Pre-Physical Therapy Course Requirements

Course Requirements Overview

This is a guide to common pre-physical therapy course requirements.

Professional schools have a variety of prerequisites required for admission to their programs. On this page, we include information about timelines for pre-physical therapy requirements and the options available.

Many programs prefer in person coursework, and some programs may not allow online coursework. See individual schools for policies.
Individual schools may require or recommend additional courses.
All Prerequisites must be completed with a letter grade of C or higher.
Schools vary on Credit-By-Exam (AP/IB/CLEP) policies and preferences for prerequisites. Please see "Can I Claim AP/IB Credit?"
School requirements can change. See individual school websites and admissions guides under “Research Physical Therapy Schools Before You Apply.” We always recommend checking for any updates.

Recommended Pre-Physical Therapy Courses

Most Texas PT schools require:

Biology: Lecture – 6 hrs; Lab – 2 hrs
Anatomy: Lecture – 3 hrs; Lab – 1 hrs
Physiology: Lecture – 3 hrs; Lab – 1 hrs
General Chemistry: Lecture – 6 hrs; Lab – 2 hrs
Psychology: Lecture – 6 hrs
General Physics: Lecture – 6 hrs; Lab – 2 hrs
Kinesiology: Exercise Physiology or Biomechanics - 3 hrs
Math: Statistics – 3 hrs
English: Rhetoric (Composition) and Literature – 6 hrs

(PT School Prerequisite Course Timelines is available at the bottom of this page.)

Some physical therapy schools require humanities and social/behavioral science courses. We strongly recommend taking courses in the following areas.

Psychology
Sociology
Ethics
Analytical problem-solving
Critical thinking
Writing, interpersonal communications, and presentation skills
Cultural studies
Spanish and other language studies relevant to your career goals

UT Austin courses are typically taken to fulfill requirements.

Subject	Lecture	Lab/Notes
Biology	BIO 311C + BIO 311D OR [BIO 315H + BIO 325H] (honors)	BIO 206L
Anatomy	BIO / INB 446L
Physiology	BIO / INB 365S	BIO / INB 165U
Chemistry	CH 301 + CH 302 OR CH 301H + CH 302H (honors) OR CH 301C + CH 302C (for Chemistry majors)	CH 204 OR CH 104M + CH 104N
Physics	PHY 317K + PHY 317L OR PHY 302K + PHY 302L OR PHY 303K + PHY 303L (for Engineering majors) OR PHY 301 + PHY 316 (for some Science and Engineering majors)	Starting FALL 2021, PHY 105M/N will replace lab numbers PHY 102M/N, PHY 103M/N, and 117M/N. If PHY 317K + PHY 317L PHY 105M + PHY 105N OR PHY 117M + PHY 117N If PHY 302K + PHY 302L PHY 105M + PHY 105N OR PHY 102M + PHY 102N If PHY 303K + PHY 303L PHY 105M + PHY 105N OR PHY 103M + PHY 103N (for Engineering majors) If PHY 301 + PHY 316 PHY 101L + 116L (for some Science and Engineering majors)
Math		College Algebra or higher
Statistics	SDS 302F OR SDS 320E Note: Calculus or SDS 302F or SDS 320E will satisfy math prereq for BIO/INB 446L & BIO/INB 365S. Students with calculus credit have more statistics course options. Most Texas PT schools accept the following: SDS 302F, 320E, M 316, EDP 371, PSY 418, SOC 317L, STA 309, 309H.	Some require the course includes Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Other introductory statistics courses may satisfy this requirement. Compare topics listed on the course syllabus with the requirements of the schools to which you will apply. Some schools may prefer only SDS or M courses.
Rhetoric (Composition)	RHE 306 OR RHE 309K OR Any Writing Flag course in RHE Dept.
Literature	E 316L OR E 316M OR E 316N OR E 316P OR Any Literature course in English Dept.
Medical Terminology	CC 306M
Psychology	PSY 301 AND PSY 333D	Some programs may accept sociology or anthropology in place of one psychology course. Sociology SOC 302 Anthropology ANT 302
Speech	CMS 306M
Kinesiology	KIN 320 (Applied Biomechanics of Human Movement) OR KIN 425K (Physiology of Exercise)	Check with each individual school to see if Physics and/or A&P can be substituted for these courses.
Spanish for Healthcare Professionals
Technical Writing	ENGL 2311	Not offered at UT, only at ACC. Can be substituted with a 4.5 or higher on the GRE Analytical Writing Section.

Check school admissions websites. Some schools require and some recommend additional science and non-science courses.

Physical Therapy School Prerequisite Course Timelines

See the Physical Therapy Schools Prerequisite Courses Timelines below.

These timelines include pre-physical therapy course requirements for admission to most Texas and U. S. physical therapy schools. Completing the pre-physical therapy courses and extracurricular activities generally requires six semesters or longer, regardless of the student’s age or year in college. Your personal timeline may differ from this sample. Work with your academic advisor to incorporate these courses into your degree plan.

Pre-Physical Therapy Timeline

Important Note:

Timelines do not include all course options and details.

To be sure that you are fulfilling all requirements, see individual school websites. Research physical therapy schools before you apply!

Additional Course Information

Currently a UT student and thinking of taking courses away from UT?
Are Extension Courses okay for health prereqs?
Other Pre-Health non-science courses of interest