Overview
Steeped in history, the campus features towering trees, wandering paths, and timeless architecture, including century-old mansions, which serve as fully wired residence halls. The College has a $10-million science complex and a new state-of-the-art, $18-million athletic facility, which houses a competition pool, a gym, squash courts, cardio rooms, a climbing wall, a running track, and exercise and dance studios.

Changing practice parameters and expanding responsibilities are moving the education of physical therapists toward the doctoral level. Chatham offers the highest professional degree available in the field, the Clinical Doctor of Physical Therapy. The physical therapy program prepares graduates to practice as generalists and provides the knowledge and skills necessary for the students to work in all fields, including geriatrics, neurology, oncology, orthopedics, pediatrics, wound care, sports therapy, and women's health. The faculty members view learning as an evolving and continuous process, one that integrates the learner's needs and goals and extends beyond the climate of formal education. Students share education responsibilities by establishing learning objectives and the necessary collegial relationships to meet academic and professional standards. The faculty members provide experiences that engage students in the learning process and prepare them for competent, ethical, and evidence-based practice.

The physical therapy program admits up to 40 students per class. More than 90 percent receive financial aid. Successful applicants are able to provide and utilize constructive feedback and critically analyze and synthesize multiple levels of data in order to solve complex problems. They also possess effective written and oral communication skills and are compassionate, self-motivated, flexible, and responsible.

The inaugural D.P.T. class was admitted in January 2003. Of the Master of Physical Therapy program's recent graduates, 98 percent passed the National Physical Therapy Exam, and 100 percent of those seeking employment as physical therapists were successful. These individuals are employed across the country, working in diverse settings with clients of all ages.

The Location and Community
Chatham's 32-acre parklike, suburban campus is located in a beautiful, safe neighborhood minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is one of the safest and most dynamic cities in the country and is the headquarters of many of the country's major businesses and industries. Pittsburgh offers numerous arts and entertainment venues, including the symphony, the opera, the ballet, theater companies, and ongoing lecture series that feature some of the world's most prominent figures. Nearby parks, ski areas, and the city's three rivers provide ample opportunities for hiking, biking, kayaking, skiing, white-water rafting, and numerous other recreational activities. Excellent bus, rail, and plane connections are available to and from most major cities.

Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
As integral members of health-care teams, physical therapists provide evaluative, rehabilitative, and preventive health-care services to individuals with movement dysfunction. Physical therapists work in a variety of settings to help patients of all ages alleviate pain, regain movement, and optimize health and function.

Chatham College confers the Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) degree after the successful completion of seven consecutive terms of full-time study. The curriculum integrates a solid, basic science foundation with the application of clinical sciences, enabling graduates to manage neuromusculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary, and integumentary system dysfunction. A unique feature of the program is its modified problem-based learning (PBL) format. As opposed to traditional lecture-based teaching, students work together in small groups to understand and manage patient problems typical to clinical practice. Thus, students develop sound, clinical decision-making skills by applying and integrating new information through the study of patient cases.

Full-time clinical experiences are integrated with didactic course work, allowing students to use newly learned content in the clinical environment. Students participate in a total of thirty-six weeks of clinical field placements, located in the Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania region as well as throughout the United States. The sites are assigned according to preference and need. Faculty members stress the importance of evidence-based practice, community service, and professionalism throughout the students' learning experience. The program aims for student excellence in the following areas: self-directed learning, critical evaluation, integration and application of the best scientific evidence to clinical practice, critical thinking and decision making, and oral and written communication. Other strongly emphasized hallmarks of the program are professional leadership, continued personal and professional development through a commitment to lifelong learning, and service to the physical therapy profession and to others through involvement in the local and national communities.

Facilities & Resources
The goal of the research portion of the physical therapy curriculum is to graduate physical therapists who are critical consumers of all types of medical literature, including experimental research. Students must produce a literature matrix, which answers a clinical question by reviewing and analyzing published research studies. Through Chatham's newly renovated Jennie King Mellon Library, students have access to 140,000 volumes and more than 600 current journal subscriptions. Online databases and search engines provide access to additional journal articles. Library facilities at neighboring colleges and institutions are also available for Chatham students. Students have access to central computer equipment that supports electronic mail, courseware, and file and print servers.

Expenses and Aid
The tuition for the Doctor of Physical Therapy program is $12,237 per term.

Financial Aid:
Students are eligible for various local, state, and national scholarship and loan programs. Interest-free monthly payment plans are also available.

Housing/Living Expenses:
Graduate housing is available for $925 per month. Each board plan for residential students comes with flex dollars to be used at the on-campus dining facilities. For students seeking housing off campus, a residence life director is available to assist.

How to Apply
To be admitted, applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, have completed or be in the process of completing prerequisite courses, submit satisfactory GRE scores, and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale. Grades of D are not acceptable. Applicants must submit an on-campus writing sample and a completed application for admission, including official transcripts, evidence of community service unrelated to health care, evidence of volunteer/work experience in an occupational therapy setting, and three references-two academic and one other.

Students matriculate in the fall semester each year, and applications are reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis. Community service and work/volunteer experience in the field of physical therapy are strongly encouraged. The College's D.P.T. degree program has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) of the American Physical Therapy Association.

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