Doctoral PT program approved for Denton

December 12, 2024 ― DENTON ― The Texas Woman’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program received approval for an additional program to be housed on the Denton campus from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). The School of PT now has DPT programs on all three TWU campuses: Denton, Dallas and Houston. 

“We are thrilled to bring our accredited DPT program to the TWU Denton campus, expanding our efforts to train the next generation of physical therapists to meet the needs of our communities,” said Alyssa Fiss, director of the TWU School of Physical Therapy. 

The first Denton DPT cohort arriving on campus will coincide with the opening of the Texas Woman’s health sciences center, which is scheduled for completion in summer 2025. It will serve students in the health science fields — such as physical therapy, nursing and occupational therapy — with a special emphasis on preparing students to serve in rural settings. 

The building will include labs, classrooms, collaborative workspaces, outdoor clinic sites and a teaching kitchen, as well as community health care clinics and student training spaces. 

TWU’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program is a full-time, 33-month curriculum that requires 98 credit hours to complete, including 32 weeks of clinical rotations. DPT graduates are eligible to take the National Physical Therapy Exam, which is required for licensure in every state.

Texas Woman’s has one of the oldest PT programs in Texas. The School of PT received its initial accreditation in 1969. TWU awarded bachelor degrees to its inaugural physical therapy class in 1969 with program coursework completed across the Denton and Houston campuses. The first Master of Science degrees were awarded in 1974, and the first class of students earning the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree was admitted in 2007 and graduated in 2010.

The entry-level DPT program has been fully accredited since its initial accreditation. The Dallas and Houston DPT programs most recently received full accreditation status in 2022 and hold their accreditation through 2032.

CAPTE is an accrediting agency that is nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. CAPTE grants specialized accreditation status to qualified entry-level education programs for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants.