We are excited to announce the development of our new Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at Anderson University! Physical therapy is a rewarding profession that allows you to work one-on-one with individuals of all ages who have experienced some type of developmental anomaly, illness, or traumatic injury that has limited their ability to move and interact effectively with their environment. Physical therapists work with other members of the health care team to help restore functional independence in those individuals, as well as promote fitness and prevent movement dysfunction in healthy populations. Employment projections for physical therapists are expected to remain above average as the need for physical rehabilitation continues to grow, particularly among aging baby boomers who are staying active later in life.
Christian Heritage
Anderson’s DPT program has several distinctive features. First and foremost, we embrace our Christian heritage and beliefs, which form the foundation for all that we do. Our program not only provides students with an opportunity to develop a professional career in health care, but it also enables them to grow and mature in their spiritual journey. Our faculty are committed to serving God by serving others. Together they create an open learning environment that shares and supports Christian values and practices. Thus, we selectively recruit students who share our service commitment and provide them with opportunities to participate in local and global service-learning experiences as part of our DPT curriculum.
Small Class Sizes
Second, we are committed to maintaining a small class size (28 per class), which allows us to provide more individualized instruction and mentoring. Our dual-mentoring process assists students in acquiring and refining professional behaviors and skills through interactions with the faculty and older volunteers from the local community who serve as learning partners in our “SPICE of Life” program.
Tailored to Your Goals
Third, our curriculum incorporates opportunities for students to pursue their individual areas of interest through advanced clinical electives, a specialty clinical education experience, and completion of a scholarly project. Unlike some DPT programs that arbitrarily assign students to clinical education sites, our students collaborate with our Director of Clinical Education in selecting sites that will best meet their personal and professional goals. In addition, professional development activities and the dissemination of scholarly projects ensure that graduates begin their career with a distinctive resume. All of these features allow us to function as a “family” unit and establish meaningful, supportive relationships that will last well beyond the eight semesters students spend with us.
Greenville Facilities
Finally, our program is housed at the University Center in Greenville which is a unique facility that offers access to both dedicated space for the DPT program as well as common areas that support the educational process. Our mall environment provides classrooms, an electronic library, auditorium, and ample parking which are shared with students from other universities in the Greenville area. In addition, we have been blessed by generous donors who have provided additional resources to purchase state-of-the-art equipment, lab furnishings, and a spacious student lounge.
Accreditation
We are accredited through the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). If you would like additional information on our DPT program, or if you wish to support the program in some way, please contact me at ckindel@andersonuniversity.edu.
Sincerely,
Curtis C. Kindel PT, PhD
Professor and Chair, School of Physical Therapy
Board Certified Orthopaedic Specialist