The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at NYU Steinhardt offers a comprehensive 10-semester, 133 credit curriculum designed to prepare graduates for long-term success.
Beginning each summer, students embark on a three-year, full-time experience in a high-touch learning environment that seamlessly integrates classroom instruction with clinical education and professional identity development. Students work closely with expert faculty and lab instructors drawn from NYC’s leading academic medical centers and top-tier outpatient practices.
Our forward-thinking generalist curriculum prepares students for success across diverse practice settings. In addition to deep training in orthopedic, neurological, and cardiopulmonary physical therapy, students gain expertise and clinical skill in high-demand areas such as pelvic health, oncology, bariatric, and lymphedema rehabilitation, ensuring long-term career flexibility and relevance. This breadth ensures you are adaptable, competitive, and ready for the future of physical therapy.
Clinical Placements
Integrated Clinical Education
Our Integrated Clinical Education model seamlessly connects coursework with patient service delivery. Clinical education is embedded throughout our curriculum, allowing you to apply theory in real-world settings, develop professional confidence early in and throughout the program, and continuously reflect and grow to your full potential. Increasing evidence shows that students learn best when clinical education is woven throughout their DPT education, rather than waiting until the final year for clinical experience. At NYU, you'll benefit from an exceptional depth of clinical exposure, including 12 multi-week clinical experiences featuring four full-time clinical affiliations and eight Master Clinician observation experiences.
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With 500+ clinical partnerships nationwide, our students have unparalleled access to a wide variety of settings, from acute care, orthopedics, pediatrics and neurology to specialized private practice and hospital-based settings such as pelvic health and cancer rehabilitation. Our program offers students multiple opportunities to network, to explore, and to discover what they find fulfilling. These clinical affiliations often lead directly to full-time employment upon graduation, and many of our recent graduates now work at the facilities where they completed an affiliation.
Each student completes four full-time clinical affiliations which take place each summer in the following sequence:
I - Seven weeks after your first year in the degree (Acute Care)
II - Eight weeks after the second year in the degree (Orthopedics)
III - Eight weeks each at two sites after your third year in the degree (Neurology, Student’s Choice)
Students play an active role in selecting their sites, choosing from affiliated teaching hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, private practices, and skilled nursing facilities, assuring a well-rounded clinical experience. If a student wishes to attend a site with which we are not presently affiliated, we will make all attempts to establish a contract with that site.
The "Master Clinician" Mentorship Model
You'll complete eight curated Master Clinician observation placements. These experiences provide early access to expert clinicians in elite settings, sharpening clinical judgment and building professional identity (“identity capital”) well before the final stages of training. Each observation is paired with what you are learning in the classroom.
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This clinical education component of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program allows students to observe and be mentored by expert clinicians working in their respective specialized clinical settings. Students observe in small groups and see first-hand what it takes to become a highly-skilled, well rounded professional practitioner in conjunction with the specific system currently being studied in class (cardiovascular/pulmonary; musculoskeletal; neuromuscular; and genito-urinary, integumentary, endocrine, immune, and gastrointestinal), thus establishing a unique link between the didactic and clinical aspects of the program.
Clinical observations take place according to the following schedule:
- I - Fall semester, 2nd year (cardiovascular/pulmonary or musculoskeletal system)
- II - Spring semester, 2nd year (cardiovascular/pulmonary or musculoskeletal system)
- III - Fall semester, 3rd year (neuromuscular, genito-urinary, or integumentary system)
- IV - Spring semester, 3rd year (neuromuscular, genito-urinary, or integumentary system)
Observations are part-time (one day per week) and occur in stress-free, nurturing environments, allowing students to truly appreciate collaborative, problem-based learning in all aspects of the profession including examination, intervention, business, management, and professional behavior.
To ensure that our clinical observation program remains at the forefront of physical therapy education and establishes the best learning and working environment possible, our faculty carefully selects each participating clinician based on years of experience within their respective areas of specialization, and facilitate an open dialogue between student, master clinician, and faculty.
Exercise & Movement Specialists with Career-Boosting Credentials
Leveraging rigorous coursework and three state-of-the-art labs in exercise, NYU DPT graduates are highly trained exercise and movement specialists. Students graduate with the DPT degree plus multiple career-enhancing credentials, including BLS, ACLS, First Aid/Emergency Preparedness, CSCS (Certified Strength Conditioning Specialist), Pilates Mat I, and Rock Steady Boxing Certification, enhancing employability and readiness on day one.
Gold-Standard Accreditation & Academic Excellence
Investing in an NYU DPT degree means investing in a tradition of excellence that dates back 100 years to 1927. NYU’s DPT program has maintained continuous CAPTE accreditation since 1942, reflecting decades of academic leadership and innovation. CAPTE has described NYU’s model as a “testimonial to vision and persistence,” underscoring the program’s enduring quality and impact.