Honors College

Guaranteed Admission Program for Physical Therapy Requirements

In order to retain membership in The Honors College Guaranteed Admission Program, all Guaranteed Admission students must:

• Graduate with University Honors.
• Submit their Honors College graduation application by the stated deadline (January 1 for May graduation; April 1 for an August graduation and Aug. 1 for a December graduation).
• Complete all prerequisite courses for admission to the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
• Maintain a cumulative 3.5 GPA at VCU. Transfer, AP/IB and repeat course grades are not used in the GPA calculation.
• Complete BIOL 300 and one of the following: BIOL 310 (Honors section only of Genetics) or BIOL 340 (Development and Stem Cells) or BIOL 411 (Physiology) or BIOL 455 (Immunology) or BIOL 448 (Neuroscience) or BIOL 524 (Endocrinology). Students must earn a B or better in both courses on their first attempt.
• Complete 50 hours per year of clinical work in physical therapy (volunteer or paid employment). Although health care research is highly valued, the only health care-related experience that is approved for this requirement must involve patient contact. Students may not earn health care-related hours under the supervision of professionals in their family. Keep track of your health care-related experiences and turn into the Director of Guaranteed Admission Programs.
• Complete a minimum of 10 hours each semester in community service, non-health care related.
• If you wish to take required course work from either an institution other than VCU or in summer session at VCU, then you must obtain advance permission from the director of Guaranteed Admission Programs. This includes the summer session between high school and college.
• Meet with the director of Guaranteed Admission Programs every semester for academic advising. Students who fail to receive advising from the director of Guaranteed Admission Programs prior to the beginning of honors registration will be placed on hold for registration until they secure such advising.
• Attend all meetings of Guaranteed Admission students as directed by the Director of Guaranteed Admission Programs and meet with the director upon request.
• Complete the GRE with an earned score of 150 in verbal reasoning and 150 in quantitative reasoning. This must be completed by October 1st of the year prior to the year you plan to begin the physical therapy program.
• Complete a physical therapy application through Physical Therapy Central Application Services including, in part, three references, an essay and payment of a nonrefundable application fee to PTCAS by October 1st of the year prior to the year you plan to begin the physical therapy program.
• Engage in professional behavior at all times. Any institutional or legal sanction will result in dismissal from the Guaranteed Admission Program.
• Monitor your vcu.edu email daily during your entire undergraduate program, including summer sessions and breaks. If you will be (or anticipate being) without email access for more than seven consecutive days, you must notify the director of Guaranteed Admission Programs of alternative ways of communication and provide the date when you will again have email access.
• Student records will be reviewed every semester to determine compliance with the requirements. If a student fails to complete the requirements, this will result in dismissal from the Honors College Guaranteed Admission Program (Physical Therapy).