Clinical education

Doctor of Physical Therapy students complete a total of 36 full-time weeks of clinical education at Virginia Commonwealth University. The first clinical experience is four weeks in duration and occurs during the summer after the completion of the first academic year. The second clinical experience is eight weeks in duration and occurs during the summer after the completion of the second academic year. The three terminal eight-week experiences occur in sequence during the third academic year from late October through the end of April.

In addition to the full-time clinical education experiences students complete approximately 80 part-time clinical hours in academic courses in the curriculum.

VCU’s Department of Physical Therapy currently affiliates with approximately 250 clinical sites throughout the continental U.S. The majority of these sites are in the mid-Atlantic region, but interested students have opportunities to travel to other sites around the country. DPT students are required to complete clinical experiences in three areas: acute care, outpatient orthopaedics and rehabilitation. Opportunities also include specialty clinical experiences in areas such as pediatrics, women’s health, cancer rehabilitation and sports medicine. Students also may elect to do the last two experiences in more traditional areas.