.

Southern California University of Health Sciences is seeking accreditation of a new physical therapist education program from CAPTE. On November 1, 2024, the program submitted an Application for Candidacy, which is the formal application required in the pre-accreditation stage. Submission of this document does not assure that the program will be granted Candidate for Accreditation status. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status is required prior to implementation of the professional phase of the program; therefore, no students may be enrolled in professional courses until Candidate for Accreditation status has been achieved. Further, though achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status signifies satisfactory progress toward accreditation, it does not assure that the program will be granted accreditation.

State Approvals

Education programs that provide distance education outside their home state boundaries (including out-of-state clinical experiential learning) are required to assure comparable national standards for interstate post-secondary distance education.

Within California, programs providing such distance education or experiential learning opportunities need to make specific reciprocity agreements with each state.

Students wishing to complete a clinical experience in one of these states may be able to have such an opportunity arranged.* States that are not on the list of approved distance education partners will not be available for such an opportunity. However, the list is updated regularly, so check back periodically or contact us for more information (DPTAdmissions@scuhs.edu).

The SCU DPT program will prepare students for licensure in any state (see National Examination and Licensure).

Program Complaint Process

Providing Feedback or Reporting a Complaint About the DPT Program:

If you are a student in the program, you can find the Student Grievances Policy in the University Catalog

If you are making a complaint outside of due process – as a parent, patient, etc. – the Program encourages you to attempt to resolve any issues directly with the party involved.  In the event that the issue cannot be resolved through direct discussion, any person with a complaint or constructive feedback for the program of physical therapy can submit the complaint or constructive feedback in writing to the Program Director.  The Director will respond to such request(s) in writing within two weeks of submission.  If the Program Director is involved in the complaint, or if there is an appearance of a conflict of interest, the complaint will be elevated to the Dean who will respond in writing within 2 weeks.  Electronic records of all complaints will be maintained by the DPT Program Administrative Assistant.  Retaliation of any type following complaint submission is prohibited.

Feedback can be sent to craigruby@scuhs.edu

CAPTE Formal Complaint Process:

Formal complaints that allege that the DPT program is not in compliance with one or more of CAPTE’s Standards and Required Elements or that the Program has violated CAPTE’s standards related to academic integrity may be filed with CAPTE. If the complaint falls within the due process described for the Program, CAPTE requires that the institutional grievance process is completed prior to initiating the complaint with CAPTE, unless the complainant alleges that the complaint process is not being handled in a timely manner. If the complaint is related to situations that fall outside of due process policies, the complaint may be filed at any time. More details about the complaint process can be found at http://www.capteonline.org/Complaints/.

To obtain materials for submitting a complaint, contact the APTA Accreditation Department at (703)706-3245 or at accreditation@apta.org