AUSTIN – The University of Texas System Board of Regents on Nov. 9 approved a new doctorate-level degree program in physical therapy (DPT) for the UT Health Science Center – San Antonio.The proposed program still must gain approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
The planned DPT would replace the current masters program at UTHSC - SA with the focus of the curriculum moving toward training practitioners to provide primary care. The degree is a professional doctoral qualification that enables recipients to be eligible for state licensure to practice physical therapy in Texas.
With a 35 percent growth rate, physical therapists are predicted to be among the fastest growing occupations for the years 2002 to 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Texas demographics further support the growing need for trained professionals in the physical therapy field. The national average for physical therapists is 51 per 100,000 people. The statewide average is 39 per 100,000.
There are currently 10 physical therapist educational programs in Texas: Eight are in public institutions, one is at Hardin-Simmons University, and one is offered by the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston in connection with Baylor University. Both Hardin-Simmons University and the U.S. Army-Baylor Program provide the DPT as the entry-level degree. As of August 2007 five of the eight public institutions were granted permission to begin a DPT curriculum: UT Southwestern Medical Center, UT Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas Women’s University, Texas State University and Texas Tech University.
The University of Texas System is one of the nation’s largest higher education systems, with nine academic campuses and six health institutions. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $10.7 billion (FY 2008) including $2.3 billion in research funded by federal, state, local and private sources. Student enrollment exceeded 190,000 in the 2006 academic year. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state's undergraduate degrees and educates nearly three-fourths of the state's health care professionals annually. With more than 80,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.
