When it comes to thinking of applying to DPT schools within the US, it’s good to have as much information as possible in regards to knowing your options. This article contains information pertaining to the number of DPT institutions within the US, how many are within each state and which five states within the US have the greatest number of PT programs.

All information I have pulled from this article comes from the PTCAS.org’s school listing site. I have pulled all of the information and run it through Excel to further analyze the breakdown of school across the US.

Note: I have done my absolute best to make sure this information is as accurate as possible, however cannot guarantee that it absolutely perfect. I’m pretty sure it is, though.

How many DPT Institutions are there within the US?

As of January 2020, there are a total of 254 CAPTE-accredited institutions within the US offering DPT programs.

A CAPTE-accredited institution is one that has met the requirements of the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). The commission is one that is nationally recognized by both the US Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education accreditation. Their role is to provide accreditation status to an entry-level physical therapy program within the US. For more information, check out the CAPTE website at www.capteonline.org

How many schools in the US are using the PTCAS for student applications and how many aren’t?

Of the 254 CAPTE accredited DPT institutions within the US, 238 of them use the PTCAS (Physical Therapy Centralized Application Services) portal, while 16 institutions do not participate in PTCAS, requiring direct applications through the institution. This means that 94% of all DPT programs within the US require your application to be submitted through the PTCAS system and that only 6% of all institutions with an accredited DPT program require applicants to apply directly through the institution itself.

The top 5 states within the US with the most PT schools

1. New York (22 institutions total, 18 using PTCAS and 4 non-PTCAS)
2. Pennsylvania (20 institutions total, 17 using PTCAS and 3 non-PTCAS)
3. California (17 institutions total, 15 PTCAS and 2 non-PTCAS)
4. Texas (15 institutions total, all using PTCAS)
5. Florida (14 institutions total, all using PTCAS)

When further breaking these numbers down, this means that 11.5% of all DPT schools within the US are found within New York. 8% are found within Pennsylvania, 7% are found within California, 6% are found within Texas and 5.5% are found within Florida.

These five schools have a combined total of 88 institutions offering an accredited DPT program. This means that of all the DPT-offering institutions within the US, 35% of them are found within these five states.

The area of the US with the highest concentration of DPT institutions

New York and Pennsylvania combined have a total of 42 institutions, comprising 16.5% of all DPT institutions across the US. With New York (the 27th largest state in the US by land mass) and Pennsylvania (33rd largest state in the US by land mass) bordering each other, this small region of the United States has by far the greatest density or concentration of DPT programs offered within the Country.

This could be considered good news and valuable information to potential applicants who live within this region of the US and either wish to remain in-state or as close to home as possible throughout their schooling.

Which states within the US have no PT schools?

There are currently three states within the US that have no PT schools:

• Alaska
• Hawaii
• Wyoming

Which states within the US only have one PT school?

There are currently seven states within the US that only have one PT school within their respective state (not counting Puerto Rico, which only has one as well). All of them use the PTCAS system. These states are:

• Delaware (University of Delaware)
• Idaho (Idaho State University)
• Montana (University of Montana – Missoula)
• New Mexico (University of New Mexico)
• Rhode Island (University of Rhode Island)
• South Dakota (University of South Dakota)
• Vermont (University of Vermont)

How many PT schools are there in the other states across the US?

Here is a quick breakdown of how many PT institutions there are in each state across the US. Assume that every school uses the PTCAS system for applications unless otherwise noted within the list.

Which schools are currently not using the PTCAS?

It’s important to know that schools/institutions can change every year in regards to whether or not they use the PTCAS system. The following sixteen institutions are not using the PTCAS system as of January 2020, according to the PTCAS website:

• San Diego State University (California)
• The University of California’s Hybrid DPT program (note, this is a separate program from the University of Southern California, which DOES use the PTCAS)
• University of Connecticut (Connecticut)
• University of Illinois (Illinois)
• University of Massachusetts Lowell (Massachusetts)
• University of Minnesota (Minnesota)
• University of Mississippi (Mississippi)
• University of Missouri (Missouri)
• College of Staten Island – The Graduate Center (CUNY), (New York)
• Hunter College – The Graduate Center (CUNY), (New York)
• Ithaca College (New York)
• Long Island University – LIU Post-DPT Program (New York)
• Lebanon Valley College (Pennsylvania)
• Neumann University (Pennsylvania)
• Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania)
• University of Puerto Rico

There are three non-state PT schools within the US

There are currently three DPT schools within the US that are CAPTE accredited institutions that are not classified within a state.
The first two institutions are located within Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia), which is the capital of the United States. These two institutions both use the PTCAS system. The institutions are:

• George Washington University
• Howard University

The third DPT school that does not fall within the fifty-states category is the University of Puerto Rico, which does not us the PTCAS system.

Some institutions have multiple campuses or two different application cycles per year

It’s important to note that there are some schools within this list that either have multiple application cycles per year or may have multiple campuses. When analyzing the list of schools listed on the PTCAS website, if one school offered multiple application cycles per year, I only counted it as the single institution itself. My aim for this article was to analyze the actual number of institutions offering a DPT program, not necessarily the total number of application cycles offered throughout the US every year.

Likewise, some institutions offer different campus options, however I only counted the institution itself in which the application must go through, not the total number of campuses. Therefore, if a single institution had multiple campus options to choose from (such as the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences flex program), I only counted the institution itself, and not the number of campuses.

Concluding remarks

Having a bit more information as to knowing what’s out there for schooling options and how many are within your state or general area can be rather helpful for those considering or wishing to apply to a DPT program within the US. My aim within this article has been to provide some extra information regarding these facts that may not otherwise have been easily accessible to those trying to gather up as much information as possible.

It’s important to keep in mind that information within this article pertaining to the number of DPT institutions there are within the US and which ones use or don’t use the PTCAS system can change on an annual basis. Your greatest source of up to date information will always be the PTCAS.org’s site itself, specifically on their school-listing page.