I will be starting college next year and I plan on becoming a PT, but I’m not sure what to major in. I know that you can get accepted to a DPT program with any major as long as you complete the pre reqs, but are some majors “better” than others? I would like to major in either psychology or kinesiology. I think kinesiology would better prepare me and it seems like the classes would be more relevant for physical therapy but I really enjoy psychology and at the school I’m planning on attending it would be easier for me to graduate in three years. Would a kinesiology major look better than psychology or does it really not matter as long as you have the pre reqs?
Kinesiology or athletic trainer would prepare you better than psychology. Look at several DPT programs and see what the prerequisites are and find the major that best matches .
I think kinesiology would look better than psychology to a DPT program. If you really like psychology, minor in it.
Also, don’t rush it. DPT programs usually require or recommend that you shadow a PT and have some volunteering hours in a hospital or clinic. Summer experiences in healthcare programs can also be really good. So go ahead and plan to take four years to finish - that’ll give you the time to get those experiences that will make you competitive.
Call a few of the schools which have DPT programs and ask them. I suspect they are going to tell you it doesn’t matter. If that is in fact the case you have the choice of studying what you enjoy (it really is relevant to Physical Therapy) or studying something that MAY not interest us much. You may also check out what can be done with a Kinesiology degree vs a Psychology degree if you choose to go a different direction after college.
Just an aside. If you like the cognitive component of rehab, you may also want to look at Occupational Therapy which combines the physical, cognitive, psychosocial aspect of rehabilitation. Not trying to derail the thread, just offering another option .
Find a school that has a clinical exercise physiology specialization within the kinesiology department. I think that will look better for PT. Also, you could minor in sports psychology maybe? There were quite a few that I graduated with (wayyy back in the day but still relevant I would think) who had about 15-20 hrs of rehab psych, physiological psychology (a FASCINATING class!) and others.
Also…a solid clinical exercise physiology program will require an extensive internship as part of the graduation requirements. Make SURE the program you choose has this!! Mine required a whole semester of internship at a hospital based rehab program and I got fantastic exposure to PT/OT and cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation. There are many schools that do not require a full-semester internship and I know for a fact their graduates do not fare so well after graduation. It would also help you build up hours for PT school maybe?
Good luck!
@carachel2 My daughter is planning to study kinesiology with the intention of going toward a DPT in the future. Recently, I’ve been reading blogs/comments that claim kinesiology is not a respected course of study. I don’t know whether this is an issue related to the selected major or if it’s more specific to a school/university. My daughter will be attending a strong college next year (either USC, Michigan or Texas). Do you have any concerns about the kinesiology major? Any of your colleagues have difficulty finding jobs? We want to guide our daughter in the right direction. thanks!
I’m curious about this ^^^ as well.
Also, my D isn’t sure if she would like to go towards DPT or sports medicine after undergrad. Would a kinesiology, athletic trainer, clinical exercise physiology, and/or sports psychology major be attractive to both graduate programs? (If this details this thread, I’ll post the question elsewhere. It just seems to tie in with the discussion.)
So sorry to be responding late! For some reason I am just now seeing the comment response.
Disclaimer::::: I am not a PT but I do work in healthcare:::
My friends who are PTs were either biology, public health, Allied Health sciences or clinical/applied exercise physiology majors.
If your kids do “kinesiology” make sure it is a school with a clinical exercise physiology major and/or make sure they see their advisor frequently to pick up the required electives grad school may require.
@ProudDad26 …I know very little of the University of Texas and their exercise physiology majors. I would assume they would be very strong.
I have a degree in Applied/Clinical Exercise Physiology from Texas A&M and it is a very very strong program. We had great practical lab experience. A&M has a contract with the regional fire departments and all of the fireman test their annual physicals through the exercise physiology labs i.e. stress testing and fitness testing experience to the MAX for these students. It was fantastic. All students are required to do an extensive semester long internship (usually at hospitals throughout Texas) and every single person in my graduating class had a J O B before graduation and the ones who were applying to PT school had acceptances in hand. I think two took a semester off to work in exercise physiology before starting PT or OT school.
A family member of mine recently graduated from Colorado State U with a degree in exercise science. No internships required. No practical experience. No J O B either!! So sad and frustrating for all involved since she is a great smart kid. I also had similar experiences with exercise physiology students from TCU…their program required observation hours only. They would show up, stand around and leave within a few hours. If only their parents knew how much they were paying for so little learning and active engagement!!! Meanwhile I was working 8-10 hr days every day of the week for a whole semester at my internship and I had a job offer before graduating.
Now…please know ahead of time that average pay for an exercise physiology degree is not that high. I have not checked it recently, but I know “back in the day” the starting salary was about 25-35K a year. I enjoyed my work with cardiac rehabilitation patients but the pay eventually pushed me to change gears and enter nursing school two years later. I had every class requirement for nursing school except microbiology so I was totally prepared in that way.
I would think clinical exercise physiology would be attractive to graduate schools but of course some great advising and double checking grad school requirements would need to take place so as to get the proper electives (physics, etc.) I would think.
Here is a link to the various majors at Texas A&M so you can compare a solid program to other schools.http://hlknweb.tamu.edu/degrees-and-programs/undergraduate-degree-programs
Who are these people making the blogs and posting the comments? Are they in the field? Do they hire people or accept people into graduate programs in the field? Are they simply lay people on the street who make these claims about majors they don’t understand? Consider the source.
The entire field of kinesiology is not an unrespected course of study. Kinesiology is the study of human movement and a lot of what physical therapists do every day is affected by the research that kinesiologists perform. I’m sure there are thousands of kinesiology undergraduate majors who have gone onto DPT programs.
Now, finding a job after college, with no graduate work, may be rough. My sister was an exercise science major and she has struggled to find full-time employment that pays a living wage in her field since she graduated from college back in late 2014. She also, however, went to a small regional college in my home state; I think she faced some of the problems @carachel2 outlined in her post. Few internships, and not very good ones, and not a lot of hands-on specific training. A clinical exercise physiology program would’ve been better, probably. Frankly, she probably would’ve been better off getting a two-year AAS to be a PTA or OTA. She has also until now been geographically restricted, although she’s begun considering looking outside of Atlanta for positions.
@carachel2 thanks for the follow up and the additional information. I think it is pretty clear that an undergraduate degree in kinesiology in and of itself may not get you much in the job market. In addition, a degree from one school vs. another will likely make a big difference in what opportunities are available. Appreciate your emphasis on electives and strong science background.
@juillet thanks also for your comments. I think the message is pretty consistent across these posts.
@ProudDad26 …yes, a plain jane kinesiology degree is not a good idea. Load it up with physics, motor learning, etc. to make it more desirable to OT/PT programs AND get those internship experiences. Most hospital based fitness centers are a one stop shop fantasy for kinesiology majors with OT/PT, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation and community fitness. A one semester internship at such a place will open so many doors and most will have a job waiting for an eager intern who puts in the time learning on the job. It is even better if the internship is set as a last semester experience…that way the job is ready and waiting at graduation.
I put in a message to a former colleague of mine who is still working as an exercise physiologist. I wanted to get a good idea of a current working salary for you both. I LOVED being an exercise physiologist but the money just wasn’t there back in the day.
Ok, colleague messaged me back.
She has been in the business now almost 12 years and is making about $38,000 per year. This is a hospital based clinical exercise physiology position.
Most people I started with after graduation are now RN/MD/PT/OT. None of our original crew stayed on except for this one girl.
@carachel2 - Thanks for this follow up information. very helpful. The $38K/year after 12 years is not that encouraging though : (
@ProudDad26 …keep in mind this is specifically for a clinical exercise physiologist in Texas working in a hospital based cardiac/pulmonary rehabilitation center.
I think PTA and OTAs make better money. Also note that I said she was the only one of about 10-15 Exercise phys colleagues who stayed directly in exercise physiology. The rest of us all moved on to some sort of graduate professional degree: RN/NP/OT/PT etc. I think it is a nice degree if it is a stepping stone along the way. As a career it is always going to be a struggle…at least in this area.
Wife is a PT but doesn’t post here so I asked her advice. It’s been many years since was in school but attended a top PT school. She said in general those who majored in sciences as an undergrad did much better in PT school than those who majored in kinesiology. She stressed kinesiology is a course, not a program. She majored in zoology partly because it afforded her multiple options if she did not get in to PT school which can be more competitive than medical school.
Next, PT schools have a list of requirements of coursework and volunteer hours. You must know the requirements. Meeting 100% of the stated requirements is the minimum to be considered. To your original question, she majored in zoology but took around 15 hours of psychology. Her school did not allow a minor but she still feels that coursework has been helpful across her career.
My sister did her undergrad in Athletic Training and then went into PT school. It’s a solid job to fall back on if you were to fail out of PT school (not that you will).
My D, a HS senior is another interested in PT as a career. She will be double majoring in Dance and Exercise Physiology. What does anyone know about the position of Physical Therapy Aid? My understanding is that it involves cleaning up and putting away the equipment used by the PTAs. Would this type of position be of use to someone interested in studying PT? How difficult is it to find such positions?
A rehab aid or PT aid position is very valuable in being able to be paid while getting great observational opportunities as well as establishing great relationships with PTs that can serve as a great resource , especially for letters of recommendation. Another benefit , it provides a realistic opportunity to determine if PT is what a student believes it to be and if it’s a career he want to pursue.