What is the cost of pt school?

Do you excel in science courses such as biology, chemistry, and anatomy? Would you say that you possess professional skills and values of accountability, integrity, compassion, and responsibility? If you can say yes to both of those questions then you are an ideal candidate for the field of physical therapy.

You will find that most physical therapists would say they have a personally rewarding career where salary is lucrative. Recent stats show the following amounts are the reported percentile earnings in regards to current annual physical therapy salary:

Physical therapist schools are degree programs heavily focused in sciences and clinically-based courses. They are designed to train you to be part of professional medical team and prepare you to perform the following roles of a physical therapist:

The cost of going to school for physical therapy will vary greatly depending, mostly, on which school you choose (i.e. which state the school is located in and also whether it is a public or private college), and if you are paying in-state or out-of-state tuition fees. The following numbers will provide you with an approximate idea of the average costs associated with earning a physical therapy degree.

Obtaining a degree in physical therapy will provide you with an increased earning potential, but in the mean time, many students face how to pay for the education process. There are several means to arranging how to pay for school:

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If you’re considering a career as a physical therapist (PT), you need to know how much PT school is—let’s take a look at the costs and compare them to the benefits.

Entering the profession as a PT requires a doctoral degree. Otherwise, you might pursue undergraduate or master’s level training that prepares you for a career as a PT aide or assistant, or potentially for a non-practicing career in PT administration or management.

To become a practicing physical therapist, you’ll need to complete a doctor of physical therapy (DPT) program at an accredited university.

While it’s impossible to come up with a single price tag for obtaining your DPT degree, there are many factors to consider. These include the type of school you choose, your residency status, specific school fees and the program mix. Then there are ancillary housing, book and lifestyle costs specific to the city you live in.

However, the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) publishes aggregate data that helps answer the question, “How much does physical therapy school cost?”1 Per CAPTE’s 2021 fact sheet, the ranges for annual tuition and total program costs for public in-state, public out-of-state, and private schools are as follows:

The total costs above include the average cost of books, student and lab fees and miscellaneous required expenses, but do not include room and board.

A DPT program requires significant in-person and hands-on study—therefore it’s not a degree that should be completed exclusively online.

There are programs that allow you to continue to work by restructuring clinical hours and in-person courses to weekends, such as our Flex Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program. You may want to live near campus, or consider the additional costs of:

You don’t always need to pay the full costs up front. Most students can mix and match funding sources, although not all programs are eligible for government grants and scholarships. Depending on the PT school you choose, you may be able to leverage:

That said, when you’re considering DPT programs, review the school’s specific financial support options—most schools have dedicated financial aid offices to help you identify and apply for aid.

In addition to factoring in how much is physical therapy school, you’ll also want to consider how much you’ll be making as a PT. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of PT jobs will increase by 17% between now and 2031, resulting in about 15,400 job openings per year.2 This is quite high compared to the 5% average projected growth rate for all occupations during that same timeframe.

In 2021, the median annual salary for PTs in the United States was $95,620.2 Years of experience and seniority are factors as well.

Salaries vary by both city and state and are adjusted based on the desirability of a city as well as if the setting is urban or rural.

Average PT salaries in the top-paying states are as follows:

Nine of the top ten paying metropolitan areas are in either California or Nevada, with salaries ranging from $109,650 to $123,190.

Consider the cost of living if you’re searching for jobs based on average salaries. You may find that you’ll earn a better disposable income in a low-cost city or state with a lower wage. There are cost of living calculators that can help you understand how far a projected salary will serve you.

In addition to geographic location, what is your ideal industry or work environment? Oftentimes, you can increase your wage by working within a specialty hospital.3

In addition to completing a residency program or fellowship in an advanced clinical area, per the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), you can also obtain a board-certification in 10 specialty areas:2

To further increase your earning potential, apply for top-paying PT positions in:6

Additional PT roles include becoming a travel physical therapist, working within physical therapy management, policymaking, or education, or starting your own physical therapy practice.

An important part of your investment is program time—how long will you spend studying physical therapy?

Most doctoral PT programs take about three to four years to complete, though it will vary depending on individual progress. Becoming a physical therapist requires these steps:

That said, if you didn’t earn a bachelor’s degree that aligns with a physical therapy career, such as exercise science, biology, psychology or kinesiology, you may need to take a few preparatory courses. Prerequisite courses often include6:

If you follow the most common path of first completing a four-year undergraduate degree, the DPT program typically takes about three to four years. However, there are multiple routes through University of St. Augustine to become a physical therapist, which either add or subtract time:

Earn your Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from the largest PT school in the United States.* At the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS), you’ll join a cohort of peers who study under the mentorship of expert faculty practitioners.

Our program provides high-tech tools to help you learn the intricacies of anatomy, and hands-on preparation for clinical practice with a wide range of patients, and state-of-the-art simulation centers. DPT coursework will also prepare you for advanced roles in research, practice leadership, and policymaking.

Select from a Residential program (blended didactic courses plus in-person weekday labs) or Flex format (online courses plus in-person weekend labs).

We’re here to answer your physical therapy-related questions, whether you’re wondering how much PT school is or where physical therapists can work.

*Based on total DPT degrees conferred, as reported by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Data is captured by IPEDS through interrelated surveys conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/