How to Become a Physical Therapist
August 15, 2025
I have a confession to make. I鈥檝e never had a better clinical experience with any of my health care providers than I have had with my physical therapist. Hands down. No questions asked.听
奥丑测?听
I think it has something to do with the fact that, when I went in and complained about my shoulder or my lower back or my SI joint, my physical therapist was always ready with another handout full of science-backed exercises that I could do over the course of the next 8鈥�10 weeks to have me back up and running. And then, when I did those exercises, I actually felt better!聽
Seeing the physical therapist gave me the impression that this was how medicine should work: there should be best practice pamphlets for how to fix your every ailment, ache, pain, tumor, hemorrhage, hardening artery, and rapidly dementing brain.听
Obviously, the more complicated the conditions, the more complicated the cures become. And that means you鈥檙e much less likely to receive a series of stapled-together papers with outline drawings of human figures doing bridge pose in order to fix your problem. Nevertheless, my experience with the physical therapist shored up my faith in medicine. And it enabled me to keep going back, say, to the dermatologist, even though they never really could fix that rash.听
Perhaps you, too, would like to be the saving grace that puts the literal spring back in someone鈥檚 step.听
More seriously, perhaps you鈥檇 like to help people learn to walk again after a stroke or an accident. Or maybe you鈥檙e motivated to help older people stay active even into their later years.听
Whatever your motivation, if you鈥檙e seeking out help on how to become a physical therapist, you鈥檝e come to the right place.听
In this article, we鈥檒l help you discover:聽
- What a physical therapist does聽
- How to become a physical therapist聽
- How much money physical therapists make
- How many years it takes to become a physical therapist, and more.听
What a Physical Therapist Does
First, let鈥檚 talk about what a physical therapist is.听
A licensed doctor of physical therapy is a doctor who optimizes a patient鈥檚 quality of life by maintaining, restoring, and improving that person鈥檚 ability to move, function, and live a more active lifestyle, according to the American Physical Therapy Association.听
They work in hospitals, clinics, schools, sports facilities, nursing homes and other private institutions to ensure the physical health and wellbeing of patients of all ages. They might be working with people who have suffered specific injuries, people who have disabilities, or just people (like me!) who have endured the regular aches and pains of everyday life. Their goal is to help their patients increase mobility, decrease pain, avoid more severe interventions like surgery or heavy-duty medication.听
They also help their patients learn new physical and self-care skills that will help those patients to avoid pain and injury in the future. For example, when I saw my physical therapist, I was having problems with pain and mobility in my shoulder that I had accumulated through weightlifting. My physical therapist diagnosed the problem by having me run through a series of exercises.
Then he found that famous series of well-studied exercises that he instructed me to do daily for eight weeks. I followed that protocol of exercises and then followed up with my physical therapist after the eight weeks were over. Not only was my shoulder feeling better, I was feeling stronger in my lifts and more conscious of how my workouts were affecting my body. I still do some of those shoulder exercises to this day to maintain the health of my rotator cuffs. I haven鈥檛 had a problem since!聽
Of course, mine is a small success in the broader scope of the career of a physical therapist. They help people learn to walk again, they help people regain lost mobility after a stroke, and they help people recover from major accidents and crashes. Working as a physical therapist can enable you to have a profound impact on the lives of other people.听
So, what do you have to do to become a licensed physical therapist?聽
How to Become a Physical Therapist
Becoming almost any kind of healthcare provider in the United States will require you to first acquire a specific education from an accredited institution. Then, you鈥檒l need to do specific training for the type of practice you want to pursue. Finally, you鈥檒l need to pass an exam that will license you to practice with patients.听
Becoming a physical therapist follows that same trajectory.听
The first thing you need to do is get a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from an educational institution that has a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. Finally, you鈥檒l need to pass the licensure exam in the state where you live or where you鈥檇 like to practice. Following that path is the only way to become a physical therapist.听
Most Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs will require a bachelor鈥檚 degree (in any discipline) that will prepare you to go onto higher study. Majoring in something like biology, kinesiology, or even something like dance or psychology could prepare you well to go into a DPT program. Likewise, a strong interest in physical therapy with a major in another discipline would suit your DPT application just fine, so long as you complete all the required prerequisites..听
How to Find a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
As we talked about above, DPT programs are accredited by the (CAPTE). In order to do well in your career, you will want to attend a program that is CAPTE-accredited. There are nearly 39,000 DPT students enrolled in one of 335 DPT programs across the United States.听
CAPTE also accredits Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) programs, of which there are 415 in the United States. You can absolutely have a positive impact on the lives of others by becoming a PTA, as well.
If you鈥檙e still in high school, you might look for accredited 3+3 programs that will take you through an undergraduate curriculum in 3 years and then the DPT program in another 3 years. That means you鈥檒l be set up to take your licensure exam and begin practicing in just 6 years, without any gap time to apply for DPT programs between undergrad and grad school. If you鈥檙e already convinced that this is the career for you, it might be a huge step up to go through a 3+3 program and get on your way to your career a bit more quickly than you otherwise would.听
How to Compare Programs Using CAPTE’s Database
If you鈥檙e searching for an accredited DPT program in your area, your first step might be searching in CAPTE鈥檚 . Click on your state, and start checking out the programs in your area. Different DPT programs will have different funding possibilities, different faculty, and different approaches. One might suit you better than another.听
Step 1: Check admissions requirements.
For example, if I lived in the state of Oregon, I could click on my state and then see the four accredited programs that exist there. Then, if I click on OSU Cascades, I can see that the university lists a series of , which are:聽
- A bachelor鈥檚 degree from a regionally accredited college or university聽
- Minimum cumulative and science GPAs of 3.0 or higher聽
- A resume聽
- Transcripts from all of your previously attended educational institutions聽
- A minimum of 40 therapy observation hours in a clinical setting. The more hours you complete, the more competitive you are!聽
- Two admissions essays聽
- Related work/volunteer experience
- A series of prerequisite college courses聽
- Three letters of recommendation聽
- A series of signed disclosure forms聽
If I go to George Fox University (also in Oregon), I can see that the admissions requirements are fairly similar. You need:聽
- A verified application via PTCAS
- A bachelor鈥檚 degree from a regionally accredited institution聽
- A cumulative and prerequisite GPA of 3.25 or more聽
- One academic reference
- One physical therapist reference
- At least 100 observation hours across two different domains of physical therapy. They state that experience in both outpatient and inpatient settings is encouraged, so you鈥檒l need to book some real immersion time in a clinical setting in order to be successful applying here.听
These requirements may or may not seem like a big lift for you. That will depend on your personal situation.听
Step 2: Check outcomes.
You can also see that the outcomes for OSU Cascades graduates are super positive. For the class of 2024:聽
- The graduation rate was 98%聽
- The first time licensure exam pass rate was 96%聽
- The ultimate licensure exam pass rate was 96%.听
If I then go to compare OSU Cascades with George Fox University, I can see that the outcomes are very similarly positive. For the average 2023 and 2024 classes:聽
- The graduation rate was 100%聽
- The first time licensure exam pass rate was 83.3%聽
- The ultimate licensure exam pass rate was 99%聽
- And the ultimate employment rate was 98.9%.听
(OSU Cascades did not list the ultimate student employment rate among its student outcome data.)聽
So, if you qualify for one of these programs and get accepted, you can make a pretty safe bet that you will go on to pass your licensure exam and (fingers crossed) go on to have a successful career.听聽
How Many Years Does It Take to Become a PT?
The vast majority of DPT programs can be completed in three years. If you need to complete your undergraduate degree first, it will depend on how long that takes you. Then, you鈥檒l need to account for the three years of DPT school. If you do still need to acquire a bachelor鈥檚 degree, you should research accredited 3+3 programs through CAPTE, and decide if that 鈥渁ccelerated track鈥� might be for you.听
Physical Therapist Salary
How much do physical therapists actually make? Great question.听
We might attribute the high job placement percentages that we saw with George Fox University above to the fact that the physical therapy career field is growing.听
According to the U.S. , the field of physical therapy is predicted to see a 14% increase in jobs from 2023鈥�2033. That鈥檚 much faster than the average rate of growth for most fields. There are currently about 260,000 physical therapy jobs in the U.S., with a predicted increase of an additional 36,800 in the ten years from 2023鈥�2033.听
The median pay is $99,710 per year, which is higher than any of the highest-paying undergraduate college majors out there right now. Put in your time to learn to become a physical therapist, and you鈥檒l reap the rewards, both monetarily and personally, by helping better the lives of your patients.听
Additional Resources
