Physical Therapy

Apply to the DPT program

Applying

Western Michigan University's Department of Physical Therapy utilizes a centralized system. To apply, you must submit your application in the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Services (PTCAS) by the deadlines listed below.

New cohorts in the WMU DPT program begin in summer II.

The application deadline for the Summer II 2027 cohort is October 15, 2026.

APPLY IN PTCAS 

Supplemental fee

All applicants must pay a $35 supplemental fee directly to WMU DPT by the above deadline.

Note: All applications must be in a complete or verified status no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the application deadline. This includes official transcripts, all letters of recommendation, GRE scores and supplemental fees. Plan ahead to ensure that all official documents arrive to PTCAS 1-2 weeks before the application deadline. Any application missing documents or transcripts after the application deadline will be considered late and will not be reviewed.

Minimum requirements

  • You must earn a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution by June 1, prior to the summer II start date of the DPT program.
  • You must complete the Altus Suite United States Casper 2 Test. There are limited test dates, so be sure to schedule this ASAP. The latest United States Casper 2 test date that we will accept is the last test date in September 2026. More information is below.
  • Minimum 3.0 GPA from the most recent 60 credits of coursework.
    Note: For the 2026 cohort, the average GPA was 3.55, ranging from 3.01 to 4.0.
  • Graduate Record Examination (GRE General Test; taken within five years prior to the application deadline) – Submit official scores to PTCAS using code: 4512.
    Note: For the 2026 cohort, GRE scores averaged: Verbal-151 (range 136-164), Quantitative-149 (range 139-160), Analytical Writing-4 (range 2.5-4.5).
  • Complete prerequisites as indicated below.
  • Three letters of recommendation:
    - One academic (professor/instructor)
    - One professional (ideally, a clinician where you worked/volunteered/shadowed)
    - One additional letter from either an academic or professional reference
  • An interview is part of the DPT application process. It is essential that you demonstrate your knowledge of the profession during this interview. Therefore, while not required to apply to the program, it is strongly encouraged that you seek out job shadowing, or other related experiences, within the PT field prior to applying.

Prerequisites

All prerequisites must be passed with a C (2.0) or better, with an overall average of a B (3.0) or better.

Note: For the 2026 cohort, we admitted an average prerequisite GPA of 3.47, ranging from 3.09 to 3.94.

Here are the required prerequisites:

  • *General Biology
  • *Human Anatomy
  • *Human Physiology
  • *General Chemistry I
  • *General Chemistry II
  • *General Physics I
  • *General Physics II
  • Statistics
  • Two courses in behavioral sciences (psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc.)

    *These courses must include both a lecture and a lab.

Notes:

  • Prerequisites may be in progress at the time of the application deadline and must be completed with a C or better no later than June 1 prior to the summer II start of the DPT program.
  • All prerequisites must be completed within 10 years prior to the application deadline.
  • Advanced Placement (AP) credit and International Baccalaureate (IB) credit WILL be accepted in place of prerequisites.

COVID-19 impacts:

While we require letter grades for all prerequisite courses, we understand the unique situation that COVID-19 created, specifically during the 2020 calendar year. Therefore, we will allow no more than two prerequisite courses to be completed with a "passing" or "satisfactory" grade in place of a letter grade, as long as the following criteria are met:

  1. The course(s) must have been taken in the 2020 calendar year.
  2. The grading institution's policy is a C or better to receive a "passing" or "satisfactory" grade.

Altus Suite - Comprehensive Admissions Assessments

All applicants applying to the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Western Michigan University are required to complete Altus Suite for the 2026-27 admissions cycle.

Altus Suite is a standardized, multi-part online assessment that measures different competencies and attributes that we believe are important for successful students and graduates of our program. It complements the other tools that we use to review and evaluate applicants. We have implemented Altus Suite to further enhance fairness and objectivity in our selection process. 

  1. Access TakeAltus.com to create an account and for more information on important dates and requirements.
  2. Register for Altus Suite for assessment code (or test code): CSP-10101.
  3. The assessment is the United States Casper 2 test.

Altus Suite consists of three parts:

  • United States Casper 2 test: 100-120 minute online, open-response situational judgment test
  • Snapshot: 15-minute one-way video interview with standardized questions*
  • Duet: 15-minute value-alignment assessment*

Note: We ONLY require the United States Casper 2 test.

There are limited test dates, so please schedule ASAP. The latest United States Casper 2 test date that we will accept is the last test date in September 2026.

Transfer of credits

Because of the individualized and intense nature of most DPT programs, it is not anticipated that many students would have credits to transfer into program, except under very unusual circumstances. Students should refer to the University Handbook for institutional policy on the transfer of credits, and consult with the DPT Manager of Recruitment and Outreach.

If you intend to transfer credits to the WMU DPT program, you must submit them for approval before enrolling in the DPT program. You must provide transcripts and a course syllabus or catalog with a course description so that we can make a determination regarding the specific transfer credit request. All requests for credit transfers will be evaluated by the DPT Program Director on a case-by-case basis.