Physical Therapist Assisting Technology, Associate of Applied Science

Physical therapy provides services to patients and clients of all ages who have impairments, functional limitations, disabilities or changes in physical function and health status resulting from injury, disease, or other causes. The physical therapist assistant works under the supervision of the licensed physical therapist to provide treatments in a variety of health care settings such as hospitals, extended care centers, school systems, ambulatory care centers, private practice and other centers where physical therapists are employed. Upon successful completion of the program, the student is eligible to take an exam to qualify for licensure in the state in which the graduate chooses to practice.

Program contact: Learn more

Program Admission Requirements

Application may be submitted to the Health Careers Enrollment Center after meeting the following requirements:

• High School Diploma/GED
• Students enrolled in the Physical Therapist Assisting program must be at least 18 years old.
• Completion of a total of 40 hours of work, volunteering and/or observation in at least two (2) different types of physical therapy settings under the supervision of a Physical Therapist or Physical Therapist Assistant. These hours must be documented on our Experience Verification Form.  These hours must be completed within the 2 year period prior to the date of your application.
• An overall GPA of 2.7 must be achieved and be maintained. Only accredited college and university credits as listed https://www.tri-c.edu/transfer/transfer-resources/transfer-of-credit-to-tri-c.html will be accepted. Overall GPA is calculated based on all previous college coursework completed through the semester prior to the date of application. (Note: all courses listed in the PTA program curriculum sequence, must be completed with a grade of "C" or better for graduation)
• Non-native English speaking applicants:  Admission into Cuyahoga Community College is premised on a complete and accurate initial application to the College, including, if applicable, proof of English Language Proficiency Requirements for admission as indicated on the English Language Proficiency Requirements for Admissions to the College, and available on the web at: http://www.tri-c.edu/get-started/international-students/english-language-proficiency-requirements-for-admission.html
  To be accepted into any selective admission programs, students must successfully complete English as a Second Language (ESL) course/s, as referenced above,  if deemed necessary by the College at the time of enrollment.  Admission is conditioned upon achieving the necessary grade point average (GPA), English language proficiency requirements and any specific pre-requisite courses, and by meeting program accreditation or licensing requirements as evidenced in the Program Handbook for the specific program.
• Complete the following courses with "C" grade or higher:

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  Total GPA for these 5 courses (ENG-1010, BIO-2331, PTAT-1000, MA-1020, and MATH-1410) must be 3.0 or above.

Other Information

• 24 students accepted per year
• Strongly recommend that all science courses have been completed within the past 10 years.
• Candidates must achieve a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) based on a 4.0 scale for the following core courses (or transfer of comparable courses from another college or university). All admissions requirement courses must have a grade of "C" or better.  Admissions requirement courses are ENG-1010, BIO-2331, PTAT-1000, MA-1020, and MATH-1410 (or higher level). Students may only repeat an admission requirement course one time to improve their grade and a "W" counts as an attempt.
• For students applying for admission to the PTA program, we can choose not to consider grades that negatively impact the students overall GPA, if those grades are at least 8 years old. In this case, we will not accept any prerequisite coursework from that time frame from a Tri-C transcript, or from an entire transcript from another institution, even if portions of that coursework meets current program prerequisite requirements. 
• Criminal background check required.
• All courses listed in the PTA program curriculum sequence must be completed with a "C" or better for graduation. 

Program Learning Outcomes

This program is designed to prepare students to demonstrate the following learning outcomes:

1. Create and maintain a safe clinical environment.
2. Characterize the standard of professionalism described in the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant and the APTA Core Values for the Physical Therapist and Physical Therapist Assistant.
3. Demonstrate effective, respectful, and culturally sensitive communication and provide appropriate education during interactions with patients, caregivers, and all members of the healthcare team.
4. Make sound clinical judgments that are defensible, rational, and based on current knowledge that guides evidence-informed practice.
5. Perform data collection skills essential to clinical decision-making within the physical therapy plan of care.
6. Administer, modify, and progress competent procedural interventions according to the plan of care and within the scope of practice of a physical therapist assistant.
7. Compose accurate, timely, and comprehensible documentation and billing that supports the services rendered.
8. Participate in the creation, planning, and implementation of activities that support the administration and management of the physical therapy environment.
9. Demonstrate readiness to pass the National Physical Therapy Exam for Physical Therapist Assistants.

Suggested Semester Sequence

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Full-time placement at an off-campus clinical site for five consecutive weeks.

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Full-time placement at an off-campus clinical site for six consecutive weeks.

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MATH-1240 will be accepted to meet the Math requirement for the Physical Therapist Assisting Program for students admitted to the program through Fall 2025.  Students seeking admission to the program in Fall 2026 and later will be required to complete MATH-1410 as a prerequisite course.

MATH-1140, MATH-1141, MATH-1200, MATH-1270, and MATH-1280 can no longer count towards fulfilling the college-level mathematics requirement.  These courses were re-classified as developmental mathematics by the state of Ohio in 2016.  Tri-C established a 5-year transitioning window for students who had completed these courses prior to 2016 to apply them towards meeting graduation requirements, which expired in Summer 2021. It is highly recommended to see a counselor to determine the appropriate math required for your current major.